Reducing boredom in gifted education—Evaluating the effects of full-time ability grouping.

Abstract

Educational Impact and Implications Statement This 3.5-year study examines the development of boredom in mathematics and German in Grade 5 to 8 in secondary school students. Students either attended regular classes or special classes for the gifted (i.e., full-time ability grouping). Comparing boredom development across class types, we found only limited evidence for benefits of special classes for the gifted regarding the development of boredom. Rather, boredom increased in both class types over time. Despite other favorable effects of special classes for the gifted, tackling boredom does not seem to be one of them. Direct boredom prevention deserves increased attention throughout secondary school independent of class-type. Ability grouping provides an advanced learning environment for gifted students, possibly buffering them from common long-term increases in academic boredom. We present a 3.5-year longitudinal investigation, spanning four waves of measurement, featuring secondary school students (Grades 5 through 8) from five different German schools with full-time ability grouping (N = 1,861; 55.4% male). We used propensity score matching and latent growth curve modeling to determine the effects of class type on three types of boredom (intensity of boredom, boredom due to underchallenge, boredom due to overchallenge) in two subject domains (mathematics and German). We separated the effects of intervention effectiveness and efficacy, analyzing full and matched sample data. All types of boredom increased over time in both subjects. Ability grouping significantly reduced the intensity of boredom in mathematics in special classes for the gifted (beta(effectiveness) = -.158, beta(efficacy) = -.206), but had no further effects on the development of subject-specific academic boredom.