A Special Deal for Highly Able Children from Disadvantaged Backgrounds? Learnings from the Priority Exceptional Students Study *

Abstract

This paper contains some conclusions about the work of the writers with High Ability Disadvantaged Students. The authors suggest that disadvantaged giftedness is a maverick in the sense that it is a concept difficult to sustain at either a practical or a theoretical level. The article includes some considerations re school policy, the perception of disadvantaged groups, curriculum development and special withdrawal groups.