Resolving Relative Underachievement Through an Achievement Motivation Intervention: A Single-Case Study

The effects of an affective intervention to resolve a gifted, Black seventh grade girl’s academic underachievement were investigated. The 12-year-old participant received the intervention 1 hour a week for six weeks. An explanatory mixed methods design, combining a single-case A-B design, an interrupted time series simulation, and inductive analysis of qualitative data, was used to examine how the intervention affected changes in the student’s achievement, achievement motivation, behavioral engagement in class, and attitudes toward school and teachers. Results showed a significant increase in behavioral engagement (d = 1.22, p < .001) and achievement during and after the intervention (SMD = 1.28). Academic self-concept (MD = 0.57) and attitudes toward school (MD = 1.00) improved, but attitudes toward teachers showed no change. Although goal valuation (MD = −0.67) and self-regulation (MD = −0.40) decreased, the student demonstrated increased awareness of self-regulation and goal setting strategies.