Giftedness: Literature Review Giftedness the

Giftedness: Literature Review Giftedness The issue of giftedness and the problematics of identifying and dealing with the gifted child in the educational environment is one that has raised concern and even contention in academic circles. The question of giftedness is also strongly related to the ongoing debate and research about human Intelligence. Some critics state that in contemporary research ".. giftedness and gifted education have somehow managed to escape comparable critical analysis" (Margolin, 1994, p. xiii).

One of the reasons given for this lack of focus is the dominance of studies on deviance and social problems in education, which has led to the relegation of the question of giftedness to the periphery of modern educational and sociological discourse. This has resulted in a situation where".. gifted education has been studied mostly by insiders with a stake in seeing gifted education continue: gifted child educators themselves..." (Margolin, 1994, p. xiii). This in turn raises questions about bias and objectivity in research in this area.

While there is a large amount of debate and even disagreement about the definition, meaning, assessment and methods related to giftedness, there is also a large degree of consensus and agreement on various aspects. For Instance, "Educators in the field essentially agree on the importance of parents and family in the positive education and social development of gifted children..." (Colangelo and Dettmann, 1983) There are many other areas in which the rather extensive research tends to coincide rather then deviate.

This paper will attempt to present on overview of the most relevant and contemporaneous issues and topics that are being debated in this field. 2. Purpose of project The central purpose of this project is to explore the phenomenon of giftedness in terms of contemporary research and theory. To this end a comprehensive overview of the literature is provided, with the focus on contemporary aspects of research and discourse.

There are a wide range of theoretical concerns and often divergent views about giftedness, and this study intends to discuss and present the most important views on the subject. The project is also concerned with the explication of the problematics of identification and assessment that form such an important part of the study of the gifted child and individual. 3. Discussion and reviews There is a certain amount of contention about the definition of giftedness in the literature.

A common definition, or rather perception, of the term giftedness is as follows: "Giftedness is that precious endowment of potentially outstanding abilities which allows a person to interact with the environment with remarkably high levels of achievement and creativity." (Giftedness and the Gifted: What's it All About?) This rather effusive definition is an indicator of the problematics of defining giftedness. There are many contentious areas in relation to the understanding and assessment of giftedness in education.

A more reasoned and comprehensive view of the meaning of giftedness was provided by Former U.S. Commissioner of Education Sidney P. Marland, Jr., who stated in his August 1971 report to Congress; Gifted and talented children are those identified by professionally qualified persons who by virtue of outstanding abilities are capable of high performance. These are children who require differentiated educational programs and/or services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program in order to realize their contribution to self and society. (Marland, 1972).

The above expands on the understanding of giftedness in terms of two important points: the importance of the qualified and professional identification of the gifted child and their differentiation in terms of specific educational requirements. The same report continued to define giftedness in terms of ability in the following categories: specific academic aptitude; creative or productive thinking; leadership ability; visual or performing arts and psychomotor ability.

(Giftedness and the Gifted: What's it All About?) As noted in the introduction, much of the contention in the literature about the term giftedness exists in the assertion that the term is a construct of educationists and other authorities, rather than a discovered quality per se. This is an important view as it brings to bear various sociological and educational biases that may exist in the understanding and definition of the gifted child. "..

giftedness, especially in children and adolescents in the schools, is something we as a field have constructed or invented through our writing and talking, not something that we have discovered. (Borland, 1997, p. 7) Borland (1997) goes on to expand on this aspect. To state that a construct is socially constructed is to state that it gains its meaning, even its existence, from people's interactions, especially their discourse.

Concepts and constructs that are socially constructed thus acquire their properties and their influence through the give and take of social interaction, not through the slow accretion of empirical facts about a preexisting entity, at least not exclusively. (Borland, 1997, p. 7) This article is useful in terms of contemporary theory and definitions of giftedness, as it explores the assumption that giftedness is a construct that has changed over time.

In other words, the understanding of giftedness has been constructed differently in different time periods and social and cultural environments; in essence this refers to the relativity of the concept of giftedness. Borland notes that"...the construct of giftedness has undergone significant changes in recent times." (Borland, 1997, p. 13) He also refers to modern educationists and theorists of intelligence such as Gardner and his Theory of Multiple Intelligences. This revolutionary view of intelligence contradicts the hierarchical view and the privileging of certain "intelligences" over others.

Gardner's theory "...reflects his view that there are seven distinct intelligences of equal importance despite their unequal treatment in school curricula and traditional concepts of giftedness, has spawned programs in which educators attempt to identify giftedness in each of the putative intelligences." (Borland, 1997, p. 13) This is an important contribution the literature on giftedness as it implies that that there is no one set definition of giftedness bur rather that it must be defined within each sphere of intelligence.

Therefore this suggests that in theoretical terms "The logical practical consequences of the application of NU theory in gifted education would include the need to use different procedures to identify giftedness in each of the seven intelligences and to develop separate curricula differentiated for each type of giftedness." (Borland, 1997, p. 13) Another view that sheds more light on the definition and understanding of giftedness is suggested by Porter (2005).

In line with the above comments, Porter explains that the hierarchical view of the giftedness is no longer seen as a tenable estimation and assessment of the term gifted. "In the past, there was a hierarchical view of giftedness and talent which upheld that giftedness referred to academic skills while talent referred to nonacademic abilities -- for example, in the fine arts. But this hierarchy cannot stand up to scrutiny..." (Porter, 2005, p.

4) This extends the view of giftedness and does not relegate the application of this term only to academic achievements. "...artistic expression is as central to the artist's personhood as academic achievement is to the intellectual. It is hoped that both will be a means for self-fulfillment, so one talent simply cannot be of less value than the other." (Porter, 2005, p. 4) From this perspective giftedness is defined as "...exceptional innate ability" and the potential to excel. (Porter, 2005, p.

4) Definitions of giftedness are related to various theoretical paradigms that attempt to understand and explain this educational and developmental aspect. One view is that giftedness is a form of mental self-management. (Sternberg and Wagner 1982) This theory sees the key to intellectual giftedness as residing in the insight and skills that include three main processes in mental management. These are; adapting to environments, selecting new environments, and shaping environments.

(Giftedness and the Gifted: What's it All About?) in term of this theory the gifted individual is adept at "...separating relevant from irrelevant information.. combining isolated pieces of information into a unified whole, and.. relating newly acquired information to information acquired in the past." (Giftedness and the Gifted: What's it All About?) This view sees giftedness in terms of problem solving abilities, as well as in the ability to process and integrate information creatively.

Another view put forward by Joseph Renzulli (1986) states that giftedness and gifted behavior depend largely on the interaction among three basic clusters of human traits: above-average general and/or specific abilities, high levels of task commitment (motivation), and high levels of creativity.

(Renzulli's Enrichment Triad) According to Renzulli, "...gifted and talented children are those who possess or are capable of developing this composite of traits and applying them to any potentially valuable area of human performance." (Giftedness and the Gifted: What's it All About?) Theories about gifted individuals are often divided into two general categories in the literature: the conjunctive and disjunctive views of giftedness. The latter refers to the multitrait conception of giftedness as advocated by Borland (1989) and others.

The disjunctive theoretic stance is related to the United States Office of Education (U.S.O.E.) and MI or multiple intelligences view of intelligence and giftedness. In the disjunctive approach one if gifted if one has a high level in any of the abilities attributed to giftedness. "One is gifted if one has a high level of this ability or if one has a high level of that ability, and so forth" (Borland, 1997, p. 14).

In essence," Disjunctive definitions imply that there are different and distinct forms of giftedness and lead to the logical conclusion that programs must be multifaceted to address these various kinds of giftedness adequately" (Borland, 1997, p. 14). In the view of some educationists (Borland, 1997) this stance has some practical problems with regard to the development of curricula and identification issues; it is obviously more difficult to identify gifted children across a wide range of different types of intelligence, each with different criteria of giftedness.

Conjunctive theories and perceptions of giftedness are more integraive and holistic in design. An example is the theory posited by Joseph Renzulli (1986) was discussed above. In this view, All three of these qualities must be present to constitute creative-productive (as opposed to "school-house") giftedness, so a single profile, composed of multiple traits, emerges. This convergence makes identification and curriculum development much simpler than it is when disjunctive conceptions are used (Borland,1997, p. 14). Another conjunctive view of giftedness is Sternberg's (1988) theory of giftedness.

This is a "triarchic "theory, which is composed of"...three subtheories, a contextual subtheory, an experiential subtheory, and a componential subtheory. Each of these theoretical components presents an essential aspect of human intelligence. Sternberg suggest that ".. we view intelligence theories in terms of the metaphors on which they are based: geographic, computational, biological, epistemological, anthropological, sociological, and systems" (Plucker J. 2001).

This is in contrast to the more conventional approach suggested by Gardner and others who attempt "...to classify these theories based on their dominant perspective: psychometric, developmental, biological, cognitive..." (Plucker J. 2001). It is also suggested that the theory put forward by Sternberg, while theoretically challenging, is becoming more popular among educationists. A the Triarchic Theory of Intelligence which has received...less attention from educators primarily due to its complexity, is well-known and may be gaining momentum..." (Plucker J. 2001).

An interesting book that aids in the understanding of the plethora of theories on giftedness and which provides a global perspective on giftedness is Talent in context: Historical and social perspectives on giftedness, by Friedman and Rogers (1998).

The book deals with five central themes: namely the interaction between social and historical forces in the understanding and development of talent; the identification of talent from an interdisciplinary perspective; the expression of talent from multiple contexts; the influence of significant others on high-level production and talent; and the idea expertise of as a prototype within the conceptualization of giftedness and talent..." (Kendrick, 2001, p. 243) In particular the third section of the book dealing with Conceptualizing and Reconceptualizing Giftedness should be noted.

This section, identifies three perspectives in the development of gifts and talents from childhood, through maturity, and ending in adulthood; summarizes and integrates the nine views of expertise and relates each to giftedness; and provides a historical approach to the idea of talent development by debunking myths and providing models for its continued use (Kendrick, 2001, p. 243).

Qualities and attributes of the gifted child work which has value in the debate about giftedness is Barbara Clark's informative book, Growing up Gifted (1988) This work provides an extensive listing the various characteristics and attributes commonly associated with the gifted individual. The book also states that while no one individual will have all the attributes of giftedness it is important for the parent to be fully cognizant of these various attributes in order to recognize them in their child.

These characteristics or attributes include intellect (thinking), affective (feeling), as well as physical, Intuitive, and societal aspects (Clark, 1988). There is an increasing emphasis on the importance of the recognition of qualities and attributes of giftedness, especially in the younger child. In a report to Congress, Commissioner of Education Sydney P. Marland (1972) stated that "...the most neglected minority in American education was that group of youngsters identified as gifted "(Colangelo and Dettmann, 1983).

This implies that the parents of gifted children may face the problematic situation of a child in an educational environment which does not provide adequately for the needs of the gifted. Another factor which complicates the issue is that there are no guidelines as to the effectiveness and appropriateness of special "gifted programs." This places the focus on the difficult decision that parents of gifted children may have to make.

In virtually every program for gifted children in the country, parents make the decision of letting a son or daughter participate. Further, educators are still debating the merits of special classes for those who are gifted. Considerable disagreement remains on the issue of whether special programs help gifted youngsters or if they actually cause harm to peer relationships. In the face of this confusion, parents are asked to make decisions (Colangelo and Dettmann, 1983). In general the following are usually considered as central categories in identifying characteristics of giftedness.

A general intellectual ability specific academic aptitude creative or productive thinking leadership ability visual or performing arts psychomotor ability Giftedness and the Gifted: What's it All About?) Research indicates that using a broad range of parameters to identify giftedness, a school system "...could expect to identify 10% to 15% or more of its student population as gifted and talented. "(Horn, 1999, p. 2) Statistics on the number of gifted students vary from area to area. For example, figures from Texas for 2005/2006 indicate that there were 342,353 gifted pupils identified (Texas).

In Oregon there were according to a survey only 39,182 Students identified as gifted in 2005. (Oregon) Another research survey in Illinois produced the following table. Source (http://www.isbe.state.il.us/research/pdfs/gifted_1998.pdf.) There are also many States that do not have any figures for the past few years. In dealing with statistics it must also be borne in mind that these statistics are dependent on various theoretical perspectives as well as the problematics of identifying giftedness and the concomitant assessment issues.

Common indicators of giftedness include the following aspects. The early development of a good vocabulary, including the correct use of big words in their proper context. Being able to concentrate on a single activity for longer periods of time than other children of the same age do. Developing an early interest in time - clocks, calendars and the concepts of yesterday and tomorrow. Learning to read, write and count and the names of colors at earlier ages than other children. Loving to organize people and things and creating imaginary playmates.

Having a precocious interest in music and drawing (Horn, 1999, p. 2) The attributes of giftedness are therefore guidelines to the identification of the gifted child. Identification is a problematic and often contentious area of the literature. The following is a brief overview of the dominant attributes and qualities associated with giftedness in a general context. Genera intellectual ability is seen as one of the central facets in identifying giftedness. This is usually determined in terms of high intelligence test scores.

This is commonly ascertained by two standard deviations above the mean both on individual or group measures. (Giftedness and the Gifted: What's it All About?) in most cases a general perception of this attribute it is often ascertained by means of close observation of the child by parents and teachers.

"Parents and teachers often recognize students with general intellectual talent by their wide-ranging fund of general information and high levels of vocabulary, memory, abstract word knowledge, and abstract reasoning." (Giftedness and the Gifted: What's it All About?) The literature has found gifted children usually show advanced cognitive skills from the very early years of development (Damiani 1997). A central defining characteristic of giftedness is that these children "...acquire developmental skills at least one-third earlier than their age mates." (Porter, 2005, p.

5) However, Porter (2005) and many others realize that this is not a fixed criterion and some students ".. will acquire their first milestones at the same age as average learners, but thereafter will progress more quickly than usual and achieve each subsequent milestone sooner " (Porter, 2005, p. 5). There are obviously many factors that have to be taken into account and the literature is replete with views about the importance of environmental and other factors in the nurturing of gifted intelligence.

Children who are gifted or show an exceptional aptitude in specific academic areas are usually identified through their academic performances and achievements. As has been mentioned, the subject of intelligence and MI or "Multiple Intelligences" is dealt with by Gardner and others. Gardner's view of multiple intelligences has added another layer to the problematics and complexity of identifying and assessing giftedness. Howard Gardner is a Harvard psychologist whose MI theory has shaped modern discourse on intelligence.

In a 1983 publication entitled Frames of Mind he posited the existence of seven different types of intelligence. These include: linguistic; logical-mathematical; spatial; interpersonal; intrapersonal; musical; and bodily-kinesthetic. Each individual has these types. However one type of intelligence may be more dominant than another. One of the critiques of conventional views of intelligence that this theory has engendered is that in the past there has been an emphasis on one of two types of intelligence and a neglect of the others.

Gardner suggests that linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences have been emphasized almost exclusively in education. (Educational Psychology) These views have impacted the educational system and have also affected the way that giftedness is identified and dealt with. In recent years, a number of schools throughout the country have instituted curricula, teaching methods, and methods of assessment based on Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences.

According to the theory, every subject and concept can (and should) be covered in ways that involve all the different types of intelligence, reflecting the fact that children have a variety of different learning styles. Educational Psychology) Another view that is prominent in the literature on the assessment of giftedness and the characteristics of the child is the discernment of creative and productive thinking. Many critics assert that a more open and less premeditated approach should be taken giftedness.

"Giftedness should not be confined to a score or an IQ achievement test. Our idea for creative accomplishment potential resides in all children. The challenge is to help parents transform that potential into reality. We should be cautious about predicting a limiting future for any child. "("Learning Styles Reflections on," 2004,).

The emphasis therefore, from this point-of-view, is not on questions such as "How gifted is my child?" But should rather concentrate on asking "How is my child gifted?" ("Learning Styles Reflections on," 2004.) in other words, there is a feeling that most children are gifted in some way and that this potential should be creatively nurtured. Other attributes associated with the gifted child include an exploration of creative and productive thinking.

This is defined as the "...ability to produce new ideas by bringing together elements usually thought of as independent or dissimilar and the aptitude for developing new meanings that have social value" (Giftedness and the Gifted: What's it All About?). Another attribute and characteristic of giftedness is leadership ability. Significantly, it has been found that," Students who demonstrate giftedness in leadership ability use group skills and negotiate in difficult situations..." (Giftedness and the Gifted: What's it All About?). This trait is identified and usually associated with skills in problem solving.

Those gifted in leadership abilities can also be identified through instruments such as FIRO-B or the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation Behavior (Giftedness and the Gifted: What's it All About?). There is also an increasing focus on students who are gifted in the various arts. "These students can be identified by using task descriptions such as the Creative Products Scales, which were developed for the Detroit Public Schools by Patrick Byrons and Beverly Ness Parke of Wayne State University" (Giftedness and the Gifted: What's it All About?).

The problematics of identification and assessment of giftedness The above discussion has already referred to the problematic issue of identifying giftedness. Various theories set different criteria and are based on different assumptions and predilections about the giftedness. The literature however also emphasizes the danger of not recognizing the gifted child and providing him or her with the appropriate stimulation and guidance.

The danger is that if the gifted child is not recognized he or she may become "bored" with the curriculum or the teaching level and this may have negative developmental implications. Identifying giftedness early is important because gifted children have a tendency to become bored. Boredom can lead to intellectual laziness.

If gifted children are not challenged early, they may not develop the capacity to persist in the face of frustration and work hard to overcome challenges...That's why parents need to ensure their gifted children are adequately stimulated, both in and out of school (Horn, 1999, p. 2). There are numerous cases in the literature that can be cited of a child failing to be acknowledged or identified as gifted.

This also includes the fact that some talents and qualities are more conspicuous than others, "For instance, a verbally talented child can be more obvious than a child with advanced mathematical or creative abilities" (Porter, 2005, p. 4). Some children have not yet had experiences in the domain in which they might later develop special talents. Often a young child's advanced skills are hidden by their as yet immature social or emotional behaviors (Porter, 2005, p. 4).

Leading on from the various issues relating to identification are the more complex problems of the assessment of the gifted child. In the contemporary educational milieu there are many changes and new theories and views about the assessment of the child. This is reflected in the wide range of ideas and views brought to bear in the literature. Accurate assessment of the gifted child is acknowledged to be a complex and difficult task.

"The behavior of young children often changes markedly in various environments, giving observers in different settings an inconsistent view of their skills" (Porter, 2005, p.5). An example of the problematics is that there is a danger of over - differentiation; "...that is, adults may not expect children who are talented in one domain (such as verbal skills) to be talented in another domain (e.g. The arts) as well, and so might fail to identify a child's multiple talents" (Porter, 2005, p.5).

There are a number of areas related to assessment that are of importance in the literature. Contemporary views on current assessment techniques and preferences include portfolio assessment, observation, and dynamic assessment. (Borland, 1997, p. 16) the underlying trajectory in these new forms of assessment is based on the realization that conventional notions of objectivity may not be adequate in the assessment of giftedness. "...the constructs and abilities underlying certain important aspects of school performance may not be as stable or objectifiable as once thought. "(Borland, 1997, p.

16) in effect, there seems to be growing trend away from so-called objective modes of assessment of the gifted child. As Borland states: In fact, the term objective has been desanctified and no longer is universally, and erroneously, used as a synonym for valid. The idea that human judgment, as subjective as it might be, may prove to be a more valid means of assessing some constructs of interest to educators than are objective measures is steadily gaining ground (Borland, 1997, p. 16).

Methods such as consensual assessment and others have been used as a means of reducing the possible biases in stringent objective approaches. However the literature also notes that positivist and quantitative approaches to assessment are still dominant in education. There is a growing consensus that the standard objective tests for giftedness should be supplemented or augmented by more interactive and subjective methods of ascertaining giftedness. In this regard researchers like Borland note that educationists should become more aware of how their own biases and predictions shape the assessment of giftedness. "..

new thinking about assessment may shape our thinking about the construct" (Borland, 1997, p. 16). This view also relates to the more "postmodernist" approach to the assessment of giftedness; where there is awareness that there are numerous 'realities' that are relative and constructed, rather than definite and predetermined. 4. Summary and.