An Experimental Study of Self-Regulated Learning with Gifted Learners

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In accordance with the principles of differentiated education, learners of varying abilities must be given equal opportunities in the teaching-learning situation to realise their full potential. Unfortunately, this goal has not yet been attained in South Africa due to the misconception that the present OBE curriculum in the various subjects sufficiently satisfies the learning requirements of highly intelligent learners. The literature study reaffirms the view that gifted learners are endowed with unique personality traits, enabling them to study at higher levels of thinking, at a faster pace and with a greater degree of autonomy than their average coevals. An empirical study was conducted with grade eleven learners who were considered to be specifically gifted in Accounting. The main purpose of the experiment was to investigate whether gifted high school learners could master subject matter of an advanced level on their own. The empirical results suggest that gifted learners in high schools are capable of self-regulating their own learning through self-monitoring, self-evaluation and self-reinforcement. The study confirms that self-regulated learning offers an alternative approach in implementing an advanced level curriculum in a subject for the gifted in the mainstream of education.

Stream: Curriculum and Pedagogy; Student Learning, Learner Experiences, Learner Diversity

Paper: Experimental Study of Self-Regulated Learning with Gifted Learners, An

Prakash Singh is a professor of advanced studies in education. He is in the Research, Technology and Innovation Unit of the Faculty of Education at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. His field of specialization is educational leadership, fear management and curriculum development. He has published widely in accredited journals and presented numerous papers at national and international conferences. He is also a member of several national and international organisations and currently serves as an executive committee member of the Standard Generating Body of the South African Qualifications Authority in South Africa. He is the recipient of a Senior Fulbright Researcher’s grant. His current research focus is on the emotional intelligence of educational leaders and the management of fear in the educational milieu.