A. Harry Passow

Toward improving identification of talent potential among minority and disadvantaged students

The under‐inclusion of economically disadvantaged and children of minority cultures in programs for the gifted is well documented. Suggestions are made for the elements of anew paradigm for identifying talent potential in underserved populations. In coming to grips with more effective approaches to the identification and development of talents among minority and disadvantaged gifted, educators will better understand how to improve identification of talent potential among all learners.

The Nature of Giftedness and Talent

Any discussion of the nature of giftedness and talent will depend on how one defines those terms. Who is gifted? Who is talented? How are giftedness and talent manifested? Perhaps the widest used definition these days-&dquo;used&dquo; in the sense that a good deal of the literature alludes to it and a great many school systems assert that it is the definition which guides their planning-is the so-called U.S. Office of Education definition. This definition suggested by an advisory panel to the then-Commissioner of Education, Sidney Marland, Jr., and presented in the Marland Report is as follows:

Educating Gifted Persons Who Are Caring and Concerned.

Peace education, ethical considerations, problem solving and networking strategies enhance the global curriculum for the gifted.

NEEDED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN EDUCATING HIGH ABILITY CHILDREN

Abstract Serious research on the gifted began some 70 years ago with the Terman studies, and has intensified in the last decade or so. Since many decisions on identification, education and counseling depend on the underlying conception of giftedness, a fruitful area of research involves the validity of various concepts. Research is also needed to ascertain the effectiveness of identification procedures, to determine what kinds of educational and socialization opportunities are needed to transform potential into performance, and better to identify and nurture giftedness in populations which are traditionally underrepresented. We need to understand better how affective characteristics can be nurtured, as well as the influence of family and community on talent development and ways of achieving the twin goals of equity and excellence. 1) This paper is based on an address at the First ECHA – Conference in Zurich in 1988. A version of the address has already been published in the Roeper Review.

Reflections on Three Decades of Education of the Gifted.

Appropriate education for the gifted student takes place in the total learning environment which individuals experience.

Needed research and development in educating high ability children an editorial

For those exploring areas for research in gifted education, this article offers suggestions. Drawing from a paper prepared for the First European Council for High Ability Conference in Zurich, Switzerland (November, 1988), Dr. Passow discusses issues and problems which warrant further research.

Curriculum for the Gifted and Talented at the Secondary Level.

Curriculum for the gifted and talented at the secondary level involves more than deciding whether to acceterate or enrich, to group or not, to offer an honors program or an advanced seminar, or to offer advanced placement courses. Rather, it consists of the total learning environment and encompasses the general education, specialized education, co-curricular, and education in non-school settings, together with the climate which is created in the school and classroom for pursuit of excellence. Curriculum planning begins with a clear concept of program goals and objectives. It consists of a number of decisions about content, scope, sequence, integration, articulation and balance, as well as about resource use, time, space, and organization.

The Four Curricula of the Gifted and Talented: Toward a Total Learning Environment.

process of curriculum development involves many kinds of decisions: what is to be taught, to whom, when, how, under what conditions, by whom; and how are the results to be evaluated. T h e e l e m e n t s of curriculum which must be ordered and reordered into opportunities for experiences include: goals and objectives, content, learning activities, teaching strategies, material and personnel resources, evaluation, organization, time and space. Different ia ted e d u c a t i o n is essentially a curriculum problem and decisions about program design and the arrangement of educative experiences are guided following the traditional Tyler-Taba curriculum model by studies in three areas: the nature of gifted children (their needs, characterist ics and persistent problems), the nature of society (its heritage, culture, present and future needs for persons with high-level abilities), and the nature of knowledge (including the disciplines and their unique functions). As with all curriculum design problems, decisions on the program design stem from philosophic commitments, value systems, theories of learning and development, convictions concerning resources, beliefs about the nature of schooling and the functions of the school. Despite the tremendous variations which exist among a group of gifted and talented children, they do have m a n y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s which differentiate them from other learners. Clark, for instance, has described these differential characteristics in five areas: cognitive, affective, physical, intuitive, and societal, emphasizing t h a t “an analysis of t h o s e characteristics can provide us with a model for organizing educational programs.”5 Such lists of differential characteristics are useful only as a frame agairist which to study the nature and needs of the specific population for whom differential experiences are being planned. In Clark’s schema, the differentiating characteristics “create related educational needs that make demands upon school programs in terms of modifications in classroom organization and method~logy.”~ While all aspects of the educational

Designing a Global Curriculum.

The paper pleads for a global curriculum which will nurture understanding and commitment to a world society. Teachers have neglected to educate pupils for the nuclear age, for the technological revolution; for an international understanding of inter-relationships. Important aspects of the global curriculum should include peace education; inter-cultural studies; the development of thinking and valuing capacities; world problems of hunger, poverty and injustice; ethical and moral dimensions of problems; the changing nature of knowledge, future studies; real problem-solving and communication across the world in a system of networking.

Styles of Leadership Training

The United States Office of Education includes leadership in its comprehensive definition of giftedness. In this address, Dr. Passow discusses the concept of leadership in general and then shares with the reader his ideas on the specifics of developing leaders in the area of gifted child education. Originally presented at the Office of Gifted and Talented (U.S.O.E.) sponsored Institute on Leadership Training and the Gifted, Chicago, Illinois, June 3, 1978, Styles of Leadership Training is reproduced here for G/C/Ts readers.