Gifted education policy and advocacy: Perspectives for school psychologists

Education laws and policies serve to guide the way programs and services are implemented in schools. The transition from law or policy to implementation can be fraught with complications that impact the education system across many levels. According to Viennet and Pont (2017), one of the areas that can either hinder or support the transition from policy to practice is “inclusive stakeholder engagement” (p. 3). School psychologists are an important stakeholder in the education system thus they should have familiarity with gifted education policy to ensure students are being served appropriately—both academically and socio-emotionally. This article will introduce school psychologists to (a) federal and state laws impacting gifted students, (b) the role litigation, due process, and research has in shaping policy, and (c) relevant gifted education policy considerations.     

Depth psychology and giftedness: Bringing soul to the field of talent development and giftedness

While the field of gifted education has relied on educational, cognitive, counseling, behavioral, developmental, and social psychology, the domain of depth psychology offers special insights into giftedness, especially with regard to individuation. The notion of passion, or the thorn (J. S. Piirto, 1999, 2002), the incurable mad spot (F. C. Reynolds 1997, 2001), the acorn (J. Hillman, 1996, 1999), the daimon (C. G. Jung, 1965); the importance of integration through the arts and through dreams; the existence of the collective unconscious; the presence of archetypes; and the transcendent psyche—all have resonance with the binary etymological idea of “gift” as both blessing and poison. Depth psychology offers a way of understanding that is physical, psychological, and spiritual.     

Patterns of giftedness: A triarchic analysis

This article presents an analysis of patterns of giftedness based on the triarchic theory of intelligence. The analysis distinguishes among seven different patterns of giftedness, each involving a different combination of analytical, creative, and practical abilities. The seven patterns are the Analyzer, the Creator, the Practitioner, the Analytical Creator, the Analytical Practitioner, the Creative Practitioner, and the Consummate Balancer. Examples are given of each pattern and the strengths and weaknesses of each pattern are discussed.     

Curriculum and instruction for the gifted: The role of school psychologists

This paper explores the school psychologist's role in the academic and psychosocial development of students identified as gifted and talented via curriculum. Given the school psychologists' assessment expertize, they can inform the identification to service placement process for students, including advocacy for curricular and instructional opportunities that best meet the student's needs. We discuss modern conceptualizations of giftedness and talent development, the function of curriculum and instruction in meeting the needs of students who are gifted and the school psychologist's role in identifying which curricular adaptations are appropriate for students based on learner data. We also discuss how a school psychologist can work with educators to support the needs of twice exceptional learners and gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning students and recommend professional learning opportunities for school psychologists to remain abreast of current issues in gifted education.     

The possibility of misdiagnosis of giftedness and ADHD still exists: A response to Mika

In a previous article, we provided a review of the literature pertaining to the potential misdilagnosis of giftedness as ADHD, as well as a small‐scale study to illustrate this potential misdiagnosis. In this issue of Roeper Review, Mika provides several criticisms of that paper. In this article, we provide responses to her arguments by discussing the “symptoms” of giftedness; the relationship between ADHD, giftedness, and overexcitabilities; and the diagnosis of ADHD.     

Supporting the career development of gifted students: New role and function for school psychologists

The American ethos that you can be whatever you want to be has not always been a helpful adage for gifted students. Gifted students require career counseling to understand the world of work, and to identify their interests and values in addition to their already-identified talents. Academic planning and career development for gifted students is an important and complex process that requires thoughtful consideration. School psychologists have the skills and abilities to provide valuable career development services to gifted students. The authors explore the unique challenges and career development needs of gifted students and provide suggestions for interventions.     

First-generation students: what we ask,what we know and what it means: an international review of the state of research

In the course of educational expansion, student populations have become more diverse. This paper represents an international literature review on the topic of first-generation students (FGS), i.e. students whose parents have not obtained a higher education qualification. On the basis of more than 70 research articles and reports on FGS from several countries, we find that the focal points in FGS research concern their pre-college characteristics, mobility factors, decisions about institution, degree and subjects, FGS’ experiences at university, and academic outcomes. Summarising the state of research on these topics, we point to two problems: (1) the international incommensurability of data on FGS due to differences in how FGS are defined and researched; (2) the depiction of FGS’ problems as individual rather than structural problems. We recommend that structural changes such as making organisational structures in higher education institutions more transparent are in order instead of offering special support programmes only for FGS.     

Developing an appreciation of what it means to be a school-based teacher educator

The nature of partnership between schools and higher education institutions is changing in many countries, with experienced teachers taking on more responsibility for teacher education whilst remaining in their school as teachers, rather than entering the higher education sector to become teacher educators. This research considers the perspectives of these school-based teacher educators (SBTEs) in England, exploring the impact that this role has on them, their student-teachers and their schools. Some benefits and challenges that they face in the dual role of teacher and teacher educator are revealed. The research takes an interpretive perspective, listening to the meanings being constructed by the participants through use of a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and a focus group of student-teachers who learned from these SBTEs. Possible impacts on student-teachers’ learning and implications for the development of high-quality teacher education are examined.     

Chaos in the classroom: Exposing gifted elementary school children to chaos and fractals

A unit of study for gifted 4th and 5th graders is described on the subject of mathematical periodicity and chaos and the underlying physical processes which produce these phenomena. A variety of hands-on experiments and the use of various data analysis tools and computer aids provide students with powerful raw material for their analysis, interpretation, and understanding. The concepts of simple periodic motion (e.g., a pendulum), complex superposition of motions (e.g., the vibrations in musical instruments), and chaotic sequences (e.g., stock prices) are covered, with numerous practical examples. Opportunities to involve related activities emphasizing language arts, history, and graphic art are included. The student response to the material is documented.     

Fitting the school to the child: The mission of Leta Stetter Hollingworth,founder of gifted education

We are fond of stating that “what is valued and viewed as gifted in one culture may not be considered gifted in another culture.” This assertion appears in gifted education textbooks and in the writings of several scholars. However, beyond stating this assertion and providing a few examples to support it, scholars in gifted education, ourselves included, have not provided a substantive treatment of the concept of “culture” in their works. This void is addressed in this article where we share definitions and functions of culture, along with a theoretical model for understanding culture. The article ends with implications for gifted education.     

Redefining what it means to be a teacher through professional standards: implications for continuing teacher education

This article connects with an international debate around the place of professional standards in educational policy targeted at enhancing teacher quality, with associated implications for continuing teacher education. Scotland provides a fertile context for discussion, having developed sets of professional standards in response to a recent national review of career-long teacher education. That review called for a reprofessionalisation of the teaching profession and the revision of the standards was an element of this process. Scotland is utilised as a lens through which one country’s response to international trends is viewed, with a focus on ‘teacher leadership’ and ‘practitioner enquiry’ as policy endorsed sets of practices. The analysis demonstrates the complex and contested nature of these terms and the tensions posed between the need to meet professional standards as part of teacher education and aspirational dimensions of the current policy project of reprofessionalisation. The article concludes by considering the implications for continuing teacher education.     

Artistic Ways of Knowing in Gifted Education: Encouraging Every Student to Think Like an Artist

After decades of fluctuating presence in gifted education, the arts are surprisingly establishing themselves in academic classrooms, spurred by arts integration with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curricula or science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM). This renewed interest provides the opportunity to recognize the artistic process as an effective way to deepen and enlarge the scope of academic content. Teachers can readily identify potentially talented students in their classrooms who immerse themselves in arts activities. Students in every classroom, if provided with substantive arts integrated curricula, can learn to perceive with discrimination, metaperceptively mold creative interpretations, and communicate these performances/products expressively to others with insightful critiques. Artistic ways of knowing mirror the artistic process and provide the opportunity for every student in every classroom to think like an artist.     

Elaborating pedagogical content knowledge: what it means to know students and think about teaching

The purpose of this study was to examine how a teacher understood her students and then thought and made decisions about content, curriculum and pedagogy. Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and Deweyan philosophies of experience and education provided the theoretical frameworks. Data were collected through observations (N?=?38) and interviews (N?=?38) over four months and analysed using constant comparison. Findings indicated that this teacher possessed a broad repertoire of knowledge about students that she used to think and make decisions about content, curriculum and pedagogy. The connections between knowing students and thinking about teaching were more sophisticated and interconnected than is typically recognized or articulated in teacher knowledge literature. Three themes are used to explain how this teacher understood her students’ emotional and social lives in and out of her classroom, and ways it influenced her thinking and teaching. The discussion centers on the need for more comprehensive analyses of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge.     

The identification of able socially deprived pupils: LEA advice to primary schools

This article examines the advice that local education authorities (LEAs) in England and Wales give to primary schools on the identification of able socially deprived pupils. The research described here is situated within the context of the theoretical literature and central government policy regarding these children. It is noted that identification of able pupils has become more inclusive, although limited research has been undertaken on socially deprived able pupils. The role of central government in supporting these pupils through flagship initiatives such as Excellence in Cities is then analysed and the identification advice that LEAs provide to primary schools is examined. It was found that, whilst LEAs provide systematic and inclusive identification advice, the identification of able socially deprived pupils is only tangentially addressed. The problems associated with the use of checklists by LEAs are examined and the implications of the research are discussed.     

The educational cost of philosophical suicide: What it means to be lucid

The struggle to become lucid is at the heart of The Myth of Sisyphus. To understand the absurd is to understand that the fit between our conception of the world and the world itself is fraught with uncertainty; lucidity is the elucidation of the absurd. To be lucid is to revolt against the type of certainty that leads to suffering; to revolt against philosophical suicide. Camus teaches us the intellectual humility that stays hands; there is no reasoning that justifies suffering. If it is granted that the ability to recognise and respond to our own and others suffering is an important part of being human, and the task of education is to develop humans, then lucidity, in so far as it holds promise for the development of such an ability, has the potential to contribute positively to education.     

Case studies of gifted kindergarten children part II: The parents and teachers

Early life experiences can powerfully impact attitudes toward learning and later achievements in education. The chances for optimal development of children with special needs, including the gifted and talented, can be enhanced with identification and intervention at an early age. This paper reports on investigations into the lives of five gifted kindergarten students utilizing a case‐study methodology, which yielded themes relating to intellectual, achievement, social, affective, physical, aesthetic, and creative domains (discussed in Part I, published in Roeper Review, volume 26, pp. 192‐207). This paper, Part II, will discuss parental and teacher influences.     

Culturally Relevant STEM Out-of-School Time: A Rationale to Support Gifted Girls of Color

Gifted girls of color represent a potentially untapped resource for increasing and sustaining a diverse science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. Girls of color possess unique mathematics and science gifts and talents that can remain unrealized if not addressed before middle school. Culturally responsive STEM out-of-school-time (OST) activities can be an effective means to develop STEM capacity in gifted girls of color. The researchers present three considerations to support the implementation of STEM OST. First, they offer a rationale for culturally relevant STEM enrichment activities for gifted girls of color. Next, the researchers consider how culturally relevant STEM OST activities can help to close the achievement gap. Finally, they explain how professional mentorship opportunities within OST activities can help gifted girls of color navigate the STEM pipeline.     

Wellbeing: How we make sense of it and what this means for teachers

In this paper, the authors discuss their grounded research carried out with teachers about the wellbeing of teachers. They explore the importance of making the concept of wellbeing more intimate and consider hedonic and eudaimonic ways of looking at wellbeing. They present a model of layered reflection which illuminates key factors that have an impact on the wellbeing of teachers.