The Finnish public discussion of giftedness and gifted children

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of research in which the Finnish public discussion of giftedness and gifted children, and conceptions of giftedness and gifted children presented in it, were examined. The research was conducted by analyzing articles from the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and the teachers’ periodical Opettaja, using the content analysis method. The results show that giftedness is seen as multidimensional, and both intrapersonal and environmental contributions are recognized as essential in talent development. The conceptions of gifted children were quite diverse, and gifted children’s possible problems were frequently discussed. Moreover, misunderstandings were revealed as well as areas that have not been adequately addressed.     

Cognitive development of intellectually gifted: A Piagetian perspective

This article explores some of the materials prepared for parents of gifted children and examines the explanatory language and concepts used in terms of their potential for shaping parental attitudes and affecting the adjustment of gifted children. The author argues that the conceptual frameworks used to explain giftedness, nongiftedness and the nature of differences have powerful effects on societal and educational attitudes, including the willingness to provide differentiated services for gifted children. A strong plea is made for professional sensitivity and responsibility in describing giftedness in ways that do not isolate gifted children or their parents and which potentiate shared advocacy with other educational advocacy groups.     

Education and Counseling of the Gifted and Talented in Germany

One of the principle reasons responsible for the fact that nurturing the gifted and talented in Germany has (once again) advanced to a pedagogic concern in the 1990’s lies in the dichotomy of equality and excellence. Are these two pedagogic goals actually incompatible, as often maintained in open discussions? After a long period of oscillation between these two poles, in the age of information a new emphasis has increasingly been placed on excellence. “It becomes more and more important for bright students to be using their abilities to stimulate this new era with economic and political productivity. But this will not happen if the current ‘laissez faire’ approach to gifted students continues into the next decade”(Gallagher, 2000, p. 691). Following a short definition of giftedness and related conceptions, arguments for gifted education stemming from the areas of learning psychology and instructional psychology will be discussed. The central problems concerning identification and programming will then be addressed in greater detail. Hypotheses will be developed, on the basis of the ATI model that gifted students need creative, stimulating learning environments. Various approaches will be presented here and discussed in the context of TIMSS and PISA. The second part of the article will deal with guidance and counseling issues with respect to the special needs of gifted children and adolescents and their social contact persons (peers, parents, teachers). In conclusion, German program evaluation, studies in the fields of gifted education, counseling and nurturing giftedness and talent will be presented. The outcomes of these studies and their consequences for improvements for the quality of gifted and talented education and counseling in Germany will be discussed. Excellence is one of the most important educational-psychological challenges of the new century.     

The construct of asynchronous development

The construct of giftedness as asynchrony has a strong theoretical foundation in the works of Hollingworth, Terrassier, Dabrowski, and Vygotsky. It is a child-centered perspective that can guide parenting, teaching, and counseling of gifted children. Asynchrony comprises uneven development, complexity, intensity, heightened awareness, risk of social alienation, and vulnerability. It is not a source of envy any more than its mirror image, retardation. When giftedness is equated with potential for success in adult life, it engenders backlash from those who believe that they are denied equal opportunity in the competition for fame and fortune. Asynchrony is not a competitive concept: More asynchrony is not better. Giftedness as asynchrony offers both an understanding of the inner experience of gifted individuals throughout the life span and a sound framework for responding to the developmental differences of this group.     

TASK ANALYSIS: BULIDING MODELS OF CHANGE PROCESSES IN GIFTED EDUCATION

Researchers in the field of gifted education are becoming increasingly aware that a variety of research approaches can make contributions to research on giftedness. This paper describes task analysis, a research methodology derived from counseling process research. Task analysis appears to be a useful research approach for building theoretical models of how therapeutic and educational interventions can facilitate positive changes in gifted children. The paper traces the historical development of task analysis methodology, describes the steps involved in conducting a rational‐empirical task analysis of change processes, and provides an example of how task analysis methodology might be applied to investigations of change processes in the field of gifted education.     

Cognitive Development in Gifted Children: Toward a More Precise Understanding of Emerging Differences in Intelligence

To truly understand gifted performance, it is necessary to merge research on giftedness with current thinking in cognitive development and intelligence. This article presents traditional research on gifted children's cognitive development then considers how the application of newer models and theories from the field of cognitive development can be combined with research on giftedness to change the way people think about gifted performance. First four factors that have often been associated with giftedness are discussed from the perspectives of cognitive developmental psychology and gifted education. Next, emphasis is placed on investigating the strategic development of gifted children. Specifically, R. S. Siegler's (Emerging Minds: The Process of Change in Children's Thinking, Oxford University Press, New York, 1996) model of strategy development is addressed in terms of what it may contribute to understanding gifted cognition. Finally, future lines of research using models from cognitive development and complex systems models of development are recommended.     

Assessing and accessing high human potential: A brief history of giftedness and what it means to school psychologists

The history of giftedness pertains to historical changes regarding how giftedness is conceptualized and defined, and how it serves the practical purpose of identifying gifted children and providing them an appropriate education. The past century has witnessed debates and controversies about what constitutes this elusive human quality we deem “gifted.” Overall, it has undergone significant changes from monolithic, static to more pluralistic, dynamic conceptions. The first part of this article delineates historical changes in the past 100 years in our understanding of the nature and development of giftedness, followed by the second part on the changing ways we define, assess, and identify gifted children or gifted potential for intervention purposes. The final part of this article depicts a broad trend toward expanding gifted education to a wider range of students, with the understanding that gifts and talents are widely distributed in student populations, and the deliberate cultivation of human potential should not be confined to a selected few.     

Characteristics of gifted and talented children and problems of identification by teachers and parents

The ability to recognise the characteristics of giftedness and talentedness in children is a critical skill in the identification effort especially as the literature is replete with varying notions of what it means to be gifted and talented. The present paper reviews several definitions of giftedness and concludes that any definition that should guide identification activities must emphasise the multidimensional nature of the concept. The characteristics of gifted children are enumerated and stated in a manner that parents and teachers who have the earliest responsibilities in the identification process may have observable behavioural indices to inform referral. Finally, the paper identifies some of the practical issues in the identification of the gifted and talented.     

Parent's views on education for the gifted

A survey was sent to parents of children enrolled in two public and three private school programs for the gifted to ascertain their educational philosophical positions and conceptions of giftedness. In general, the results showed that the parents preferred an eclectic, child‐centered instructional approach. Their conception of gifted intelligence was broad and complex, integrating many aspects of creativity, motivation, and mental power (IQ).     

Communicating Love or Fear: The Role of Attachment Styles in Pathways to Giftedness

Although both giftedness and secure attachment are associated with advanced language and good socioemotional adjustment, not all gifted children are well adjusted. This article explores the consequences of attachment style on gifted development and examines whether early trauma can be rectified. The dearth of research on giftedness and attachment has necessitated the review of less direct evidence, including brain research and maternal depression. A partly empirical, partly conceptual picture is drawn to demonstrate that attachment styles can support, reduce, and even prevent giftedness. This is further illustrated by an experiment involving IQ scores that mimics the expected effects of early trauma and insecure attachment on test performance. The article concludes by suggesting that attachment style may contribute to a gifted spectrum.     

Implementing Resilience Recommendations for Policies and Practices in Gifted Curriculum

This article explores how resilience draws upon positive individual, social, contextual, and cultural variables and buffers gifted children from the harmful impact of their psychosocial and emotional needs. Its purpose is to consider building resilience in gifted children and advocating the resilience curriculum requirement for their unique social and emotional development. Based on resilience theory, recommended policies and practices are categorized as program design, curriculum planning, educators’ capacity and continuum of gifted supports, programs, and services. This resilience framework for meeting their best interests is rethought to allow a greater opportunity for growth of innovation and change of curriculum to reflect recent trends in the field. If gifted children are to achieve their academic potential, social and emotional aspects of giftedness must be recognized and developed, because excelling in one academic area requires thriving in others.     

What characterizes children nominated as gifted by teachers? A closer consideration of working memory and intelligence

Teacher nominations are often used in school settings to identify gifted children. However, although high intelligence is part of almost all definitions of giftedness, prior research has consistently shown that not all children nominated as gifted by teachers have high intelligence. In order to further understand the characteristics of these students, we herein explore the role of another cognitive construct, namely working memory (WM). In a sample comprising N = 81 fourth graders, both WM and intelligence showed the same predictive value for characterizing teacher-nominated gifted children, pointing to the importance of the thus-far-unattended WM for characterizing these students.     

Labels of giftedness and gender-typicality: Effects on adults' judgments of children's traits

The study examines the impressions adults form of children as a function of labels of giftedness and gender-typicality. Participants read about a child described as male/female, “gifted”/“average,” and gender-typical/gender-atypical in academic interests; they then responded on 30 adjective scales. Compared with children labeled “average,” children labeled “gifted” are seen as closer to odd than to fits in well. Gender-atypical boys were considered more odd and gender-atypical girls were rated less odd than were gender-typical children, regardless of giftedness. There was no additive negative effect of being both gifted and gender-atypical. Basically, participants described gifted and gender-atypical children differently; some overlap exists between adjectives used to describe these children (e.g., odd). Giftedness and gender-atypicality are related but separate concepts, each with many facets. The interrelationships and diversity of the two concepts must be assessed when individuals consider the impression that gifted or gender-atypical children make on others.     

Identifying and Nurturing Gifted Children in Israel

The article describes Israel’s approach to the education of gifted and talented children. It describes the programs for gifted and talented children in Israel and the process for selecting students for these programs. The method of selecting students for programs is consistent with the Ministry of Education’s definition of giftedness, the goals of the giftedness programs, and the characteristics of these programs. The selection method is affected by the standards required of the instruments as well as other constraints, such as the constraints on funding for this purpose.The author of this article is the director of the Szold Institute program for identifying gifted children. The project is funded by the Israeli Ministry of Education     

Providing medical evaluations for possible child maltreatment to children with special health care needs

OBJECTIVE: Children with special health care needs are known to be at increased risk of all forms of child maltreatment when compared to children without such needs. We describe a health care team's experience providing medical evaluations for suspected child maltreatment to children with special health care needs. METHOD: Consecutive cases seen as outpatients in the Abuse Referral Clinic for Children with Disabilities were abstracted and analyzed. Mail and telephone follow-up contact was attempted after the medical evaluation to determine adherence with treatment recommendations. A subsample of cases for which complete financial information was available was reviewed to determine a reimbursement rate. RESULTS: During the study, 49 children received complete outpatient evaluations. Ages ranged from 3 to 16 years old, and 54% were males. Special needs spanned a wide range of physical, developmental/cognitive and behavioral conditions. The largest number of referrals came from child protective services (42%) followed by referrals from physicians (27%). After the team's comprehensive evaluation, 18% of the children were found to have a history or physical examination that was diagnostic for child maltreatment, 13% were thought to be at high risk, 25% were thought to be at low risk and 44% were thought to have non-abusive etiologies. The collection rate was 14% for an average reimbursement of $38 per case. Only 29 caregivers could be found at follow-up and 22 remembered the recommendations made by the team. Of the 25 cases that were referred for outpatient mental health counseling, 12 (48%) complied. CONCLUSION: Children with a wide range of special health care needs were evaluated in an outpatient special health care needs clinic that offered comprehensive medical evaluations for possible child maltreatment. Medical evaluation services for this group of children were poorly reimbursed. Mental health services were frequently recommended but often not accessed. Child maltreatment teams seeking to serve children with special health care needs will need to plan for service delivery to a potentially diverse group of children and families who may experience difficulty in carrying through on the team's treatment recommendations.     

Families with Gifted Adolescents

Studies of families with gifted adolescents have revealed conflicting results. Adolescents, mothers, and fathers of 84 families with a gifted adolescent and of 95 families with a non‐gifted adolescent evaluated their family system independently. Dependent variables were cohesion, democratic family style (adaptability), organisation, achievement orientation, communication, and intellectual‐cultural orientation. Neither statistically nor practically significant relationships between giftedness and family system variables could be observed from the perspectives of the adolescents, the mothers, or the fathers. Contradictory results from other studies can be primarily attributed to their methodological shortcomings, labelling effects, or both. The mean inter‐rater agreement was r = .46 for mothers and fathers, r = .38 for adolescents and mothers, and r = .35 for adolescents and fathers.     

The Cluster Grouping Handbook: How to Challenge Gifted Students and Improve Achievement for All. Winebrenner,S., & Brulles,D. (2008)

After over two decades of discussions regarding the identification of giftedness among non‐traditional populations in the United States, the issues remain the same. Many students continue to be under represented in programs for the gifted because of traditional assessment instruments used to identify gifted students. Moreover, the sociocultural influences on giftedness still have not been integrated into the identifying process. This article presents the efforts of a project responding to the need for culturally relevant alternatives to present assessment practices in the identification of giftedness among the rural Mexican American population in the southwest United States.     

EXCELLENCE AND EQUALITY IN EDUCATION: CONFLICTING VALUES IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY

Three factors have traditionally prompted a large section of the population to oppose the idea of special support for the development of excellence: the view that intellectual giftedness depends on innate dispositions and can manifest itself under any educational and environmental conditions; the feeling of injustice connected with the perceived superiority of gifted people; the perception of special education for the gifted as a threat to ordinary people and/or to democracy. In contrast, more recent perception of the faults of an educational orientation inspired by the above prejudices and a decline in egalitarian ideology have combined to open new perspectives on better educational support for the gifted, although agreement on the means of support is often lacking. There is a strong connection between the underlying principles of a democratic society and the conditions which foster giftedness and creativity. However, the development of creativity and giftedness should not entail the separation of the gifted from others during the school years, because such separation would damage both social development in general and the specific moral development of the gifted, and would prevent acceptance of the gifted by others and by society.     

有关天才儿童的定义的研究综述

本研究旨在总结国内外学者关于超常儿童定义的一些研究成果。本文从探讨超常儿童的名称入手 ,以纵向和横向两个角度 ,对超常儿童的定义进行了归类和分析。从纵向角度 ,主要是分析了超常儿童定义的发展 ,从单纯的智商定义到现在的多元智能。从横向角度 ,主要根据定义的出发点和定义取向 ,将超常儿童的定义进行了简单分类。