PREDICTORS OF ATTITUDES TOWARD GIFTED EDUCATION - A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE AND A BLUEPRINT FOR FUTURE-RESEARCH

Over thirty studies have been published concerning the predictors of p eople's attitudes toward the education of the gifted. About 50 variabl es have been examined as potential sources of these individual differe nces. The analysis of the results of past studies forces us to conclud e that not a single variable consistently emerges as a substantial exp lanatory factor. To explain this lack of significant results, four maj or problem areas are identified pertaining to the methodology of these studies: (a) the diversity of the attitude questionnaires used; (b) t he size, diversity, and nonrepresentativeness of the samples used; (c) the small number of predictors introduced, as well as the diversity i n their operationalization; (d) inadequacies in statistical procedures . Concrete methodological proposals are given to maximize the chances of obtaining significant and generalizable results in future studies o n the subject.