The linguistic advantage of the intellectually gifted child: An empirical study of spontaneous speech

This study compares the linguistic development of a gifted bilingual child from birth to 7 with that of subjects in first language acquisition research. The aspects analyzed are phonology, morphology (word formation), lexicon, modality (encoding of speaker's attitude towards the truthfulness of a proposition), syntax (sentence construction), semantic and syntactic logic, metaphoric use, ambiguity, humor, and social competence. The comparison shows not only the gifted child's acceleration through the normal course of development, but also subversion of that path. This article, in presenting linguistic evidence that offers insight on cognitive and psychosocial development, raises questions about the established idea of domain specificity and the intelligence/creativity dichotomy. As a first project of its kind ‐ a longitudinal study of spontaneous speech ‐the findings here suggest that investigation of performance in real time can help provide a fuller picture of how the gifted mind is truly exceptional.     

Sensitivity: A double‐edged sword for the pre‐adolescent and adolescent gifted child

This article addresses the often‐observed sensitive nature displayed by gifted children and the effects this sensitivity can have on the child, particularly during the pre‐adolescent and the adolescent periods. This issue is explored through an analysis of the works and life experiences of Geoffrey, aged 9, a prolific writer since the age of 5 years. His exceptional sensitivity is clearly evident through his writings, and the effects this awareness and emotionality have on his life are manifested in accounts of his home and school experiences. Implications for the education of individuals like Geoffrey are discussed, placing emphasis on support of the child's heightened sensitivity rather than on curricula learned or talents exhibited. Special consideration is given to the middle school years when pre‐adolescent and adolescent behavior can significantly affect gifted individuals.     

Students Promoted Despite Test Failure

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) dictates students in Grades 3, 5, and 8 pass state tests to be promoted. Accordingly, most state education codes require students to pass reading and math exams for promotion. The majority of those who fail, however, appear to be promoted anyway. This article addresses core questions concerning the paradigm under which NCLB operates, what it means to promote or retain a student, and the consequences of these actions.     

Clinician–Researcher in Pediatric Cardiology: An Exploration of Domain-Specific Expertise—An Interview With Adam Dorfman

This article examines Broadley v. Board of Education of the City of Meriden (1994) wherein the Supreme Court of Connecticut held that the state constitutional right to a free public education does not afford gifted children the right to special education. Broadley is the focal point because it can serve as the fulcrum in the on‐going national debate on the future of gifted education’. After a review of the facts and reasoning in Broadley, the article discusses implications and recommendations to better inform educators, policy makers, and other stakeholders on the status of gifted education in light of the court's narrow‐sighted ruling.     

A legacy of promise: Reflections,suggestions, and directions from contemporary leaders in the field of gifted education

Abstract

Six contemporary leaders from the field of gifted education responded to questions concerning past, present, and future issues surrounding the education of gifted and talented youth. This report was designed to provide expert perspectives on (a) the accomplishments of gifted education, (b) core non‐negotiables about educating gifted children that all teachers should know, and (c) future challenges and directions for this field of study and practice. Qualitative analysis of the responses yielded core themes in each of the major areas, which are reported with summaries of responses and quotes from each respondent.     

Evaluating state funding for gifted education programs

As a follow‐up to a previous article in which Baker and Friedman‐Nimz (2002a) recommended that gifted education advocates should focus on improving state funding of gifted education, this article provides an overview of state school finance policies for gifted education and frameworks for evaluating those policies. The frameworks are then applied for evaluating state school finance policies as of 1998–99 and state aid allocated to local districts for gifted education in 2000. In that year, only Florida provided both sufficient and equitable support for gifted education, assuming general education conditions to be adequate as well as equitable in that state. Gifted education funding in Virginia, while less adequate than supplemental funding in Florida, continues to be a model of equitable distribution.     

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.     

Rocky Jones: Case study of a high‐achieving black male's motivation to participate in gifted classes

An increased body of research on the recruitment and retention of Black students in gifted programs provides guidance for educators to understand factors that impact Black male under representation in gifted programs. A common concern among high school educators is that schools cannot keep Black males interested in gifted programs. Even in culturally diverse high schools, gifted Black males often do not want to take advanced level classes because they are accused by peers of “acting White”. This case study reveals that while rare, it is not impossible. This article uses a Participation Motivation Expectancy‐Value Model (PMEVM) to explain the motivation of Rocky Jones, a gifted Black male, and his choice to participate in his school's gifted program. Findings from interview and archival data are reported that inform Rocky's participation choice, and implications are drawn to enhance teachers’ efforts to increase Black males’ motivation and representation in gifted education.     

The Anti-Black Order of No Child Left Behind: Using Lacanian psychoanalysis and critical race theory to examine NCLB

During a period in which institutions have been refashioned to meet the demands of a complex social and political economy, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has helped to alter the public educational system. As scholars and researchers examine the material effects of NCLB, efforts to improve the educational system and its effects must also explore the relationship between policy and racial ideologies including discursive fantasies. This article examines the relationship between NCLB and racial fantasies of Black youth as problematic others in order to help education reform scholarship and advocacy examine the violence of NCLB.     

State laws for gifted education: An overview of the legislation and regulations

To fill a gap in the literature, this article provides a comprehensive, concise, and current overview of the state laws‐specifically, statutes and regulations‐concerning gifted education for K‐12 students. The models for these laws form two broad categories. The first model is premised on a group orientation, whether on a permissive or mandatory basis. The vast majority of state statutes and regulations for gifted education fits in this category. The features are limited to state‐ and local‐level responsibilities for group programming. The second category, analogous to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and only proposed in the literature for the federal level, is mandatory and individually oriented. It includes the additional distinctive features of an individualized program requirement and an impartial dispute‐resolution mechanism. The second model may yield case law to fill in the gaps, but the equally potential tradeoffs include adversarial relationships between, and high transaction costs for, parents and districts. Thus far, only a handful of states have chosen this model, usually with partial differentiation from the framework for students with disabilities. This article identifies the prevailing categorical trends and the remarkable variations. It also points out the policy choices for states.     

Books in brief

This investigation examines the use of the MPAA television advisory ratings in the decision‐making of parents of intellectually gifted children and explores the manner by which ratings information is incorporated into rules and regulations about television in the home. It comes on the heels of published reports suggesting the general inadequacy and counter productivity of the age‐based ratings. In comparison to parents of non‐gifted children, parents of gifted children were more likely to utilize TV ratings information in the mediation of their children's televiewing. They tended to employ a highly inductive (communication‐oriented) style of child rearing and a highly evaluative (discussion‐based) method of TV mediation, tended to believe that television can have significant positive and/or negative effects on children, and were more concerned with cognitive‐ and affective‐level effects. The possible ramifications of these findings with regard to the new content‐driven ratings campaign and forthcoming V‐chip technology are discussed.     

Reflective thinking and education for the gifted

Using the questions posed by a gifted twelfth grade girl during on American History class, this article defines the nature of reflective thinking as a search for meaning that involves both imaginative as well as critical, logical thought processes. Such thinking is essentially poetic in nature. The author concludes by drawing implications for the education of gifted persons.     

The classroom as laboratory: An exploration of teacher research

The field of education, including gifted education, suffers from a communication breakdown between classroom‐based practitioners and university‐based researchers. Research results often do not make it to the classroom where they can improve practice. This article reviews the literature regarding teacher‐performed research and argues that equipping teachers to perform their own research either individually or in collaboration with university researchers is one way to enrich teachers’ knowledge and improve classroom practice.     

My Journey With Annemarie Roeper: Lessons Learned Along the Way

For over 70 years Annemarie Roeper was able to breathe new life into many aspects of giftedness and gifted education. Capturing the magic of such a charismatic and visionary leader is a challenge. However, stories and storytelling provide a pathway into the narrative of Annemarie’s life as it evolved from young adulthood to elderhood. This article provides the lessons learned during a long-standing friendship and insights into her multidimensional personality.     

From the editor's desk

The scarcity of racially and culturally diverse teachers remains a major issue in education nationally, particularly given projections which indicate that the representation of minority teachers is declining while the number of minority students is increasing¹. The number of minority teachers in gifted programs, however, has received little attention in the literature. Accordingly, this article provides data on the under‐representation of Black and other minority teachers in education, explores personal and professional barriers to their representation, and provides recommendations for the recruitment and retention of minority teachers in gifted education. Owing to the limited information available on minority teachers in gifted education, the authors reason by analogy in order to draw implications from the general education literature and apply them to gifted education. Similarly, since the majority of research and writing have focused on Black teachers, we use Black teachers more often as a case in point, and draw implications for other teachers of color.     

Towards a systemic theory of gifted education

In this target article, we argue that current approaches to gifted education are based on the erroneous view that to understand the development of exceptionality we need to understand firstly the components of giftedness, including cognitive such as intelligence and non-cognitive factors such as motivation. In contrast, systemic approaches to understanding exceptionality focuses on the interactions of these components where it is important to firstly understand the system that leads to exceptionality before it is possible to understand its components. After analyzing the weaknesses of current approaches to gifted education we then present three central arguments for the need for a paradigm shift. This is followed by an introduction of constructs of a systemic approach of gifted education. Using the Actiotope Model of Giftedness to understand the development of exceptionality, this article describes the basic principles of a gifted education that is based on this systemic approach.     

从国外特教对象的演变看我国特殊教育的改革

近代世界特殊教育经历了从思想到实践的过程;中国特殊教育经历了从照搬到创新的过程.特殊教育对象也在不断分化,最终形成了特殊需要儿童的概念,这就要求实施全纳教育,满足所有儿童的教育需要.当代特殊教育对象演变趋势表现为以学习障碍儿童教育为重点;重视超常儿童教育;加强生计教育;促进终身教育体系的完善;开展全方位的一体化教育服务.通过对特殊教育对象演变的分析,对中国特殊教育改革的启示为努力扩大特殊教育对象;贯彻因材施教原则;提供生计教育;进一步发展超常儿童教育;正确认识一体化项目中的特殊儿童;改革师资培训制度;做好特殊儿童家长工作.     

Adventurous Navigator of the Dimensions of High Ability: An Interview with Robert J. Sternberg

Numerous resources in book form, both fiction and nonfiction, are available to assist gifted youngsters in pursuing their interests. There are books to help students explore an identified interest with greater depth and breadth, as well as to stimulate new interests. For youngsters who are already in the process of an in‐depth investigation, there are references and indexes and how‐to‐do‐it books to give assistance in skills areas. The books reviewed in this article are identified in terms of a specific conceptual model for gifted education, the Enrichment Triad Model (Renzulli, 1977), but the materials could be used in any program which focuses on the encouragement and development of students’ interests.