Introduction
This resource is intended for the educators of New Zealand.
One of the great joys and privileges of being a teacher is sharing in the development of a young person's exceptional ability. It is equally gratifying to then observe that special ability being realised in adult achievement. Many eminent adults, when asked to identify the critical factors contributing to their outstanding accomplishments, point to support that teachers provided.
There is a growing awareness of the special needs of gifted and talented students and of the importance of providing them with an educational environment that offers maximum opportunities to develop their special abilities. There is also an increased acknowledgment that these young people represent one of our country's greatest natural resources and that failure to support them appropriately in their schooling may see this potential go unrealised.
Consequences
Teachers are becoming more aware of the consequences of not attending to the needs of the gifted and talented. The research in this area is conclusive and irrefutable: failure to recognise and meet the needs of the gifted and talented can result in their boredom, frustration, mediocrity, and even hostility.
Certainly, many students are not deterred by a system that fails to support the development of their special abilities. Some of this group may compensate for an unrewarding school environment by finding fulfilment in activities beyond the school gate. However, others may choose to deny their abilities in an attempt to fit in. A significant number of our more able students simply 'give up', leave school prematurely, and often never pursue those areas where they once showed so much promise.
Potential
New Zealand teachers are attuned to the needs of individual students and skilled in student-centred strategies. In addition, the national curriculum allows students to work at levels matching their abilities. The combination of these two elements has the potential to create an effective learning environment for the gifted and talented.
What needs to be added is a co-ordinated school-wide approach that provides teachers with a comprehensive understanding of the needs of the gifted and talented as well as with the strategies to meet these needs.
Our National Education Guidelines (NEGS):
- assist all children to realise their full potential
- identify and remove barriers to achievement
- identify and support those students with special needs.
Gifted and talented students: Meeting their needs in New Zealand schools has been designed to provide schools with information from which they can develop their own approaches to meeting these requirements. Consequently, the information provided is not prescriptive. It includes a range of perspectives and possibilities to help each school tailor its response to the nature and needs of its students and community.
Although many ideas included in this resource inform classroom practice, it is intended for boards of trustees and principals as well as for classroom teachers because all are involved in decision making at this level.
Terminology
In many schools, there will be much discussion and debate about the preferred term to describe these students. The alternatives are many:
- students/children with special abilities
- students with high potential
- gifted
- gifted and talented
- able
- more able
- exceptional, and so on.
The term 'gifted and talented' is used here mainly because it is most widely used internationally.
Structure of this resource
This resource begins with a 'Getting started' section that outlines how schools might approach the task of developing a school-wide approach for their gifted and talented students. The remainder of the resource is divided into the two main stages involved in to developing a suitable programme.
Stage 1 looks at definitions, characteristics, and identification of gifted and talented students. There has been no attempt to offer a single definition of giftedness and talent. Instead, schools are encouraged to take a multi-categorical and multi-cultural approach, and to include special abilities across a range of areas. Any approach must recognise that the incidence of giftedness and talent is not determined by class, culture, or gender.
Stage 2 looks at programme development and evaluation. This section explains the essential elements of programmes for gifted and talented students and describes a range of contexts in which these may be offered.
To illustrate the strategies or to elaborate on the approaches outlined in each section of these stages, examples of school case studies, research and conference papers, and other related material are provided at the end of each section under the 'Related reading' heading.