Social Competencies and Difficulties of Gifted Children Compared to Nongifted Peers

This study, conducted in Israel, examined the social and emotional difficulties of gifted children, in comparison with nongifted children. The gifted children were further compared in two educational settings: segregated classes and pull-out programs. The 974 participants were from the fifth to twelfth grades. The dependent variables included loneliness, social competence, empathy, and self-concept. The results indicated that gifted children score higher on need fulfillment, empathy, academic self-concept, and lack of emotional anxiety and lower on self-disclosure and physical self-concept. Few differences were found between the two settings for gifted children. The conclusion is that gifted children differ from nongifted children only on some of the social–emotional variables examined, mainly for the better.     

Gifted Metaphors: Exploring the Metaphors of Teachers in Gifted Education and Their Impact on Teaching the Gifted

Metaphors are devices that people employ for both poetic purposes and rhetorical elaboration and belong to the realm of extraordinary language. Metaphors are used to connect abstract ideas and information to more concrete experiences, thus making these experiences more familiar and easier to understand. Moreover, metaphors are more than symbolic intellectual processes; they influence the conceptual understanding of our experiences and help define our everyday realities. For education, there is an important and relevant practical connection between the metaphors that teachers employ and their beliefs about teaching and classroom practices. This stems from the notion that metaphors guide one’s mental framework. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the metaphors influencing teachers in gifted education, this study specifically asked teachers to describe both their metaphors concerning gifted students as well as those influencing their teaching. In this study, nine different themes were identified. This research demonstrates a clear connection between reported metaphors and how gifted students receive their education from teachers. Participants’ answers demonstrate a strong connection between their metaphors and their classroom practices. However, strict adherence to one’s root metaphor increases the chance for dogmatism in the classroom and can lead to potentially incoherent classroom differentiation and a potential disconnect between classroom practices and the actual pedagogical needs of the gifted learner.     

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.     

我国高等教育学费政策的理念和现实

我国高等教育学费的核心问题是当前的学费水平是否过高,而学费水平高低与所依据的比较标准有很大关联。一般的方法是把学费与生均教育成本相比较,在比较时又存在着理念和现实两个层次。从现实角度来看,我国的学费偏高,但是,这种现象背后也存在着多种解释的可能性。今后我国学费政策的可能趋势是控制学费上涨的幅度,同时政府拨出专款加强和完善助学制度。     

超常儿童健康成长的主客观条件

通过整理和总结 2 0年来对 14 0余名超常儿童进行的追踪研究 ,概括出了超常儿童成长过程的五种不同的类型 ;分析了造成不同类型的原因 ;讨论了超常儿童健康成长的主客观条件 ,以及两者的相互作用 ;并提出了对教育的建议。     

Test of the Three-Mathematical Minds (M3) for the Identification of Mathematically Gifted Students

In this study, psychometric properties of the test of the three-mathematical minds (M3) were investigated. The M3 test was developed based on a multidimensional conception of giftedness to identify mathematically talented students. Participants included 291 middle-school students. Data analysis indicated that the M3 had a .73 coefficient as a consistency of scores. Exploratory factor analysis yielded three separate factors explaining 55% of the total variance; however, one-factor solution seems to best fit the data. The convergent validity analysis showed that M3 scores had medium to high-medium correlations with teachers' ratings of students' mathematical ability and students' ratings of their own ability and their liking of mathematics. The findings provide partial evidence for the validity of M3 test scores for the identification of mathematically gifted students.     

美国天才儿童教育-学习权利社会保障的历史反思与启示

《国家被骗:学校如何阻碍了美国最聪明的学生》报告,系统地介绍和总结了美国针对天才儿童的"加速发展"教育模式,尖锐地提出并深入地分析了美国天才儿童的教育-学习权利社会保障所面临的问题,引起美国社会各界对天才儿童教育的普遍关注和重视.本文依托该报告,对美国天才儿童教育-学习权利保障的"加速发展"教育模式的时代背景、发展轨迹和新近进展等方面进行了简明的梳理和探索,以期对完整地把握和推进我国的超常儿童的教育-学习机会平等和权利保障有所启示.     

Assessing the Emotional Intelligence of Gifted and Talented Adolescent Students in the Kingdom of Bahrain

This study assessed the differences in the emotional intelligence of gifted adolescent students and talented adolescent students in Bahrain. The sample consisted of 80 gifted adolescent students and 80 talented adolescent students in Grades 9 through 12. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicates that there were significant differences in emotional intelligence levels, as measured by the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory, between gifted students and talented students in Bahrain in the direction of gifted students. There were differences between the gifted and the talented students in intrapersonal, adaptability, general mood subtest, and total emotional intelligence scores. Finally, gifted males had higher total emotional intelligence scores than gifted females; talented females had higher interpersonal scores than talented males.     

Paint-by-Number Teachers and Cookie-Cutter Students: The Unintended Effects of High-Stakes Testing on the Education of Gifted Students

This study examined the utility of the Gifted Composite (GC) formula derived from selected subtests on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition (SB5) for evaluating intellectual giftedness. A sample of 52 children were administered both the SB5 and Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement, Third Edition (WJ-III ACH). The ability of the Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ) and the GC to predict reading and math achievement were compared. Though both the FSIQ and GC significantly predicted standardized achievement test scores, the FSIQ explained more of the variance. Sequential regression analyses suggested that the SB5 factor scores preformed differently in their contribution of unique variance to the predictions. The inclusion of working memory scores in the calculation of the FSIQ appears to account for the difference in predictions between the FSIQ and GC for reading but not math skills.     

困境儿童抗逆力提升的社会工作思考与对策

困境儿童抗逆力社会工作发展至今,主要以政府和民间两种方式运作,围绕个案、小组、社区三种工作方法展开,并出现了服务力量地区性失衡、学校与社工合力欠缺、服务效果缺乏评估等问题。该文在上述问题加以思考论证的基础上建议,要加强对贫困农村地区困境儿童社会工作的支持力度,形成社区工作和学校教育的合力,优化对抗逆力提升社会工作的效果评估。     

美国英才教育研究评析——以美国国家英才研究中心为例

美国国家英才研究中心（NRC）是美国目前最大、最有影响力的英才教育研究机构。本文通过美国国家英才研究中心及其近年最具代表性研究成果的介绍与考察，旨在使读者对美国目前英才教育及研究现状有一个总体的了解，并为我国的教育工作者提供参考与借鉴。     

Social coping and self-concept among young gifted students in Ireland and the United States: a cross-cultural study

Social coping and self-concept were explored among Irish (n = 115) and American (n = 134) grades 3–8 students. Denying one’s giftedness or the impact it has on peer relationships were associated with poor self-concept in both samples. Among Irish students, denying giftedness was associated with more positive self-concept when paired with a high activity level. Engaging in many activities in the US sample and helping one’s peers in the Irish sample were positive predictors of academic self-concept. Findings suggest young gifted students may benefit from learning more about their exceptional abilities and their impact on peers. They should also be encouraged to engage in extracurricular activities and find ways to use their exceptional abilities to support their peers.     

美国数学教育改革与数学天赋学生培养的简略回顾--如何在鱼腹中发现珍珠

数学天赋教育是数学教育改革的重要分支，美国最近20多年的数学教育改革提供了关于数学天赋教育的有价值的经验，天才班并不是培养数学天赋学生的唯一选择，数学教师必须努力在一般课堂中识别数学天赋学生并开发他们的潜能；必须学会运用基本的策略来调整课堂教学以提高对天赋学生教学的能力；必须逐步建立自己的信念，调整自己的知识结构来培养数学天赋学生。     

Moral Frameworks for Leaders of Gifted Programs and Services

Given the complexities of being an educational leader and, specifically, an educational leader of a gifted program or school, should there be a moral guide or framework that can inform the daily practices of leaders within an ever-changing educational context of competing demands? Should leaders of gifted programs employ the same ethos as any leader or by virtue of leading a program of a special interest group, be guided by a different, moral approach? This article posits that leaders of gifted programs and schools should operationalize an integrated approach drawing upon a variety of historical and more current theories of moral reasoning and intuition coupled with theories that draw on distributive, transformational, and situational leadership in order to make their advocacy and leadership more effective.     

A Social Development Curriculum: Applying Nurture Group Principles and Practices to Support Socially and Emotionally Vulnerable Children Within Mainstream Classrooms

Rebecca Doyle set up the first nurture group in Thetford Education Action Zone in 2000. In 2001, she published an account of her work to reintegrate pupils from the nurture group into the mainstream of their infant school in the pages of BJSE. In this article, Rebecca Doyle describes how mainstream class teachers requested further support in working with socially and emotionally vulnerable children in their classes using the principles and practices from the nurture group. A social development curriculum was written to support this interest, offering mainstream staff a planning tool to complement their existing schemes of work and to help in the drive to make the curriculum appropriate for every child, regardless of their barriers to learning. This article indicates that mainstream staff are now able to bring the increasing knowledge of nurture group working to the fore in their planning, supporting the development of whole-school nurturing approaches. The social development curriculum has become a well-used document alongside current planning frameworks, supporting staff in meeting the diverse needs of pupils within mainstream classrooms with minimal cost and little additional workload.
In closing her article, Rebecca Doyle argues that the social development curriculum has had a positive impact upon the pupils in her school and upon her colleagues on the staff. She is pursuing her research into nurturing approaches through her membership of the National Nurture Group Network and her studies for a higher degree at the University of East Anglia.     

Combining Excellence and Ethics: Implications for Moral Education for the Gifted

In this article the current empirical research on morality and giftedness is reviewed with an emphasis on moral sensitivity. The component of moral judgment has been the most studied aspect in morality. Although high-ability students have been shown to be superior in moral judgment when compared to average-ability students, morality includes other components as well, such as sensitivity, motivation, and character. Furthermore, the critics of Kohlbergian research argue that moral reasoning does not necessarily lead to moral behavior. The gifted students might be able to give “correct” responses in the Defining Issues Test (DIT) test but their actual moral behavior cannot be predicted based on these test results. Hence, the limits of interpretation of these findings need to be acknowledged. The component of moral sensitivity is introduced with case studies regarding Finnish gifted students and Finnish Academic Olympians. The beliefs and values in academic work ethics of the Finnish Academic Olympians are discussed to give examples of how ethics can be combined with excellence in science. Some implications for the moral education of gifted students are suggested based on the research findings.     

The impact of a Curriculum for Resilience Promotion in Deaf Children and Adolescents

Resilience is an interactive process involving internal skills that should be promoted, especially in the early stages of development. This study aims to adapt and implement two themes from the European Curriculum for Resilience Promotion – RESCUR, namely, ‘Developing Communication Skills’ and ‘Establishing and Maintaining Healthy Relationships’, for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students. The study included 37 children and adolescents from three Portuguese regions and its impact was evaluated through the perspectives of the students, their guardians and their teachers. Each 90-minute session was implemented weekly. The sessions followed the RESCUR curriculum structure with necessary adaptations to the mindfulness activities, stories, role-play and worksheets. The mean scores increased from pre- to post-intervention assessment on all instruments, namely, KIDSCREEN-10 (children/adolescents), KIDSCREEN-10 (guardians) and CYRM-28 (teachers). The implementation of adapted curricula promoting resilience seems to be beneficial to DHH children, allowing the development of specific resilience-associated skills, and thus enhancing health, well-being and quality of life.     

Counselling the Gifted and Talented in France: Minimizing Gift and Maximizing Talent

After a presentation of the French school system, we describe how the three principal practices—acceleration, enrichment, and special classes—for the education of the gifted are functioning in France. Then, we deal with the counselling of the gifted through 1) the presentation of the professional involved in these tasks, 2) the role played by the parent associations of gifted children, and 3) the identification practices. For the talented, there are many practices, from primary education onwards, which allow schooling to be reconciled with sports studies or artistic tuition. The concept of “dual project” is introduced: the need for sportsmen/women to elaborate their career plan at the same time as their sporting project. The conclusion stresses that in France, measures for the gifted are not clearly laid out; whereas, provisions benefiting from clear and explicit information have been made for the talented and are encouraged by various institutions.     

加强《形势与政策》课教学效果的思考

文章阐述了《形势与政策》课在课程设置上的理论依据和实践依据,在此基础上,分析了目前高校《形势与政策》课的教学现状及存在的主要问题,对如何提高《形势与政策》课的教学质量和效果进行了研究与探讨,并提出了解决问题的对策。     

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.