Identification of Gifted Students: An Analysis of Criteria Preferred by Preservice Teachers,Classroom Teachers,and Teachers of the Gifted

Abstract

This study describes criteria preferred by teachers when recommending students for gifted programs. It also examines differences between expert and novice teachers of the gifted by comparing the preferences of preservice teachers, classroom teachers, and teachers of the gifted. The sample included 308 subjects from three states with varying definitions of giftedness.

Subjects were asked to indicate preferences from a list of 18 possible criteria. Overall, the criteria of: creativity, learns quickly and easily, initiates own learning, and curiosity, were chosen most frequently. Chi square analysis indicated several criteria for which there were significant differences among the three groups of teachers. Discriminant function analysis provided functions that distinguished among all three groups as well as between classroom teachers and teachers of the gifted. Criteria preferred by teachers of the gifted were more consistent with theorists' recommendations than were those of either classroom or preservice teachers. Implications for identification and teacher training are discussed.