Education Of Gifted Students,

Education of Gifted Students, area in the field of special education concerned with the instruction of students who have exceptionally high abilities. The United States Department of Education describes “giftedness” as exceptionally advanced performance or the potential for outstanding performance in intellectual, creative, leadership, artistic, or specific academic fields. Children who demonstrate outstanding talents come from all social, cultural, and economic groups.

Educators believe that gifted students require special education services because their learning needs differ significantly from those of the general population. They learn more rapidly and are able to understand more abstract and complex ideas. They are also able to transform existing knowledge into new and useful forms, and to create new knowledge recognized for its originality, complexity, and elegance. Special education services and facilities for gifted children may enhance these abilities. In addition, some gifted learners may require special counseling services to address social or emotional adjustment issues that are complicated by their exceptional abilities.

Many regular elementary and secondary schools in the United States offer special programs designed specifically to meet the needs of gifted students. Some schools provide specialized education programs to gifted children exclusively. These schools offer advanced education in mathematics, science, technology, the arts, or other academic disciplines. Many school districts rely on intelligence tests to identify gifted students (see Psychological Testing: Intelligence Tests). However, most guidelines for determining giftedness recommend the use of a combination of standardized test scores (see Standardized Testing), rating systems developed by individual schools, classroom observational records, and performance assessments.

Because definitions of giftedness vary widely, the precise number of gifted students in the United States is difficult to determine. Nevertheless, according to a report of the Council of State Directors of Gifted Programs, 32 states reported providing specialized education services to a total of almost 2.4 million gifted students in 1990. Other states surveyed by the council did not report the number of gifted students served. Some states identified more than 10 percent of students as gifted, while others identified fewer than 5 percent.

II  PROGRAMS 

Gifted children may study a specially modified curriculum or may progress through academic subjects at an accelerated pace. Acceleration involves adapting education programs so that students may progress through particular subject material quicker than usual. These modifications may take place within the regular classroom setting or they may involve changing the child’s placement in school. Some gifted children gain early entrance to kindergarten, skip grades, enter college earlier than usual, or take specific courses with older children. Ideal programs for gifted students consider the individual needs of children and offer multiple options for services. These programs generally involve both advanced course materials and acceleration.

Early efforts to modify the education of gifted children focused on providing early entrance to kindergarten, grade-skipping, and early entrance to college. Beginning in the 1960s these kinds of acceleration programs fell out of favor with some educators, who believed that putting gifted students in classrooms of older children had the potential to create social and emotional difficulties for the gifted students. However, in the 1970s American educator Julian Stanley implemented a highly successful accelerated academic program for gifted mathematics students at the middle-school level. His work documented positive outcomes of this practice and serves as a rationale for the use of acceleration in many schools today. Some special programs allow high school students to begin college early, including programs at the University of Washington in Seattle; Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia, where a residential program provides a unique acceleration opportunity for gifted young women; and Simon’s Rock College of Bard in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

In the 1970s American educator Joseph Renzulli developed highly influential models for enriching the curriculum and instruction of gifted students. Renzulli proposed a definition of giftedness based on exceptionally high academic ability, creativity, and commitment to perform specific tasks. His Enrichment Triad Model and Schoolwide Enrichment Model are two of the most widely used models for developing programs and curriculum for gifted students in the United States.

III  DEVELOPMENT OF THE FIELD 

Gifted performance in adults has been recognized throughout recorded history. For example, biographies of the 18th-century Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart generally emphasize that he was a highly accomplished musician and composer as early as age six. However, there were only scattered attempts to identify and study gifted children prior to the 20th century. In the early 20th century, American psychologist Lewis Terman conducted studies of gifted individuals that coincided with his efforts to develop intelligence tests. Terman originated the term intelligence quotient(IQ) and developed the Stanford-Binet intelligence test, which measured the intelligence of children and adults. His studies of children with high IQs formed a scientific basis for understanding giftedness and have helped to establish the dominant conception that giftedness is measured by a high IQ.

During the 1950s American educators called for broader definitions of giftedness that would also include such considerations as specific academic abilities, creativity, and talents in the visual and performing arts. In 1971 U.S. Commissioner of Education Sydney P. Marland incorporated these considerations into a report to the U.S. Congress on the state of education programs for gifted and talented children.

The Marland Report provided the first federally sanctioned definition of giftedness. It also led to the establishment of the Office of Gifted and Talented, a division of the federal Department of Education that provided grants to elementary and secondary schools that serve the special needs of gifted youth. The Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act of 1988 authorized funds to support innovative programs for specific groups of gifted students, such as minorities, economically disadvantaged students, and students with limited proficiency in English. The Javits Act also established the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented to carry out research on students with exceptional abilities. Despite these efforts, gifted education receives relatively little federal funding, and there have been no federal legislative efforts to mandate services for gifted students.

IV  CURRENT ISSUES 

Many educators advocate placing gifted students in regular classrooms with students of diverse ability levels, an educational method known as inclusion. However, considerable evidence suggests that regular classroom teachers do not receive the training and support to appropriately modify the curriculum to meet the needs of gifted students. Many educators also claim that minorities and economically disadvantaged children are underrepresented in educational programs for gifted students. At the same time, limited funding for education in general restricts efforts to nurture the talents of all gifted children.