Should we continue to use the term gifted ?A history of a review process (original) (raw)

Should we continue to use the term “giftedness”?

Australasian Journal of Gifted Education

For many years there has been ongoing, lively debate about the use of the term "gifted" when referring to able, talented, and creative students, or students who have the potential to achieve at a high level. Pro-giftedness supporters who use the term appear to lean on the fact that the term "gifted" has been successfully used for many decades, and no other better-accepted term exists or has been suggested as a replacement. The anti-giftedness researchers, psychologists and educators point to the implicit inequity of "giftedness", and their belief that when some children and adolescents are labelled as "gifted", others might feel unable, potentially unsuccessful, and even compartmentalized. This article intends to summarize the main perspectives and determine for the pro-giftedness view.

Giftedness and Gifted Education

Gifted Child Quarterly, 2012

This commentary addresses Subotnik et al.’s target article from the perspective of researchers active in the field of giftedness. First, we self-critically examine the current standing of giftedness research within the scientific community. Second, the authors’ critique of gifted education is sharpened in three respects: (a) gifted identification, (b) effectiveness of gifted education, and (c) credentials of gifted education. Finally, four necessary and productive lines for future research are proposed.

Gifted education: changing conceptions, emphases and practice

International Studies in Sociology of Education, 2014

Gifted education is leading an interdisciplinary paradigm shift moving education out of its historic role of entrenching systemic inequities. It is a crucible for pioneering investigations of optimal human development and provides a vehicle for increasing social equity. We review changing conceptions of intelligence, motivation and creativity, and consider current findings on processes that affect the development of high ability. We discuss the role of context and neuroscience as they apply to understanding the development of giftedness. We describe changing emphases in gifted education, focusing on the shift from categorical homogeneity to developmental diversity, concluding that giftedness and talent are best understood as dynamic, fluid, domain-specific and context-sensitive processes. Finally, we consider implications for educational practice: How do these changes impact definition, prediction, identification, programming, psychosocial practices and teacher development, opening up opportunities for optimal learning, development and fulfillment across the population, and across the life span?

Is there still a need for gifted education? An examination of current research

Learning and Individual Differences, 2010

What recent research has been conducted about gifted and talented students and their learning experiences in school? As we complete the first decade of the new century we are entering a time when much attention is focused on remediation and test preparation; it only seems appropriate to reflect upon what has been learned about gifted education during the last few decades and consider the compelling evidence that may or may not support special services for gifted and talented. Consensus on which research themes and studies should be included in this type of examination would difficult to reach, but we have identified six important themes that are discussed in the article. This review of research strongly suggests that the need for gifted education programs remains critical during the current time period in American education when our nation's creative productivity is being challenged by European and Asian nations.

Toward A New Era of Gifted Education: Principles, Policies, and Strategies

Turkish Journal of Giftedness and Education, 2019

Gifted education as we know and practice is by and large the product of early 20th century. In this paper, I am arguing for a paradigm shift in gifted education to make it more responsive to the challenges of the 21st century, as well as new opportunities for optimal development of many children and adolescents, rather than exclusively focusing on the identified and selected few (often in a once-and-for-all fashion). This argument is based on the preponderance of evidence that human potential is widely distributed in a population, and highly pluralistic and dynamic, not amenable to a uniform formula that fits everyone into a Procrustean Bed of giftedness with the assumption of its homogeneity and permanence (Dai, 2016a). I elaborate on what it takes to make such a shift in terms of four W questions: What, Why, Who, and How. I argue that by envisioning a broader agenda of gifted education, gifted education can be made more equitable and productive. At the social and organizational le...

Giftedness and gifted education: A systematic literature review

The present study aims to discuss the state of the art inherent in pedagogicaldidactic research on the education of gifted students. To this end, a systematic review of scientific texts published between 2011 and 2021 was carried out. The present article is organized as follows: introduction to the topic; definition of the objectives, research questions, and methodological protocol; selection, evaluation, and synthesis of the abstract studies; discussion and evaluation of the results; and conclusions. Multiple tools for identifying the gifted students (for use by psychologists, pedagogists, educators, and teachers) emerge from the findings of the present study. The texts highlight numerous instructional and educational programming models for gifted students in all school grades. The main model is the SEM-(Schoolwide Enrichment Model). The present review shows a conspicuous production on gifted education, with the predominance of recently published articles (indicative of vivid interest in the topic) and of American origin. This geographic predominance, which does not cover the European and eastern parts of the world, may depend on the fact that the databases used [Scopus and Web of Science (WoS)] select results based on the use of English. This review reveals gaps and emerging trends in gifted education research, suggesting possibilities and future perspectives.

The Challenge of Providing Gifted Education

Global education review, 2017

Introduction to this special issue of Global Education Review that explores gifted education. Though there is a lack of universal consensus on a definition of giftedness there is some agreement that giftedness involves multiple qualities, not just intellectual ones. Gifted education programs vary both among and within countries and who is served in these programs depends largely on the definitions used. The topics explored in this issue include perceptions and policies of gifted education in cultures and countries across the globe; the presumed dichotomy of equity and excellence in countries as different in ideologies as the United States and China; underrepresentation of culturally diverse students, a problem that has plagued the field for decades; gifted education in rural communities; and using a virtual environment for students to pose and share mathematical problems.

Reconsidering General vis-à-vis Gifted Education: A Tentative Model of Equity and Excellence

Journal of Education and Human Development

For many years in the United States and some modernized and industrialized countries, the concepts of equity and excellence have been either at odds or overlapped, especially with respect to gifted and general education. The main purposes of this paper are: First, to examine the concept of equity-versus-excellence in education from a novel perspective; and second, to reconsider the conventional concept of general vis-à-vis gifted education. This paper argues that providing for the needs of gifted students by giving them the opportunity to pursue excellence is itself consistent with promoting educational equity. The paper then suggests a tentative new model of equity and excellence within the current education system by providing ideas and insights from a fresh point of view. It concludes with recommendations for schools and teachers to optimize the opportunity for students from diverse backgrounds, including the gifted, to achieve excellence without forgoing equity.

An introductory reading on giftedness in children: A report prepared as part of the NIAS Gifted Education Project (NIAS Report No. R15-13)

2013

Giftedness, or the existence of remarkable natural talents, is believed to occur once in every hundred individuals, and exceptional giftedness once in every ten thousand as per current definitions. The phenomenon of giftedness has caught the attention of psychologists, pedagogists, educationists, and neuroscientists, from the mid-19 th to the 20 th centuries. Giftedness research is the basis of various specially developed tests and programmes the world over. These tests and programmes are intended to identify gifted children and to encourage them to develop their talents and realise their potential, as well as to handle the social and emotional issues that may arise from their differentness. Giftedness has been defined in many ways, pointing to the complexities associated with its identification. Inevitably, special programmes for the gifted draw as much criticism as applause, triggering debates on elitism vs. equity in education. The present review of literature of giftedness research attempts to outline the phenomenon of giftedness in children in its various manifestations, the methods of evaluation and tests in current use, the need for gifted programmes and their efficacy, the developmental trajectory of giftedness, the social and emotional issues accompanying giftedness, and the impact of the socio-cultural environment, educational intervention options for gifted children are also discussed.