%0 Journal Article
%T A Comparison of Perceptions of Barriers to Academic Success Among High
%A Andrea Dawn Frazier
%A Jennifer Riedl Cross
%A Mihyeon Kim
%A Tracy L. Cross
%J Gifted Child Quarterly
%@ 1934-9041
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/0016986217738050
%X In 14 focus group interviews, sixth- to eighth-grade high-ability students from high- (n = 36) and low-income (n = 45) families were asked to describe the barriers they perceived to their academic success. Three themes were identified through the qualitative analysis: Constraining Environments, Integration versus Isolation, and Resource Plenty versus Resource Poor. Students in both groups experienced environments not conducive to learning, inhibiting peers, and teachers as a barrier. Students in the low-income group described mayhem in their schools, which interfered significantly with learning. These students were highly integrated in their school community, whereas the students in the high-income group were socially isolated from both peers and teachers. Both groups exhibited issues of poor fit within their schools: autonomy and competence for both, relatedness for students in the high-income group. Attention to these issues will help support these students in achieving their potential
%K low income
%K special populations/underserved gifted
%K high income
%K qualitative methodologies
%K middle school
%K age/developmental stage
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0016986217738050