J. Begin et F. Gagne, PREDICTORS OF ATTITUDES TOWARD GIFTED EDUCATION - A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE AND A BLUEPRINT FOR FUTURE-RESEARCH, Journal for the education of the gifted, 17(2), 1994, pp. 161-179
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.