不同性別與發展階段資優生故事寫作的內容分析

Developmental and Gender Differences on the Story Writings of Gifted Students

寫作是複雜的認知活動，一方面反映作者對外界人事物的觀察和認識，另一方面也反映其內在情感與思維；有學者建議寫作是實施資優生情意教育可善用的工具。本研究分析不同性別與發展階段資優生書寫的故事內容，並探究資優生情意教育值得注意的議題。參與本研究之資優生來自台北市國小、國中和高中，共計167 位，他們在50 分鐘內書寫一篇以「他／她今天沒有出門」為首句之文章，學生自選以「他」或「她」起始。本研究由故事中的角色、主題、情緒和結局分析學生作品。研究結果顯示，故事中的角色最能展現性別差異，無論男生或女生都有較高比例創造與自己相同性別的角色；此現象在男生群體更明顯，男生創造的男女角色比例更懸殊；不同發展階段學生創造的故事角色未出現系統化的差異。寫作主題分析顯示，不同階段資優生最常出現的主題都是「情感／關係」；「生命意義」主題出現的百分比隨發展階段遞升，「奇幻」及「懲罰及厄運」隨發展階段降低。在故事展現的情緒方面，最常出現的情緒是「快樂」，正面情緒在中學階段微升；小學生「悲傷」、「恐懼」及「憤怒」三負向情緒的比例接近，中學以後「悲傷」的比例增加，其他負向情緒減少。不同性別學生在故事主題或情緒方面並未出現系統化差異。在故事結局方面，女生故事以正向結局的百分比稍高於男生；男生負向結局的百分比高於女生；男女生中性結局的百分比接近；故事結局未發現系統化的發展階段差異。本研究並討論資優生情意教育與後續研究宜關切的議題。

Writing is one of the ways that individuals learn and construct meaning for their life, identity and culture. A number of scholars have suggested that writings are powerful media to understand the inner world of gifted students. This study explored the developmental and gender differences of gifted students through story writings, and investigated social and emotional issures in gifted education based on an analysis of the stories. Methods: The participants were 167 gifted students in grades four, eight and twelve. They were invited to write a story, starting with the phrase, “He/She did not go out today”, within 50 minutes. The participants were asked to choose either “he” or “she” as initial word. A number of story elements were analyzed, including the characters created in the stories, the story themes, the emotions appearing within the stories, and the endings of the stories. Findings: The results showed that gender differences lay within the characters that the authors created. Both male and female students tended to create characters of the same gender as themselves. This situation was more obvious in the male group, where 95.51% of the writers created male characters but only 55.06% created female characters. In addition, none of the writers in the male group created stories that only contained female characters. In the female group, 78.57% of the writers created female characters, 67.14% created male characters, and 20.00% created stories that only contained male characters. Developmental differences were not found in the gender of the characters. Developmental similarities and differences were both noticed in the story themes and emotions. The most frequently occurring theme, across grade and developmental levels, was ‘Affection/Relationships’, with a total percentage of 63.52%. The percentage for ‘Meaning of Life’ was 15.22% for the grade four students. This increased to 38.89% for the grade eight students, and further increased to 47.76% for the grade 12 students. The percentage for ‘Punishment and misfortune’ was the highest for the grade four students (32.61%), and it was much lower for the grade eight students (5.56%) and the grade 12 students (1.69%). The most frequently appearing emotion was ‘Happiness’, with a total percentage of 75.47%. The percentage of positive emotions (happiness and love) was lowest for the grade four students, increased for the grade eight students, and was the highest for the grade 12 students. The percentages of different negative emotions (sadness, fear and anger) were closer, and were between 30-50% for the grade four students. However, the percentage for ‘Sadness’ increased from 36.96 for the grade four students to 70.37% for the grade eight students and 69.49% for the grade 12 students. The percentage for ‘Anger’ was highest for the grade four students (45.65%), and lowest for the grade eight students (14.81%), with the grade twelve students getting a percentage somewhere in the middle (23.73%). Systematic gender differences were not found in the story themes or the emotions appearing in the stories. As to the endings of the stories, 64.29% of the female students and 53.93% of the male students created positive endings, and 33.71% of the male students and 18.57% of the female students created negative endings. Implications: This study found that both male and female students tended to create characters of the same gender as themselves, but that male students were more rigid in choosing or creating their characters. It could be an important issue for both male and female gifted students to learn the unique meaning and effect of gender in their pursu it of self-identity and career development. Developmental differences showed in the story themes and emotions used in the stories. It was delightful to find that the percentage of positive emotions increased in gifted students’ writings, from elementary to high school. However, the increasing percentage of ‘Sadness’ and the decreasing percentage of ‘Anger’ might imply that the negative emotions of gifted adolescent are hidden. Parents and teachers need to be more sensitive to the signals of student maladjustment.