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Perceptions of Causes and Long-Term Effects of Academic Underachievement in High IQ Adults

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Perceptions of Causes and Long-Term Effects of Academic Underachievement in High IQ Adults Perceptions of Causes and Long-term Effects of Academic Underachievement in High IQ Adults A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Anne Madeleine Marie FAVIER-TOWNSEND School of Education University of Hertfordshire June 2014 Acknowledgements ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Motivation for undertaking this research came from my son’s educational experiences. This dissertation is dedicated to him and to all who have followed similar paths. The study could never have come to fruition without the foresight of my colleague, the late Dr Jenny Plastow, the advice, support and encouragement of my supervisors, Professor Helen Payne and Rosemary Allen and the members of Mensa, the High IQ Society, who participated in the study. The former guided me and encouraged me on my doctoral journey and the latter provided the rich data needed to understand the issues at stake. To all of the above and to my part-time research assistant, Marc Slater, I am truly thankful. Most of all I will be forever grateful to Rob, my husband ‘sans pareil’, for containing his bewilderment about my embarking on this academic venture at such an advanced age. His invaluable, yet discreet and very patient support has been tremendous and remarkable. As a by-product of these doctoral studies and my unavailability, he has become an even better cook as well as a poker champion. We are now both looking forward to getting our lives back on track and to enjoying joint ventures! Perceptions of Causes and Long-term Effects of Academic Underachievement in High IQ Adults Page 2 Abstract ABSTRACT A great deal is known and has been written about the difficulties that high IQ children can experience in the classroom when their special educational needs are not met. Evidence suggests that these difficulties can result in poor academic performance. This study is different from the research carried out in this field so far in that it expresses an hitherto unheard adult voice. It does so by examining the causes and the long-term effects of academic underachievement, as perceived by high IQ adults, on reflection. A mixed quantitative/qualitative methodological approach was used. 158 members of British Mensa, the High IQ Society, completed one semi-structured open ended questionnaire about their perceptions of the causes and long-term effects of their academic underachievement. A second questionnaire was completed by 50 of the previous sample who had revealed that they had reversed their underachievement in adulthood. This highlighted the differences between their educational experiences as children and as adults. It also revealed the impact that their delayed academic achievement had had on their life trajectory. Out of those 50 participants, ten took part in semi-structured one-to-one interviews which allowed for more in-depth enquiry. The conclusions of the study were that, if not nurtured, an innate ability such as a high IQ can become a disadvantage over time. It suggests that not catering for the special educational needs of high IQ children by not providing the mental stimulation they need is ‘intellectual neglect’. Such neglect, like physical and emotional neglect, may affect mental well-being in adulthood. In the study sample, most of the participants’ long-term economic and mental health had been negatively affected by their academic underachievement, even when it had been reversed in adulthood. This is an area which seems to have been little researched so far, perhaps because of the difficulty of locating high IQ underachieving adults. Yet, the issues highlighted by the research are of great importance not only to the individuals concerned but also to society. The desired outcomes of this study are that the dissemination of the results will raise awareness amongst educators and policy makers of the potential negative long-term effects of neglecting high IQ children’s intellectual needs. It will also provide a platform for further research. Perceptions of Causes and Long-term Effects of Academic Underachievement in High IQ Adults Page 3 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................. 2 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................ 4 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 9 1.1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 9 1.2 BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH ......................................................................................................... 10 1.3 AIMS OF THE RESEARCH ...................................................................................................................... 14 1.4 DEFINITIONS OF IMPORTANT TERMS RELEVANT TO THE RESEARCH ........................................................... 14 1.5 SOURCES OF BIAS INHERENT TO THE RESEARCH .................................................................................... 24 1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY ......................................................................................................................... 25 1.7 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................... 26 1.8 ORIGINALITY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH ................................................................................ 27 1.9 STRUCTURE OF THE DISSERTATION ....................................................................................................... 30 1.10 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................... 31 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................................................... 34 2.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 34 2.2 PART 1 - INTELLIGENCE TESTING, IQ TESTS AND HIGH IQ INDIVIDUALS ...................................................... 36 2.3 PART 2 - HIGH IQ AND ACADEMIC UNDERACHIEVEMENT ......................................................................... 65 2.4 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................... 97 3 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................. 101 3.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 101 3.2 METHODOLOGICAL DISCUSSION.......................................................................................................... 102 Perceptions of Causes and Long-term Effects of Academic Underachievement in High IQ Adults Page 4 Table of Contents 3.3 ETHICAL ISSUES ............................................................................................................................... 107 3.4 THE RESEARCH DESIGN .................................................................................................................... 109 3.5 RESEARCH METHODS ....................................................................................................................... 111 3.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS ......................................................................... 125 3.7 DEVELOPING AS A RESEARCHER ......................................................................................................... 130 3.8 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................... 132 4 FIRST QUESTIONNAIRE - EXPERIENCES OF ACADEMIC UNDERACHIEVEMENT ....................... 135 4.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 135 4.2 RESULTS FROM THE FIRST QUESTIONNAIRE ......................................................................................... 137 4.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS ................................................................................................................ 176 4.4 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................... 183 5 SECOND QUESTIONNAIRE - EXPERIENCES OF DELAYED ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT .............. 186 5.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 186 5.2 COMPARISON BETWEEN SUB SAMPLES OF NON-ACHIEVERS AND LATE ACHIEVERS .................................... 187 5.3 RESULTS FROM THE SECOND QUESTIONNAIRE ..................................................................................... 192 5.4 EXTRA INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE RESPONDENTS ........................................................................ 229 5.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS ...............................................................................................................
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