Gifted Education International

A new definition of giftedness is proposed based on a review of the constructs of intelligence, creativity, and problem solving. A research design employed in a series of studies of giftedness in children and adults is presented, along with a summary of important results. Finally, implications of the design for both research and practice are outlined.

Identification of the gifted student is problematic. Prescription, the matching of student needs with program services, is perhaps even more precarious. To optimize potential and maximize achievement, diagnosis and instruction should be linked, on going, and based on state-of-the-art knowledge. Despite a burgeoning paradigm shift in the theory and practice of assessment in general, identification procedures for the gifted remain little changed. The bulk of the literature still recommends standardized, “product” measures of potential and achievement. Although status-quo recommendations include the use of multiple criteria, teacher judgment, and attention to cultural differences, scant endorsement is made for “process” measures. Dynamic assessment, based upon the Soviet psychologist Vygotsky's concept of the zone of proximal development (ZOPD), which measures the difference between what a learner can do alone and with appropriate guidance, has gained increased attention and suggests modification in the way the gifted are identified.

This paper expounds upon the application of the dynamic assessment procedure (OAP) for the identification and instruction of the gifted. Pedagogical implications and conflicts to be resolved are also addressed.

Testing for “giftedness” is a domain of concerns for teachers, counselors, parents, and most notably, children themselves. The issues surrounding, labeling, placement and non-placement are thorny and emotionally charged. This paper attempts to present both sides of this challenging issue so that parent/teacher/specialists can understand each other and the facts of this domain.

Good mental health is a prerequisite for self actualization; that is one can develop gifts and talents only if one is psychologically well-adjusted. Mental health refers to good social and emotional adjustment and positive self-concept. Research is minimal in the area of personality and self-concept for the Korean scientifically gifted high school students and the relationship between gender and self-concept of the gifted youngsters was found somewhat controversial in the literature. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to examine the personality of Korean scientifically gifted high school males (SGM) and females (SGF) and to compare the self-concept of these two groups of youngsters.

In this study, Mental health was measured by the Korean adapted MMPI, self-concept instrument, intelligence test, and standardized achievement test were administered to 68 10th through 12 grade scientifically gifted high school students of superior intelligence who have high IQ scores of 145.

Scientifically gifted males (SGM) and females (SGF) are more similar than different on mental health profiles, and those differences that exist generally are consistent with sex stereotypes in Korean culture. The results on MMPI scores showed both SGM and SGF were relatively free of maladjustment. There was only one sex difference for the sub scale of self-criticism out of 10 measures of self-concept SGM have a higher score on self-criticism sub scale than SGF (t = 1.99, p < 0.05). Two significant correlations between self-concept and intelligence referred to the positive relationship of a total score of intelligence with Personal self (r = 0.3097*) and Family self (r = 0.2847*). There were no significant correlations between self-concept and achievement. Implications are suggested for school programmings designed to facilitate the good personality and positive self-concept of SGM and SGF differently).

This article explores the conditions necessary to facilitate the growth of creativity. Acceptance at macro and micro social levels is stressed. The importance of problem-setting and problem-solving is also examined with reference to education. Education which emphasises reproduction of existing knowledge is a strongly negative influence on creative thinking.

Since 1960, researchers and theoreticians have devoted a great deal of attention to the concept of creativity. They have developed profiles describing the characteristics of highly creative persons and proposed many programs intended to enhance creative expression. They have, however, neither examined nor discussed the characteristics of individuals who are both highly creative and intellectually gifted, and they have not often provided precise descriptions of those qualities as they are manifested in specific fields. This paper is a comparison of the characteristics of highly creative, intellectually gifted and highly creative, non-intellectually gifted adolescents and young adults who have participated actively in theatre arts programs at the secondary and undergraduate levels. Placement of students in the two categories examined was based on scores on individual or group IQ tests and on the author's subjective evaluation, after an extensive period of observation, of the students' levels of creativity. The paper is not a research study; rather, it is based on the author's observations during more than 15 years of work in secondary and undergraduate theatre. The sample included about 25 highly creative, intellectually gifted students and nearly 100 highly creative students who were not intellectually gifted. Although this paper is limited to theatre arts, the observed differences between these two groups of students may emphasize the importance of further examining theatre and other fields of expression to determine whether similar differences exist.

The authors describe a four year case study with a young boy from his Kindergarten through his third grade years. The young boy had above average intelligence but had great difficulty learning to read, write and spell. Procedures and materials are outlined as well as results.

The purpose of this article is to describe the discovery and development of mathematically gifted students at the Kolmogorov School—Special Educational and Scientific Centre of Moscow State University. This residential school, which was founded by Academician Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov, a member of both the Academy of Science and the Academy of Education in the U.S.S.R., in December, 1963, currently fosters the mathematical development of approximately 200 pupils in grades 10 and 11 who are selected through written and oral examinations after participation in regional olympiades. The article illustrates the curricular principles used at the Kolmogorov School.

This article describes a project based in Hungary which was intended to develop education that was relevant to the various indigenous cultures known as gipsy cultures. The writer emphasises the importance of understanding the culture and then basing education on the strength within the culture giving them recognition and worth.

This article describes the provision for the exceptionally able in Hungary and provides some detail of both is-school and out-of-school activities.

A survey was designed to compare perceptions of American teachers of the gifted (ATG), American parents of the gifted (APG), Korean teachers of the gifted (KTG), and Korean parents of the gifted (KPG) concerning social-psychological factors of underachievement in the gifted. There were four subsections: (1) familyparental factors, (2) psychological factors, (3) sociological factors, and (4) peer-relationship factors. Two hundred-eighty eight teachers and parents, 60 ATG, 77 APG, 28 KTG, and 50 KPG served as respondents. American teachers and parents, as compared to Korean teachers and parents, tended to overemphasize the importance of peer relationship, psychological environment, and social environment as causes of underachievement.

The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the importance of training programs in developing creative thinking skills among gifted disadvantaged children. This study compares two groups of fast learners exposed to varying lengths of training in creative activities. Group A received a total of 20 sessions while Group B had a total of 46 sessions. Training consisted of structured as well as unstructured activities designed to enhance the creative abilities of fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration. Techniques employed ranged from brainstorming, figural/verbal/physical exercises to problem solving. A prepost test design was used to compare differences between the two groups. While mean scores showed positive changes occurring in both groups, results of t-test analysis revealed significant differences only between the pre and post scores of Group B on three out of four categories of creative thinking, namely: fluency, flexibility and originality.

This article describes the historical development of special education for gifted students in Taiwan over the past twenty years. By reviewing the related literature, this study first presents background information, and then provides an overview of three stages of programming for gifted students. By analyzing laws, official rules and guidelines for special education, a variety of opportunities for gifted students are described and problems are discussed. Finally, some recommendations for further program development are proposed.