Through the Dąbrowski lens: An analysis of preliminary findings for giftedness, empathy and academic self-concept in undergraduate health care students compared with related findings in grade 5/6 students

This presentation will share preliminary results from a PhD study at the School of Medicine, University of Tasmania. The study examines the place of gifted education pedagogy, specifically Dąbrowski’s Theory of Positive Disintegration, in clinical skills acquisition, focussing on the development of empathy, in undergraduate health care students. The study gathers quantitative information using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (an empathy scale) and the Self-Description Questionnaire III (academic self-concept scale) from undergraduate pharmacy, para-medicine and medicine students. The preliminary findings from this study will be presented and discussed with reference to the dynamisms of Syntony and Empathy as outlined within Dąbrowski’s Theory of Positive Disintegration.