Educational Studies Postdoctoral Fellow Ziye Wen co-authored an article published in Gifted Child Quarterly titled “School Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study of Academic Motivation, Peer Connectedness, and School Liking Among Gifted and Nonidentified Early Adolescents”.
The study investigated the trajectories of school well-being of gifted and nonidentified early adolescents before and through the COVID-19 pandemic (2019–2022). The findings showed that gifted students had greater declines in peer connectedness than their nonidentified peers, especially during the pandemic years. Students gifted in math experienced a shift from high and stable academic motivation in the prepandemic years to a decline during the pandemic, while other students experienced a shift from growth in academic motivation before the pandemic to maintaining the same or lower levels during the pandemic. This study provided empirical evidence of gifted early adolescents’ resilience and vulnerability during transitions and upheavals like the pandemic.