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"You Could Be Doing Brain Surgery": Gifted Girls Becoming Teachers

Penn State Harrisburg, LGR{at}epix.net

This qualitative study focuses on messages to gifted girls about their choice of a career in teaching. Participants consisted of 18 female teachers identified as gifted. The methodology consisted of semistructured interviews and focus group discussions. Findings indicate that messages of discouragement toward a career in teaching were more numerous and more emphatic than were messages of encouragement. Despite this, these participants were content with and remained committed to teaching careers for the foreseeable future. Participants also mentioned a variety of ways in which their giftedness interacted with their teaching, for their own benefit and that of their students. Recommendations for counselors, teachers, and parents include providing information about the entire range of career options and carefully matching career pathways with the student's interests and dreams rather than the adult's preconceived notions of success or prestige.

Putting the Research to Use: There is little question that our society desperately needs teachers who are gifted. Yet gifted students who express an interest in a teaching career are often discouraged by family members, friends, teachers, and counselors. Although it is appropriate to encourage gifted students to pursue careers that might be perceived by society as more prestigious than teaching, it is counterproductive to guide students into careers inconsistent with their interests and values. By the time they are in high school, students who are interested in teaching have often sought out opportunities to interact with children and have engaged in activities such as playing school. These activities indicate the desire to teach, a desire that should be taken seriously. As Delisle (1998, p. 21) put it, "My hope is that . . . we will lecture less and listen more, giving academic and career guidance based upon individual interest patterns rather than preordained societal benchmarks of success." In addition, students should engage in discussions regarding ways in which their intellectual talents may be challenged in teaching to the benefit of all.

Key Words: gifted • female • careers • teaching

This version was published on October 1, 2008

Gifted Child Quarterly, Vol. 52, No. 4, 313-325 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0016986208321807


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