A validation study of the thinking styles inventory: Implications for gifted education

This study examined internal and external validity of the Thinking Styles Inventory (TSI) developed by Sternberg and Wagner (1991) within the framework of Sternberg's (1988) theory of mental self‐government. Participants were 96 adolescent students who were in a summer residential program at the time of testing. The results provide evidence of the external discriminant validity, but only lend partial support to the internal validity of the instrument, suggesting the need to theoretically clarify the relationships between and among posited thinking styles as well as empirically test the validity of these thinking styles measures. Implications of thinking styles for gifted education are discussed.     

Futures education for the gifted

Futures education is an important area for educators of the gifted who are interested in leadership potential for it develops those skills which students can use to meet the issues and challenges of today's and tomorrow's world.     

Examining the rationale for gifted education

The rationales underlying the enrichment and acceleration approaches to programming for the gifted are analyzed and compared. The focus is on how each approach views questions concerning who are the gifted and how they are best educated. Acceleration emphasizes development of specific cognitive abilities while enrichment is aimed at helping students with certain personality characteristics to organize their abilities into constructive and creative products. The Revolving Door Identification Model debate aired in an earlier issue of this journal is used to illustrate the differences that exist between proponents of enrichment and acceleration programming models.     

Values education for gifted adolescents

Teaching values should have an important place in the curriculum of gifted adolescents     

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).     

Learning theory and gifted education

Teachers need to know the psychology of meaningful learning to understand how gifted children learn.     

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.     

Providing for affective growth in gifted education

Efforts should be made to include specific affective growth objectives in curricula designed for the gifted.     

Ten suggestions for including gifted education in preservice teacher education

Abstract

New teachers have usually had little or no preparation for teaching the gifted students they will all encounter. Undergraduate education programs are crowded, and courses in special education do not usually focus on students who are academically advanced. The authors present ten suggestions for weaving information on gifted students into a variety of experiences, including other education courses, separate workshops or short courses, and opportunities outside the classroom. These suggestions can help prepare teachers for a type of diversity that is often overlooked.     

Policy and practice in gifted education

The main purpose of this study was to investigate how policy has become practice in the area of gifted education in the New South Wales government school system. In general, it was a heuristic study of the articulation of policy and practice. A conceptual framework applied to the policy process was used to consider the extent to which the policy intent was realised. At each level of the policy process perceptions and practice were revealed through interviews, documents, content analyses and, in addition, at the school level, through questionnaires as part of a case study approach. The study clarified and gave validity to general assumptions in the areas of policy-making and gifted education. Findings showed that providing for gifted and talented children was not a priority, was not systematic and was not routine. Specifics were lacking through the policy process, resulting in the ad hoc nature of provision for gifted children which varied according to individual initiatives. As the then Minister for Education saw it, the situation was ‘a pepper pot of exciting activities alongside inaction (Metherell 1989).     

A plan for child find in gifted education

Educators of children with special needs are required by law to employ “child find” to identify children with disabilities in their communities. Similar efforts to locate gifted children are required in a few states, but the practice is not mandated at the federal level. A rationale for child find is provided, as well as the guidelines of child find regarding locating gifted children among the states requiring this practice. Examples of current child find resources are provided, as well as implications for future research. Agencies that may participate in locating potentially gifted children are provided, along with suggested strategies for initiating a child find plan.     

Due process in gifted education

Twenty‐eight states and the District of Columbia currently provide due process for gifted students. When parents or administrators cannot settle a dispute at the local school board level, some states by law and/or regulation offer aggrieved parties the right to mediation or due process. Seven states reported holding 26 due process hearings during the years 1992–1995. This article examines these due process hearings describing the types of issues involved and the outcomes of the hearings. The authors report that disparate issues are handled in due process hearings, and they conclude that due process hearings are an inexpensive and relatively expeditious way to resolve disputes in gifted education in comparison to going to court.     

俄联邦支持天才儿童的教育

文章介绍了俄联邦支持天才儿童教育的情况 ,包括制定天才儿童教育纲要 ,为天才儿童的教育发展创造良好的条件 ,所需资金由国家财政拨款     

Using the local community to improve citizenship education for the gifted

Involving the community in a citizen education program will make such a program challenging, interesting and academically sound for the gifted student.     

Certification and specialized competencies for teachers in gifted education programs

This article describes the value of Piaget's equilibration theory for understanding characteristics of the young gifted child. Key elements of equilibration theory are discussed. Differences in the equilibration patterns in gifted children are described and application of equilibration to other than cognitive systems is considered. The article concludes with some ideas for teachers and parents to help gifted young children search for equilibrium.