![Photo of F. Richard Olenchak]( "Photo of F. Richard Olenchak")
Contact
Steven C. Beering Hall of
Liberal Arts and Education
100 N. University Street
West Lafayette
Indiana
47907-2098
BRNG 5108D
work
Phone: (765) 494-9170work
Email: olenchak@purdue.eduINTERNET
F. Richard Olenchak
Department Head & Professor
Educational Psychology & Research MethodologyEducational Studies
Using the psychological and educational research foundation underscoring the social and emotional aspects of gifted and talented individuals, my inquiry focuses on this population’s affective development and psychological uniqueness. Of particular interest are appropriate identification processes and accommodations for children and adolescents who have the potential for gifted behavior but who are not easily identified and seldom served educationally.
- Ph.D. — Educational Psychology, Giftedness and Talent Development, Special Education, University of Connecticut
- M.A. — Counseling Psychology, University of Florida (2012)
- B.A. — Political Science, Psychology, University of Michigan
My research concentrates on ways that parents and schools can unmask and develop potential in children and youth, and it embraces issues that serve to camouflage talents in young people, including concomitant attention, learning, and behavioral problems, as well as poverty and gender-based stereotypes. Viewing giftedness and talent less as a permanent set of traits and more as a collection of flexible behavioral characteristics, my research lends support to the notion that, while a certain degree of native potential is surely requisite, gifted-like behavior can be nurtured in many more individuals than has traditionally been believed.
Selected Publications
- Olenchak, F.R., Jacobs, L.T., Hussain, M., Lee, K., & Gaa, J.P. (in press). Giftedness plus talent plus disabilities: Twice exceptional persons, the 21st century, and lifespan development as viewed through an affective lens. In Ambrose, D., & Sternberg, R.J. (Eds.). Giftedness and talent in the 21st century: Adapting to the turbulence of globalization. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense.
- Webb, J.T., Amend, E.R., Webb, N.E., Goerss, J., Beljan, P., & Olenchak, F.R. (in press). Misdiagnosis and dual diagnoses of gifted children and adults: ADHD, bipolar, OCD, Asperger’s, depression, and other disorders (2nd ed.). Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press.
- Lee, K.M., & Olenchak, F.R. (2014). Individuals with a gifted/attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnosis: Identification, performance, outcomes, and interventions. Gifted Education International, 30, 1-15. Smith, B., Dempsey, A., Jackson, S., Olenchak, F.R., & Gaa, J.P. (2012). Cyberbullyingamong gifted children. Gifted Education International, 28, 112-126.
- Olenchak, F.R. (2010). Gifted education’s latest challenge: Social-emotional underachievement, a new glimpse at an old problem. In McFarlane, B., & Stambaugh, T. (Eds.), Leading change in gifted education. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.
- Olenchak, F.R., & Gaa, J.P. (2010). Jumping to conclusions or jumping for joy? Reframing teaching as the art of talent development. In Craig, C.J., & Deretchin, L.F. (Eds.), Cultivating curious and creative minds. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.
- Olenchak, F.R. (2009). Creating a life: Orchestrating a symphony of self, a work always in progress. In VanTassel-Baska, J.L., Cross, T.L., & Olenchak, F.R. (Eds.), Social-emotional curriculum with gifted and talented students. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.
- Cross, T.L., VanTassel-Baska, J.L., & Olenchak, F.R. (2009). Creating gifted lives. In VanTassel-Baska, J.L., Cross, T.L., & Olenchak, F.R. (Eds.), Social-emotional curriculum with gifted and talented students. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.
- VanTassel-Baska, J.L., Cross, T.L., & Olenchak, F.R. (Eds.), Social-emotional curriculum with gifted and talented students. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.
