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.