Parents' Conceptions of Giftedness

Abstract

giftedness is an elusive concept. Not only has it changed its meaning for society in different times and cultures, but it has also held a variety of meanings within a given culture and time period. Passow (1985) referred to 51 different terms in the education literature that characterize giftedness and concluded that there is “no single uniform conception of giftedness” (p. 23). More recently, Passow (1993) stated that the population of gifted people is so heterogeneous that its multidimensionality “may preclude a comprehensive theory” (p. 887). Yet, no matter how complex the construct, Passow (1985) insisted that conceptualizing giftedness is important because “all aspects of identification and development of giftedness depend on the underlying conception of the nature of giftedness” (p. 23).