ABSTRACT
The underachievement of gifted students may deprive society of potential innovation and capital, but it also carries a significant personal cost for teachers, parents, and students. Teachers lament the lack of academic effort, parents agonize over poor grades, and, perhaps worst of all, students do not experience the joy of stretching their minds to accomplish challenging tasks. Challenge and subsequent sustained dedication affords college and career opportunities and promotes self-actualization. While the importance of addressing underachievement is rarely debated, the definition, identification, and interventions present complex issues that continue to perplex researchers and educators. The personal characteristics of gender, motivational characteristics, and learning behaviors have received significant attention in the gifted underachievement literature. The limited empirical research conducted on the family characteristics of underachieving gifted students suggests certain types of home environments may be related to the development of students' underachievement patterns. Several gifted underachievement models consider the dynamic relationship between personal and environmental factors relating to underachievement.
