MOTIVATIONAL VARIABLES AFFECTING COPING RESOURCES AMONG GIFTED ADOLESCENTS

PRESENTERS: Katherine Hoekman and John McCormick
School of Education Studies
University of New South Wales
Sydney, N.S.W., 2052. Australia

Surveying the literature on burnout in adults from various occupations, Pines (1993) has suggested that while definitions of burnout vary considerably, they all tend to describe the end result of a process in which highly motivated and committed individuals lose their spirit. This vein of research has informed this study of adolescent perceptions of their first year of high school. The participants in this stage of the study were 540 Year 7 students comprising: 402 gifted students grouped in selective high schools, 76 gifted students grouped in accelerated cohorts, and 62 students from a mixed ability group. Students were surveyed on a number of motivational and affective variables which have been linked to satisfaction with school. The preliminary analysis of self-reports from the total population of students who participated in the first stage of this study, including principal components analysis, and multiple regression analyses, supports the conceptual framework proposed. The results further suggest that idealism, without a commensurate sense of accomplishment or appropriate feedback, may make optimistic individuals more susceptible to reporting a lack of satisfaction with school or strain on coping resources. The fact that optimism accounted for a considerable proportion of the variation in the satisfaction with school reported, highlights the need for educators to acknowledge not only the importance of intrapersonal variables, but the relevance of preventative strategies in the adult burnout literature.

Paper presented at the Australian Association for Research in Education / New Zealand Association for Research in Education Conference, Melbourne, 30th November, 1999. Motivation and the "Optimal Match" for Gifted Students How can teachers motivate gifted students? Researchers have found that, in general, intellectually gifted children have higher intrinsic motivation than students who have not been identified as gifted (Davis & Connell, 1985; Gottfried & Gottfried, 1996; Li, 1988; Vallerand, Gagne, Senecal & Pelletier, 1994). While gifted learners are often highly motivated, however, this may not always generalise to practical classroom skills (Janos & Robinson, 1985; Robinson & Noble, 1991). As school work becomes more difficult, students who have not experienced appropriate challenges may not have developed the study habits required to maintain high level achievement. Kaplan (1990) has noted that these students may suspect that they are no longer gifted, and stress may result if their sense of self-worth is undermined. Boring, monotonous busy-work is also very stressful for individuals who prefer higher level thinking and reasoning activities (Kaplan, 1990; Keating, 1991; Plucker and McIntire, 1996). Larson and Richards (1991) found that high rates of boredom were correlated with high ability, prompting them to advise that while individual dispositions may contribute to boredom, schools should be structured to reduce it as much as possible.

Contrary to this advice, Gallagher, Harradine and Coleman (1997) have found that the lack of challenge in curriculum is often exacerbated by some of the new educational reform efforts which stress heterogeneous grouping as a desired practice. The self-reports of academically gifted students gathered by Gallagher, Harradine and Coleman at the elementary, middle school and high school levels echo the evidence that the desired differentiation of thecurriculum for all levels of ability in such classrooms rarely occurs (Tomlinson, 1992; Westberg Archambault, Dobyns & Salvin, 1993). The consistent themes raised by middle school students about the curriculum's lack of challenge led these researchers to suggest that, "Current policies of exclusive heterogeneous grouping at the middle school level may have impacted the particular dissatisfaction of students from this group" (p.132).

"Optimal Learning" Requires Optimal Challenge In the light of such research, Clinkenbeard (1994) has perceptively suggested that a more accurate phrasing of the pivotal question of how teachers can motivate their gifted students might be, "How can I structure my class to maximise gifted students' intrinsic motivation?"(p.187). Describing the "optimal experience" in childhood, Csikszentmihalyi (1993a) noted that, "...The basic requirement for a milieu supportive of optimal psychological growth is that at the appropriate moment in the child's maturation, it should provide neither too many, nor too few opportunities for action in relation to the child's developing capacities to act" (p.41). Furthermore, Csikszentmihalyi's (1978) research on intrinsic motivation suggested that the central requirement in restructuring optimal learning contexts seems to be that the situation should also provide useful feedback to the person that his or her actions are meeting meaningful challenges.

Csikszentmihalyi's "Flow" Construct Csikszentmihalyi (1988) referred to the ultimate state of intrinsic motivation as an "experience flow." "Flow" occurs when skills are used to their utmost, matched against a challenge that is barely within grasp, and that cannot be achieved without frustration. According to this theory, when a person is faced with demands which he or she feels unable to meet, a state of anxiety ensues. A situation where skills exceed opportunities for using them, however, produces boredom. Flow is experienced when people perceive opportunities for action as being evenly matched by their capabilities.

It is significant to note that according to this theory, students cannot enjoy doing the same thing at the same level for long without experiencing a degree of tedium, and finally, a person with great skills and few opportunities for applying them will pass from the state of boredom again into anxiety. In this context it is important to note that a pivotal aspect of the conceptual framework adopted here, is the proposal that rewards, high self-esteem and confidence alone do not produce flow. The avoidance of frustration, a premature alleviation of anxiety and the inability to face the highest challenges all impede flow (Seligman, 1995). In essence, according to this theory, unchallenged students are unmotivated students, and by corollary, it is challenge that motivates students. The desire to alleviate frustration or boredom pushes individuals to fully utilise their skills, or discover new opportunities for using them. It is this dynamic feature that explains why flow activities lead to growth and discovery and allow for optimal learning (Csikszentmihalyi & Rathunde, 1992). According to this theoretical framework, one of the essential goals for educators then becomes the provision of a level of challenge beyond the current level of skill exhibited by the student, in order to generate feelings in the proximity of the flow or intrinsic motivation channel, rather than feelings of apathy, boredom or anxiety.

Expanded Application of the Flow Construct Csikszentmihalyi (1992;1993a,1993b) explored the application of this theory at various levels of social interaction, including a wide variety of activities. The focus of the present study is, therefore, on the exploration of an expanded application of Csikszentmihalyi's (1975) powerful flow construct to academic intrinsic motivation, defined specifically as the enjoyment of learning and an orientation toward task mastery, persistence, and challenge in the social context of school. (See Figure 1 for adapted model).

Concern about gifted students' psycho-social needs has prompted the development of many useful strategies to help students avoid the stress problems associated with the excessive pressure which can have a negative impact on satisfaction with school and consequent performance. Typically, test anxiety (Hodge, McCormick & Elliott, 1997), or students' modes of coping with parental or teacher expectations have been investigated in such a way as to explain stress and burnout in the classroom (Schultz & Heuchert, 1983). Considerably less attention has been devoted to the positive effects of healthy levels of stress on the development of adaptive coping mechanisms (Andrews, Page & Neilson, 1993), and the research which illustrates that stressors can indeed provide an opportunity for personal growth (Moos & Schaefer, 1993). Even less attention has been devoted to the negative effects of "hypostress" or "understress," which Selye (1981) has defined as "lack of self-realisation due to physical immobility, boredom or sensory deprivation" (p. 142), in the educational context.

While burnout is frequently associated with overload in adults, it has also been linked with 'underload' or tedium (Pines, Aronson and Kafry, 1981). Furthermore, in his assessment of stress and burnout in gifted adolescents, Fimian (1988) found that tedium was one of the significant predictors of classroom stress. In the light of these findings, this variable was also explored in this study to investigate the possibility that the stressful consequences of tedium may contribute to the growing body of literature within gifted education which suggests that boredom or lack of rewarding challenges for high potential students in the regular classroom may be the primary cause of their tendency to lose positive attitudes toward school (Feldhusen and Kroll, 1991). The aim of this research is, therefore, consistent both with Porath's (1996) observation that, "the need to fight boredom, to seek a challenge, or to experiment with the unknown may be potentially important sources of difference within and between gifted learners" (p.13), and with Kanevsky's (1995) suggestion that multivariate designs may offer great promise for explaining group and individual differences in learning potential and the learning process.

Sample An eight page, 135 item questionnaire entitled the "Feelings About School Inventory" was compiled for this study and administered to a total of 540 Year 7 students attending five high schools in the Sydney (NSW) Metropolitan area. Four hundred two students were in the full-time ability grouped structure of selective high schools, 76 were in accelerated cohorts who were ability grouped and telescoping the six years of secondary into five years, and 62 were in a mixed ability group. Since the ultimate goal of the study is to compare the affective impact of these three interventions, the high schools were purposefully selected because they contained the accelerated cohorts required for the second phase of the study, or afforded an appropriate comparison group in terms of the demographics of the accelerated cohort focus schools. Before the comparisons between the various educational interventions could be explored, however, the appropriateness of the conceptual framework was investigated with the entire population.

It should be noted that the government funded, state administered selective high schools attended by the majority of the subjects in this study are designed to specifically meet the needs of academically gifted high school students from Year 7 to Year 12, and selection is based on a multiple-criteria identification procedure including a battery of aptitude and achievement tests, and ranked nominations by the students' elementary school teachers and principals. Competition to gain entry to these schools is high and the total population considered in this phase of the study is, therefore, composed of a majority of students who have been formally identified as academically gifted. Male students accounted for approximately 58% (n=311) of the sample, and 42% (n=229) were females.

Procedure The "Feelings About School Inventory" (FASI) was compiled for this study from a selection of established measures of psycho-social adjustment. The questionnaire was administered to Year 7 students at the beginning of the first term of high school. The first administration was designed to function as closely as possible to a pre-test situation for the consequent longitudinal study.

Instruments The "Feelings About School Inventory" (FASI) was based on an expanded and modified application of the conceptual framework of Csikszentmihalyi (1975). Consistent with the theoretical rationale outlined previously, the variables operationalised for exploration of the expanded flow concept included intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, state and trait anxiety, and tedium. To gauge the perceived satisfaction with school reported by students and the psycho-social impact of specific interventions, a measure of the quality of school life was included, as well as aspects of self-perception and locus of control. The reliance on student self reports was necessitated by the fact that whether a person is going to be in flow (operationalised here as a state of intrinsic motivation) does not depend either on the objective nature of the challenges present or on the objective level of skills. In fact, according to Csikszentmihalyi (1992), whether one is in flow or not depends entirely on one's perception of what the challenges and skills are.

RESULTS Principal Components Analysis Consistent with the desired purpose of identifying a minimum number of meaningful predictive factors, and due to the presumed intercorrelation of the variables included in the inventory, principal components analyses, with both oblimin and varimax rotation were carried out on the seven parts of the FASI questionnaires. Where both orthogonal and oblique rotations produced identical or near identical factor structures, the solution with varimax rotation was accepted. Sixteen factors were identified and accepted using the criteria: scree test, eigenvalue exceeding one, and interpretability. To address the central concerns of this paper, however, attention past this point will focus exclusively on the data related to tedium.

The two factors which emerged from the factor analyses (both oblique rotation and orthogonal rotations) of the 12 items from the Motivation Scale (Harter, Whitesell & Kowalski, 1992), were the same as the original factor structure, and consequently the names Intrinsic Motivation and Extrinsic Motivation were retained. Although Harter et.al. (1992) had recommended using the oblique rotation, the factor solution with varimax rotation was selected because of this researcher's desire to explore both motivational states as independent factors, instead of as opposite ends of a continuum.

The two factors which emerged from the factor analysis (oblique and orthogonal rotations) of the total of 16 items selected from the Quality of School Life Inventory were named Satisfaction with School and Commitment to Schoolwork. Although the scales selected from the original Quality of School Life Inventory were conceptually linked, and intercorrelation was expected, the solution using the orthogonal rotation was accepted in this case because it was closer to the factor structure of the original instrument, the improved alpha (.78) for the second factor, and the facility for further analysis. The factor structure was not identical to the original subscale divisions, however, since four of the items from the original Commitment to Classwork subscale loaded on to the new Satisfaction with School factor. They were, however, deemed interpretable and since the conceptual distinction between satisfaction and commitment was evident the factor names retained. It should be noted that the minor semantic change from "classwork" to "schoolwork" was made at this point to accommodate preferred local terminology.

Although it was anticipated that the four factor structure consistently reported in the manual of STAI (Spielberger et. al. 1983, pp. 62-63) would be replicated, the principal components analysis (using varimax rotation as recommended in the manual) of all 40 STAI items produced an eight factor solution, where four factors had an eigen value greater than one. The first factor, with an eigenvalue of 11.43 (accounting for 29% of the variance), was a blend of both the "State Anxiety Absent" and "Trait Anxiety Absent" factors reported by Spielberger et. al. (1983). The principal components analysis (oblique rotation) applied to the all 40 STAI items failed to converge and could not be rotated. On the basis of the strong empirical support cited in the manual for the conceptual distinction between state and trait anxiety (Spielberger et.al. 1983, p. 32-33), and the widespread acceptance of the construct validity of the two scales, however, the decision was taken to analyse the factor structure of the separate Trait Anxiety and State Anxiety scales identified by Spielberger et.al. (1983). Adopting this approach an additional factor emerged from the factor analyses of each anxiety scale using varimax rotation as recommended in the manual (p. 62). Consistent with the naming of the original factors discerned, the two main factors of the "S-Anxiety" scale were named State Anxiety Present and State Anxiety Absent. The scores for the latter items had been recoded to reflect the degree of anxiety present. The third factor to emerge from this scale was named Confusion because the item with the highest loading was "I feel indecisive" and the two other items were conceptually related to this confused state. The two main factors that emerged from the "T-Anxiety" scale were named Trait Anxiety Present and Trait Anxiety Absent as suggested in the manual, again the latter items having been recoded to reflect the degree of anxiety present. The third factor to emerge from the "T-Anxiety" scale was labelled Inadequacy, because the first item to load on to this factor was "I feel inadequate", and this was the conceptual vein linking the two other items that constituted this factor.

The three factors that emerged from the principal components analyses (oblique and orthogonal rotations) of the 20 item Tedium Scale were named Pessimism, Burnout (Strain on Coping Resources), and Optimism. Burnout is a phenomenon that has gained attention and empirical focus as a form of psychological strain. The items of the scale were theoretically derived from the three aspects of burnout: physical exhaustion, emotional exhaustion and mental exhaustion (Pines, 1993). The use of the term "burnout" in the context of this study must be qualified in terms of the common understanding of the severity of the problems normally associated with this designation. While the scale is reportedly more highly correlated with emotional exhaustion (Pines ,1993), the self-reports gleaned from this study would be within the normal range and more readily identified as consistent with a reported "strain on coping resources" rather than the extreme distress caused by the perceived "depletion of an individual's energetic resources" (Shirom, 1989, p.331). While some previous factor analyses (Corcoran, 1986 Justice, Gold and Klein, 1981 cited in Pines, 1993) suggested that the scale was a unidimensional measure, it was anticipated that the concepts mental, physical and emotional exhaustion would be differentiated in the principal components analysis. The emergent factor structure, however, appears to be more accurately interpreted as perceptions of affective or emotional resources, and the factors were consequently renamed to reflect the emergent distinctions.

Pearson Correlations Weighted regression factor scores were generated for the factors from the principal components analyses. As predicted on the basis of Csikszentmihalyi's (1975) "flow" construct, Satisfaction with School was positively correlated with Intrinsic Motivation (.58), andOptimism (.61); and negatively correlated with Trait Anxiety (-.52) and State Anxiety (-.47). Confirming the nature and direction of these important variables, Intrinsic Motivation was also mildly correlated with Optimism (.39) and Commitment to Schoolwork (.30), and negatively correlated with Trait Anxiety (-.39) and State Anxiety (-.36). It is noteworthy that the Optimism factor from the Tedium Measure was positively correlated with the Satisfaction with School (.61) and Intrinsic Motivation (.39), and negatively correlated with State (.46) and Trait Anxiety (-.49) . Predictably this was mirrored in the fact that the Pessimism factor from the Tedium Measure was mildly correlated with State Anxiety (.31) and Inadequacy (.31). The nature and direction of the relationship between the "Anxiety" and "Tedium" variables was further reinforced by the finding that Burnout (Strain on Coping Resources) was correlated with Trait Anxiety (.33) and negatively correlated with Commitment to Schoolwork (-.31).

Multiple Regression Analysis - Main Effects Regression analyses (forward selection) were carried out with each factor as a dependent variable and the remaining factor scores as independent variables. Only three regression models are worth reporting and are shown in Table 2. The first, and most notable regression analysis indicated that Satisfaction with school and Commitment to Schoolwork accounted for 43% of the variance in Intrinsic Motivation scores. While this certainly does not establish a causal relationship, it does provide sufficient support for the exploration of motivational orientation as a situational state that may be affected by classroom variables. Although making only a small contribution (1%), the inclusion of Trait Anxiety to the model, underscores the conviction that some anxiety may play a functional role in motivation.

The second regression analysis indicated that the combination of Optimism (37%), Intrinsic Motivation (14%) and Commitment to Schoolwork (4%) accounted for a total of 55% of the variance of Satisfaction with School. Not only does this analysis confirm the predictive value of the Intrinsic Motivation score, but also highlights the need to include self-assessed intrapersonal variables such as Optimism rather than simply focusing on external variables, as Optimism actually accounted for the greatest percentage of variation in the Satisfaction with School reported.

Similarly, the third regression analysis reported here suggests that Burnout (Strain on Coping Resources) (10%), as well as the more expected variables such as Intrinsic Motivation (6%) and Satisfaction with School (7%), merits further attention as a predictor of Commitment to Schoolwork. Furthermore, the fact that the two other factors from the Tedium Scale, Pessimism and Optimism, figured in this model, each accounting for 6% of the variance, underscores the importance of examining students' perceptions of affective resources in any future attempts to gauge the efficacy of particular educational interventions to improve commitment to schoolwork.

The regression analyses confirm the hypothesised associations between Intrinsic Motivation, Satisfaction with School and Commitment to Schoolwork, predicted by the expanded "Flow" construct of Csikszentmihalyi (1975). Likewise, the fact that Intrinsic Motivation accounted for a noteworthy proportion of the variance in both Satisfaction with School (14%) and Commitment to Schoolwork (6%) confirms the importance of focussing on this variable as a measure of the efficacy of various educational interventions examined in the next phase of this study. The fact that 37% of the variation in students' Satisfaction with School was accounted for by Optimism, and the finding that Burnout (Strain on Coping Resources) accounted for a significant proportion of the Commitment to Schoolwork variance, merited further analysis of the mediating influences affecting these important intrapersonal variables.

Interaction Effects Regression analyses were again carried out as described above, but product terms were then introduced to test for two-way interactions. Among several significant interactions found, it is noteworthy in terms of the specific focus of this paper that Intrinsic Motivation by Burnout (Strain on Coping Resources), was identified for Satisfaction with School. To assist with this interpretation, simple bivariate regressions were carried out using the standardised factor scores. Separate regressions were carried out for students reporting high Satisfaction with School (factor score greater than 1) and low Satisfaction with School (factor score less than -1). Figure 2 shows that students who reported high Satisfaction with School also reported higher Intrinsic Motivation, overall, compared to students reporting low Satisfaction with School. The Intrinsic Motivation scores of these students increased as Burnout (Strain on Coping Resources) decreased, and Intrinsic Motivation declined as Burnout (Strain on Coping Resources) increased. Intrinsic Motivation scores were consistently lower, overall, for students who reported low Satisfaction with School compared to those reporting high Satisfaction with School, and their scores remained relatively constant as Burnout (Strain on Coping Resources) scores increased or decreased. This effect could reflect the phenomenon of "learned helplessness" (Seligman, 1995) or "apathy" (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988), as students reporting low satisfaction with school appeared to be unaffected by positive or negative appraisals of perceived coping resources.

For the interaction Burnout (Strain on Coping Resources) by Optimism, Figure 3 shows that the students who reported high Satisfaction with School reported considerably lower Burnout (Strain on Coping Resources) than the students reporting low Satisfaction with School scores. Perhaps the most interesting interaction effect, however, was evidenced by the fact that both the students who reported high Satisfaction with School and students who reported low Satisfaction with School reported an increase in Burnout (Strain on Coping Resources) as Optimism scores increased. While this phenomenon appears contradictory, it is consistent with the adult burnout literature which suggests that "you cannot burnout unless you were 'on fire' '' (Pines, 1993, p.386). Pines (1993) further noted that, "While definitions of burnout vary, they all describe the end result of a process in which highly motivated and committed individuals lose their spirit" (p.386). Idealism, without a commensurate sense of accomplishment or appropriate feedback may make these optimistic individuals more susceptible to reporting a lack of satisfaction with, or strain on, coping resources. Within the field of gifted education, the recent attention devoted by counsellors to the levels of emotional development according to Dabrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration (Piechowski, 1997) seems particularly relevant to this subject. The phenomenon of the "burnt out optimist" parallels much of the description of Dabrowki's Level III: Spontaneous Multilevel Disintegration (p.374). At this level Dabrowski observed the dissatisfaction with self that can develop, because of a competing sense of what one could and ought to ideally be. It is also noteworthy that many of the psychologists who have embraced the practical application of theory have noted how often this "level of emotional tumult" (Maxwell, 1992, p.35 ) coincides with adolescence within the gifted population (Silverman, 1993).

While a detailed account of the 'Theory of Positive Disintegration' is beyond the scope of this analysis, of particular relevance here is the fact that Dabrowski's theory emanates from the studies of the mental health of intellectually and artistically gifted adolescents and adults. Piechowski (1997) has noted that, according to Dabrowski, the term 'multilevel development' denotes a type of inner growth in which the split between the higher and lower [qualities] in oneself is strongly felt..." and where "the goal is to confront the whole truth about oneself as a prelude to far reaching inner transformations" (p.370). Like Bandura's (1986) emphasis on self-efficacy, self-evaluation and self-judgement play a significant part in emotional development according to Dabrowski. Piechowski (1997) has noted that this process of 'self-correction' is a necessary condition for the self-actualisation referred to by Maslow (1971) and the transcendence of self referred to by Csikszentmihalyi (1993).

These preliminary analyses of self-reports from the population of predominantly gifted students who participated in the first stage of the study appears to lend support for the conceptual framework, based on the expanded Flow construct of Csikszentmihalyi (1975). While much attention has already been focused on the negative correlation between intrinsic motivation and anxiety, this study suggests that the negative correlation between intrinsic motivation and the intrapersonal variables associated with the Tedium Measure used in this study also warrant attention. For example, this paper has focused on the evidence that students who were very optimistic and generally dissatisfied with the school experience were more likely to experience burnout in terms of strain on coping resources. While the level of dissatisfaction reported by this low satisfaction with school group is certainly an issue of concern, and the accompanying symptoms viewed negatively by some, it is significant to note that according to the theories of Maslow (1971), Csikszentmihalyi (1993) and Dabrowski (1972 cited in Piechowski 1997), the fact that the dissatisfaction of both groups is associated with optimism (and possibly a strong drive for perfection) may alternatively be considered an indication of potentially healthy emotional development. No wonder Silverman (1993) laments that this is the least understood level of Dabrowski's developmental theory.

In attempting to unravel this apparent contradiction, it appears that it may prove useful to consider the parallels articulated earlier between the symptoms of tedium described in the adult burnout literature, and the pattern of characteristics displayed by the 'burnt out optimists' evident here. Csikszentmihalyi (1992) has provided a useful synthesis of much research in this area and has suggested that it is useful to acknowledge the three different kinds of resources a person may call upon in coping with stress. The first is the external or available social support; the second includes a person's psychological resources, such as intelligence, education and personality characteristics; and the third refers to the coping resources a person uses. Certainly the strategies of providing individuals with meaningful opportunities for personal growth in the context of strong social support networks appear to merit serious attention in helping students negotiate this difficult transition period successfully. This will be an important issue to consider when this framework is applied to a longitudinal study.

CONCLUSION Although affective and motivational factors are recognised as important in designing educational programs that are well matched to the needs of gifted learners (Clark, 1988; Janos & Robinson, 1985), Porath (1996) observed that these factors are often neglected in the evaluation of subsequent program planning. While it is acknowledged that schools provide an important context for both the development and expression of children's achievement motivation, and while there are obviously numerous factors in classrooms which can affect the motivational orientation of students at any particular time (Ames, 1992), relatively few studies have actually treated motivation as a major goal or outcome (Nicholls & Burton, 1982), and examined the relationship of the classroom context and students' motivation.

While the regression analyses appear to justify the hypothesised association between Intrinsic Motivation, Satisfaction with School, and Commitment to Schoolwork, the examination of significant interactions between the major variables suggests that the affective and motivational outcomes are complex and appear to depend on the mediating influences of the perceived coping resources that students bring to the learning context. It is also noteworthy that these findings could also reflect the current emphasis in the literature on the subject of adult burnout, which suggests that stress as such does not cause burnout. This research base also suggests that people are able to flourish in stressful and demanding jobs if they feel that their work is significant, appreciated and therefore has emotional meaning for them (Pines, 1993). The findings of this study could provide evidence that perceived lack of coping resources may also be associated with lack of satisfaction with or, lack of meaningful feedback from school.

Learning can certainly be facilitated or hampered by emotions, moods and feelings, and Boekaerts (1993), for example, has found that when negative emotions create a pessimistic attitude, they may draw the learners' attention to irrelevant aspects of the task, which activate intrusive thoughts and create concern for well-being rather than for learning, detracting from the mastery mode. Although this cross-sectional study reflects the measures taken at the start of the first year of secondary school, it could be anticipated that burnout scores may look quite different at the end of the school year. The interaction effects suggest that the mediating influences of motivational and affective outcomes may be complex, and this may have the greatest practical significance when issues of appropriate educational context are considered. It may be the combinations of the various dimensions of students' perceptions of coping resources, pessimism, and optimism, rather than their individual contributions, which are likely to provide the most useful insights to inform decision making about the management of educational options for gifted students in the future. The moderating influences of perceived strain on coping resources, and the influence of pessimism reported in this study, will therefore warrant further attention when this framework is applied to a longitudinal study of students experiencing a variety of grouping and accelerative contexts during their first year of high school.

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