A Pilot Study: Teacher Views on the Concept of Giftedness in the Early Childhood Setting

Abstract

Much has been written about acceleration (Feldhusen, Hannon & Black, 1995), teaching strategies (Kitano, 1982; 1989), and underachievement (Clark, 1992) of gifted and talented primary and secondary school children. Studies such as those of Gross (1986) indicate that educational programming for the gifted is largely dictated by teacher perception and expectation. Other research shows that the learning needs of young gifted children often remain unmet (Gross, 1995). This study explores early childhood teachers’ perceptions of young gifted and talented children and their programming needs through open interviews with three rural teachers. The findings indicate that the gifted children in their care, aside from perhaps the exceptionally or profoundly gifted (Harrison, 1995, p.22), still remain unidentified; and that the teachers see their roles primarily as facilitators, reserving the use of a more interventionist approach mainly for children with deficit needs. The outcome of the study points to the need for further research and a possible re-examination of preservice and in-service teacher education in the area of young gifted and talented children.