Keywords

1 Introduction

The first step of embarking on a voyage is to decide where you want to go. There are numerous places to travel and many routes to get there. It is up to you to conceive a trip that meets your aspirations and needs. A good way to start is to research the possibilities of what you would like to experience and, then, follow up by creating a travel plan that works for you.

If a destination is beyond the boundaries of your country, you will need a passport. A passport is an internationally recognized travel document to verify the identity and nationality of an individual. Issued by a country’s government, a passport serves as a legal authorization for you to travel in other countries. This book will serve as your ‘passport’ and transport you to a new area of discovery that reaches beyond the walls of a regular school classroom. So, sit back and enjoy your journey to the world of gifted education!

2 Preparations

Planning a trip can be overwhelming when you are venturing into the unknown. Just like deciding on the essentials needed for preparing for your trip, a school system must become familiar with various prerequisites that are fundamental to beginning a journey to the world of the gifted. To envision how to identify and provide for gifted children, a school system must first embrace a definition of giftedness. Similar to the vast array of destinations available to you when contemplating a trip, there are multiple interpretations and hundreds of definitions for the term ‘gifted.’ Interestingly, there is not just one definition that refers to a precocious child’s potential for high ability. The word ‘gifted’ can mean different things to different people of different cultures. Selecting a definition and identification model will determine the kind of high potential and high ability a school district recognizes as ‘giftedness.’

There are bound to be many interpretations that add to the confusion of what it means to be gifted. Because the field of gifted education lacks a flawless definition, understanding which individual is ‘gifted’ can be quite elusive. Therefore, it is important that each culture determines an acceptable identification for their purpose, based upon their experiences, values and beliefs of giftedness.

It is a myth to think that gifted children are all the same. Gifted children are not a homogeneous group. Their interests, abilities, and potential can differ greatly. The strengths and weaknesses of a gifted child will vary according to the individual. It is also not true that every gifted child is ‘globally gifted,’ i.e., able to demonstrate a potential for high ability in all areas. Just as society understands each child is different, teachers and parents need to build awareness that each gifted child is also unique.

As confusing as it can be when considering what to pack for your trip, deciding upon a definition and model of ‘giftedness’ can be equally challenging. Undoubtedly, teachers can identify bright children who are globally gifted and exhibit outstanding high academic performance in specific areas within a classroom setting. But, what about those gifted children who do not demonstrate their potential or are gifted in only one domain or underachieve? Can it be argued that informal teacher recognition always provides an effective and sound criteria for determining different kinds of giftedness?

Sadly, there is still no consistent or universal legislation for the identification or provision for gifted children, although some countries are working toward that end. An international survey revealed that the Worldwide Provision to Develop Gifts and Talents in the United Kingdom, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Germany, and Austria have many options for provision in place for gifted and creative students. However, other countries that include Denmark, Italy, and Spain do not [1].

Upon further examination, the worldwide survey identified underlying values of provision for gifted and talented students and disclosed the category of ‘Teacher Judgement’ ranked first, and ‘Marks and Grades’ ranked second. Because this particular sample most frequently identified high measurable achievement in students rather than high potential, it was not surprising that ‘Staff Development’ was recommended as being critical to the development of gifted education.

In 2012, among a half million 15-year-old students who took the Pisa test, i.e., the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Program for International Student Assessment, students from Asian countries, e.g., China, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea, ranked as the top 5 out of 40 performers in the area of reading and as the top 7 out of 40 performers in mathematics [2].

It can be argued that ranked test scores is but one identifier of high intelligence. But, clearly, educational changes are taking place globally. Students from countries who are undergoing educational reform demonstrate considerable gains and improved scores as compared to their performance in past years, e.g., Poland and Greece. On the other hand, countries that experienced a loss of federal financing and support, such as the United States and England, find themselves on a downward slide. In addition, the gender gap continues to widen between the sexes. Boys still outperform girls in math, and girls still outperform boys in reading, due to expectations and aspirations that present a barrier for success [2].

How meaningful is it to make international comparisons between our gifted, i.e., ‘highly able,’ children? Because our students will be competing for jobs globally in the future, it is relevant to understand what they know and how they can apply what they know. Asia has undergone significant changes in the development of its gifted education system, which is paying off due to a greater emphasis placed upon effort, rather than ability. Since the past decade, new programs for gifted and talented children are appearing in East Asia. When taking a closer look at Pisa results for Japan, several factors were cited as having influenced their escalated scores: the development of integrated problem solving in the curriculum, high intrinsic student interest and motivation in a subject, orderly classrooms, a sense of belonging and self-efficacy [2].

Today, teachers wrestle with the challenge to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs for a wide spectrum of children in their classrooms, whose abilities range from traditional special educational (SPED) to those of high ability. Because of time constraints and curriculum demands, adequate planning and attention are not always given to high ability children in the mainstream classroom. It can be inferred that this is due partially to a lack of funding as well as a lack of specialty training to recognize and provide for individual gifted children. It is also resultant of the misconception that gifted children can do it on their own just fine without any intervention from adults [3].

Similar to special needs students, gifted students also fall into a category of exceptional learners [4]. Gifted children know they are different and often feel alone and left out of the mainstream. Therefore, it is important for teachers and parents to get onboard as advocates to intervene on their behalf. By recognizing different ways of how gifted children learn and behave, teachers and parents can better understand how to successfully provide an appropriate education that presents optimal learning opportunities both in and outside of school.

3 A Changing World

Schools are changing in today’s world and the roles of teachers and parents are changing, too. Driven by social media and learning networks, education is moving outside the classroom walls and the roles of teachers and parents are moving with it. School districts no longer shoulder the responsibility as primary providers to create the sole learning environment for children. Therefore, teachers need to reach out and collaborate with parents as partners in the education of gifted children. They need to create and provide the support required in educating gifted children at an appropriate level that meets their exceptional needs.

Together, teachers and parents play a critical role in ‘lighting sparks’ that provide opportunities designed to motivate gifted children to learn. Teachers and parents contribute to nurturing a gifted child’s self-esteem. Both can help gifted children find like-minded friends to accept and feel good about their high ability and asynchronous learning style. It should be noted, however, that although teachers and parents are not expected to have all of the answers, they are expected to nurture gifted children by equipping themselves with knowledge and understanding about the nature of giftedness.

Gifted children need to be prepared to face the future with twenty-first century based on three pedagogical principles—personalization, participation, and productivity [5]. Like all children who are exposed to a vast amount of information on the Internet, gifted children must learn how to focus, locate, and assess the creditability of information in producing many answers, not just seek the ‘right’ one. Children need to acquire skills of inquiry, effective communication, problem-solving, critical and creative thinking to advance the quality of lifelong learning and to fulfill the promise of becoming active learners and producers of knowledge in a real world context.

4 Historic Perspective

To gain a historical perspective of what it means to be a gifted individual, let us ‘travel’ back to ancient times and learn how various cultures viewed giftedness. The skills of a hunter, warrior or healer were important for survival and progress of early civilizations. The early Greeks honored the orator and artist, whereas the Romans valued the most talented soldier and leader. The ancient Chinese valued literacy. Among the first to record attempts to differentiate individuals with extraordinary skills and abilities during the second century BCE, they recognized early verbal ability as a sign of leadership. They required proficiency exams for potential candidates seeking governmental offices. Intending to promote literacy, ethics and scholarship, the exams included a variety of areas, including poetry, music, calligraphy, and math. Horsemanship was also highly valued [6]. From this brief look at what societies valued highly, giftedness appears inherently culture specific and a global definition is nonexistent.

5 Gifted Education

Broadly defined, the education of gifted children dates back thousands of years. During the time of Plato (427 c–347 BCE), specialized training was advocated for intellectually gifted and talented individuals. During the Tang Dynasty in China (580–618 BCE), child prodigies were summoned to the imperial court to receive a special education. And, throughout the Renaissance Period, both the government and private patronage championed creativity and talent in individuals by providing them with support [7].

Knowing giftedness is culture specific, it is reasonable to assume that a definition and identification model needs to be chosen within a context that is most appropriate to a country’s particular culture [8]. Because of these fundamental cultural differences, whatever identification and provision practices work for one country may not work for another. Thus, an individual who is considered to be an exceptional learner in one culture may not be recognized or valued as highly in another.

Selecting a definition of giftedness depends on what is being looked for in the first place. The identification can focus on academic testing, creative innovation, placement in special summer program or competitions based on talents and ability in one’s country [9]. Still widely used internationally, Olympiad competitions continue to be used as a successful gifted identification tool by some of the former Soviet Union countries, including the Baltic country of Estonia. In addition to recognizing accelerated learning, students from many countries, including the United States, participate in national and international Olympiads for enrichment.

6 Helicopter View

As well as the historical perspective, let us further explore by looking at a ‘helicopter view’ or the big picture of how a gifted individual is perceived in society. Gaining a wider perspective can help teachers and parents to recognize and understand stereotypes and misconceptions that impact social influences when labeling exceptional learners.

For over a hundred years in Western cultures, gifted children have been given labels that connote ‘having great natural ability.’ However, labeling sometimes signifies negativity. In English, a gifted child was often called a ‘genius,’ a term that inferred an ‘unjustified and unearned privilege’ [10]. In German, highly able children could be called begabte, meaning ‘gifted’ or hochbegabung (‘giftedness’) to suggest ‘elitism.’ In French, the word for gifted is doué, and surdoué is used for ‘highly gifted,’ both of which induce an emotional, value-laden reaction of negativity [11]. Interestingly, in Lithuanian, the term for a gifted child is gabus or gabiu vaiku, neither of which reflects any negative connotation.

7 First IQ Test

There have always been children who do not fit in with their peer group. In 1916, American psychologist, Lewis Terman published a revision of what is now known as the Stanford–Binet Scale, the first IQ test. Although Alfred Binet originally designed the test as a measurement of abilities for students who were experiencing difficulty in school, it evolved to measure the opposite end of the spectrum and was used to screen ‘intelligent’ candidates for army officer recruitment during World War I. Terman’s intelligence scale led to the further development of creativity tests and became a springboard for numerous studies of the relationship between intelligence and creativity [12, 13]. Today, many researchers and educators include creativity in their definition of giftedness (see Fig. 2.1, Chap. 2: 21).

8 Home and School Environment

Leta Hollingworth, a professional colleague of Terman, was the foremother in the United States to study gifted education and the psychology of giftedness. Her work focused on the profoundly gifted who demonstrated high performance on tests. Although recognizing the contemporary belief that heredity played a vital role in intelligence, she also credited both the home and school environments. Hollingworth worked to dispel the pervasive belief that ‘bright children can take care of themselves’ and emphasized the importance of early identification, daily contact, and grouping gifted children with other gifted children. She conducted an 18-year-long research study in which 50 children in New York City scored 155 or above on the Stanford–Binet test along with a study of smaller groups of children who scored 180 or above. It is interesting to note that Hollingworth ran a school in New York City in the 1920s for bright students that was child-centered, as opposed to a school in which teachers provided students with more advanced curriculum [14, 15].

9 Soviet Pedagogy

During this same time period in Russia, quite a different attitude prevailed for educating bright children. Under Marxism and Leninism, Russia favored an educational system that neglected the natural abilities of students and ignored cultural influences of the family. Soviet pedagogy provided that high ability resulted from the quality of education delivered by Russian teachers and promoted by a centralized government. Similar to the German and French terms for gifted, Russian teachers thought ‘gifted’ was an arrogant term and preferred to use the word ‘smart’ to mean ‘children who want to study and who are able to study’ [16]. Education for gifted children in the former Soviet Union was organized primarily to promote the good of the whole society, then to promote progress and, finally, to promote the development of the individual [17, 18]. Gifted children competed in a network of Olympiad competitions to demonstrate their high achievement as well as to capitalize on the intellectual resources they provided for Soviet society.

10 Psychological Constraints

Today, the term ‘gifted’ implies the potential for high academic achievement or accomplishment along with psychological constructs impacted by the environment. Unfortunately, the word still presents a problem due to negative implications. Subsequently, labeling an individual as ‘gifted’ can impact a child’s self-esteem. Because they are different from their peers, and often demonstrate an asynchronous learning style, many high ability children are perceived and treated as ‘outliers.’ Often, gifted children are not appreciated for their advanced intelligence and sophisticated and/or technical vocabulary. It is not uncommon for them to become targets for ridicule by bullies who lack understanding.

No child wants to stand apart from their peers and be perceived as different in a negative way; everyone wants to fit into society. All children want to be accepted and have friends. However, because gifted children know and feel they are different than their peers, they may hide their advanced intelligence in school and ‘clown around’ or ‘dumb down’ in hopes of finding acceptance.

11 The Cold War

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successful launched Sputnik I, the world’s first artificial satellite. The launch ushered in the ‘Race to Space’ between Russia and the United States, who immediately turned its attention to the education of bright students [19]. In 1958, the U.S. Congress passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) to boost science, math, and technology in public education. Educators were pressed to identify and serve gifted students in schools. Students who were selected for gifted services were required to score at least 130 on intelligence tests. Unfortunately, this cut-off score excluded those gifted and talented students who did not test well. Therefore, not everyone who was gifted was identified [20].

12 Bird’s Eye View

In the late 1970s, western educators finally departed from the notion that giftedness could be measured by a single IQ score or achievement test score. About this time, identification models began to embrace multiple characteristics of giftedness, including high academic ability in various areas. These models examined how individuals exhibited their exceptionalities in different ways. In every culture and economic background, there are developmentally advanced children who embody high performance capability and exhibit greater abstract reasoning and creativity than their peers. Very few researchers today accept the IQ or achievement test score as the only valid measure of a gifted child’s potential ability for producing notable future achievements [21].

Sir James Paul McCartney of the Beatles is a good example of a child’s exceptional ability being overlooked. Although Paul McCartney loved music, he found music lessons at the Liverpool Institute to be boring. During his formal education, no one recognized his musical talent. When applying to join the choir of the Liverpool Cathedral, Paul was turned down because it was thought he could not sing [22].

In hindsight, it is conceivable to think that other gifted children besides Paul McCartney have also ‘fallen through the cracks’ and missed being identified by teachers and parents. It can be inferred that more children can be encouraged to reach their full potential if teachers look for ways in which they are smart.

Some students stand out in a class because they demonstrate ways in which they are smart. These children are easily recognized as developmentally advanced learners by both teachers and parents. But, some gifted children may not be so easily recognized. Subsequently, they can miss out on being identified as gifted learners. Therefore, there is a great need for the educational community to develop the potential in as many students as possible by offering opportunities that rigorously challenge and motivate all children to learn.

The philosophy of offering opportunities that challenge and motivate all children to learn was endorsed in The English Model. The English Model was built upon traditional models of gifted education that formed the basis of the comprehensive national program in England. It positioned schools to become more inclusive in identifying high ability and high potential in all children and to integrate them with peers as much as possible [23]. Additional information on the evolution of The English Model to what is now knowns as the High Performance Learning Framework can be found in Chap. 2: 24.

13 Topic for Debate

Today, the identification of a gifted individual is still a topic for debate in international circles. This is largely due to different cultural interpretations and various definitions and models of giftedness. For example, the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) reports the gifted population as 6–10% of the student population in the United States [24]. Because cultural beliefs defining giftedness influence the acceptance of an individual and their abilities, teachers, and parents may not yet fully understand the true nature of giftedness. Thus, the more informed teachers and parents are, the better prepared our societies will be to recognize and support exceptional abilities and talents in all students.

14 ‘Gifted’ Versus ‘Talented’

At this point, it is important to distinguish between the terms ‘gifted’ and ‘talented.’ Some researchers use the terms interchangeably, while others differentiate between the two. According to Professor Françoys Gagné, an internationally known researcher from Canada, ‘gifted’ refers to an individual in the top 10% of their age peers who possesses and uses an untrained and spontaneously expressed superior natural abilities (called aptitudes or gifts) in at least one ability domain: intellectual, creative, social and/or physical. ‘Talent,’ on the other hand, refers to an individual in the top 10% who demonstrate superior mastery of systematically developed abilities (or skills) and knowledge in at least one field of human activity. The two are not necessarily exclusive of one another. Thus, it is possible that a child can be both gifted and talented. Gagné cautions that although some gifted children are talented, not all talented children are gifted [25]. For the purpose of this book, Gagné s distinction will be accepted.

15 Operate Independently

Anyone who flies can tell you which airlines provide good meals, comfort, and service. Some airlines provide a selection of meals and accommodate a passenger’s special dietary requirements, while others offer a beverage and food at an additional cost to the passenger. Each airline operates independently and, therefore, can offer different choices.

Like the airlines, countries also operate independently and offer different policies to identify and educate gifted children. Interestingly, within the United States, states lack federal legislation and funding to support gifted education. Each state department of education operates independently. Because educational policies for school districts can vary within a state, it is possible for a child to qualify or be labeled as ‘gifted’ in one academic setting, but not in another location. We recognize this discrepancy between states as well as countries due to varying criteria for what it means to be identified as ‘gifted.’

In 1971, the Marland Report to the United States Congress (National Excellence: A Case for Developing America’s Talent) offered a definition of giftedness which proved to be a great catalyst for developing policies, not only in the United States, but in many countries throughout the world. Like a control tower, it offered direction to the states. The states recognized its appropriateness and based their definition of giftedness upon it. Currently, states refer to the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) and accept the following definition based upon the Marland Report:

[Those who] demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude (defined as an exceptional ability to reason and learn) or competence (documented performance or achievement in top 10% or rarer) in one or more domains. Domains include any structured area of activity with its own symbol system (e.g., mathematics, music, language) and/or set of sensorimotor skills (e.g., painting, dance, and sports).

The development of ability or talent is a lifelong process. It can be evident in young students as exceptional performance on tests and/or other measures of ability or as a rapid rate of learning, compared to other students of the same age, or in actual achievement in a domain. As individuals mature through childhood to adolescence, however, achievement and high levels of motivation in the domain become the primary characteristics of their high ability. Various factors can either enhance or inhibit the development and expression of abilities [26].

More than a decade later, in 1983, A Nation at Risk was published as an 18-month-long study of secondary students in the United States who were no longer receiving a superior education. It revealed that students from the U.S. were not able to compete with students from other developed countries in many academic areas. The study urged the U.S. government to increase gifted education programs of enrichment or acceleration as well as to create standards for the identification of gifted children [27].

In 1988, the next important Act passed to support talent in North American schools was the Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act, a part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The Javits Act required Congress to pass funding each year to award grants for states and school districts that focused on identifying and serving underrepresented populations of gifted students [28]. Funding in gifted education is a critical necessity. Not only important for support and sustainment of programs and staff, but funding is critical for the validity and recognition of quality education a society wants to provide for its high ability children.

16 Guidance

The purpose of an airport control tower is to provide guidance and direction for planes to take-off and to land. In the instruction of gifted children, guidance is found in the overarching principles of laws that support equality of education.

Today, in countries such as the United States, many teachers are caught in a ‘teach-to-the-test’ environment, in which closing the achievement gap drives education. In 2001, a United States Act of Congress reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which included Title I, as the government’s flagship aid program for disadvantaged students. The No Child Left Behind Act (2001) required school teachers in the United States to become even more accountable for the education of poor and minority students. ‘Minority’ refers to any under-represented group in a wider population that includes gender, racial and cultural factors.

Although an admirable goal, the No Child Left Behind Act encouraged an obsessive focus on national test results. Teachers intervened diligently for students who scored below the proficiency level on national tests and were mindful of those who struggled, resultant from unequal early access to learning. However, little thought was given to the test scores of high ability children who scored above the proficiency level, yet, did not show growth. The No Child Left Behind initiative, like Europe’s Education for All (2003), became a force to move the goal posts to support equality of education for all students. Consequently, the No Child Left Behind was reauthorized because of its short comings. In December 2015, the National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC) announced the passage of the updated Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) for new state advocacy and resource allocation in which gifted children were now included [29].

17 Education for All

Education for All was of particular importance to the field of gifted education in Europe because, while it provided for all students, it laid out implications for teaching the gifted. Specifically, Goal 1.1 states that ‘the education system guaranteed to all a basic education that was high quality and appropriate for the needs, interests, and capabilities of each learner’ [30, 31]. Goal 3.14 continues with provisions for the gifted, namely, to create a system of pedagogic-psychological services that extend the accessibility of basic and secondary education to children with various exceptional needs. Goal 3.15 provides for the gifted even more explicitly: ‘to draft and implement programs providing pedagogic advice and consultations to parents raising special needs children … especially [the] gifted’ [30]. These goals are consistent with the general principle, and specific concern, that gifted and talented youth are a country’s major natural resources [32]. Because gifted students are now recognized and addressed as an exceptional population, there is a growing awareness of their special needs among teachers and parents.

18 International Research Report

Some countries, as well as individual states, continue to identify and service gifted populations according to their particular needs and means. In 2010, the International Research Report revealed that excellence comes from a variety of special provisions made for gifted students [1]:

  • Early entrance

  • Skipping classes

  • Shared classes with higher grades

  • Group acceleration

  • Enrichment workshop

  • Cooperation with companies or nonprofit organizations

  • Extra-curricular activity

  • Individual mentor

  • Independent Study

  • School intern competition

  • Psychological counseling

  • Summer camp

  • Festival

  • Exhibitions

  • School extension competition

  • Performance/show (artistic, talent)

  • Other.

The report highlighted a few countries that provided various educational options for gifted and talented students [1]: China has successfully offered nonselective enrichment in its Children’s Palaces to provide for gifted students. New Zealand and Israel federally funded and provided self-selection programs for their gifted population. Germany hosted federally and privately funded competitions with prizes. And, Brazil focused on supporting the seriously deprived, yet potentially talented, children.

The United States offered Talent Searches that provide a selection of children with special summer-school courses or programs based upon national scores and high achievement, all which are family funded [33]. Many summer and online programs are available to international students as well. Talent Search programs can be offered online or held on the campuses of many colleges and universities throughout the country. Additionally, pull-out classes and programs for the gifted, including cluster or interest groups exist in schools throughout various states.

19 Mandates

Many countries in the world, similar to states in the U.S., do not have strong mandates for gifted identification and education. It can be inferred that exposure to gifted educational requirements for undergraduate and graduate teacher-training degrees may also be limited. Little, if any, professional pre-service coursework or training has been offered to meet the special needs of gifted children in general teacher education courses at many colleges and universities. Therefore, unless a teacher specifically enrolled in a course to study gifted education, he or she may not graduate with an understanding of the importance for intervention and how to provide appropriate tools and strategies when working with this exceptional population of children.

It can be stated that teachers who did not have specific courses in teaching high ability students may not be aware of how to properly identify and provide for gifted children in their mainstream classrooms. Some colleges or universities in the United States require teacher endorsements in gifted education consisting of eighteen or more credit hours of instruction. Others may only introduce the idea of gifted children as exceptional learners in a Special Education course.

The lack of consistent provision for teacher training of gifted students is typical in other countries around the world as well. A notable exception is the Radboud University Center for the Study of Giftedness (CBO) in the Netherlands. The Center is accredited by the European Council of High Ability (ECHA) and offers the possibility to become a ‘Specialist in Gifted Education.’ It offers a broad choice of gifted education courses that range from in-service training programs, both at the bachelor and master level, to seminars conducted by individual trainers and practitioners who do not necessarily have specific qualifications or training in the field.

Unlike the airlines we fly, there is no insurance policy for gifted education in many countries because policies and mandates are still ‘up in the air.’ Similar to finding out the allotted number of suitcases per person for a flight, you need to learn the age a child can be identified as gifted in your school district in your particular state or country and how to provide for each one. So, with preparations underway and your passport in hand, let us begin our journey to the world of gifted education!