Beverly D. Shaklee

Identification of Young Gifted Students.

Among the critical issues in gifted child education which have emerged from the 1980s is the failure to appropriately identify and adequately program for primary gifted children. This paper examines the problems embedded in the accurate assessment of exceptional potential in populations of young children from minority and/or economically disadvantaged settings. Assessment issues are examined in the light of recent research on developmentally appropriate evaluation of young children. Historical and current practices are reviewed and descriptions of two innovative approaches to non-traditional assessment of young children are provided.

Preliminary findings of the early assessment for exceptional potential project 1

This article examines the preliminary results of a three year effort to create and implement a model for the assessment of exceptional potential in students, kindergarted through grade three. In addition, the article examines the impact of the project on the first cohort of 33 primary classroom teachers attitudes and behaviors toward the identification of, and subsequent programming for, young minority and/or economically disadvantaged children of exceptional potential.

Educational Partnerships: Gifted Program Advocacy In Action

As advocates for gifted programs, professionals in gifted child education and special education must work closely with school reform efforts to ensure that appropriate representation and service to gifted pupils are embedded within the reform framework. They should examine the development of partnerships and assess the strengths and weaknesses of collaboratives. They also should conduct research to strengthen the development of such efforts. This article discusses the critical elements of educational partnerships and presents an example of a partnership project designed to enhance educational opportunities for gifted children in an urban school setting.

A Qualitative Approach to Portfolios: The Early Assessment for Exceptional Potential Model.

The purpose of this article is to examine the creation of a portfolio assessment model based on qualitative research principles. Four assumptions provide the scaffolding for working with portfolios in the classroom: designing authentic learning opportunities; interaction of assessment, curriculum, and instruction; multiple criteria derived from multiple sources; and systematic teacher preparation. In addition, we examine the qualitative research procedures which were embedded in the development of the Early Assessment for Exceptional Potential (EAEP) model and provide support for meeting the standards of credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability of the research design (Guba & Lincoln, 1981).

Focus on International Schools: Serving Students with Learning Disabilities

This chapter is an overview of the status of international education with regard to services for special needs students and more specifically learning disabled students in international schools. While some 1,000+schools describe themselves as international, being international does not necessarily describe the services provided to students and families, the philosophical stance of the school or school board, nor does it describe the intent of being international for teachers and students alike. International schools have a very mixed history of serving special education students. This chapter provides a review of the situation for learning disabled and special needs students in international schools, examines the current status of services and provides examples of sponsored projects, professional development programs and international schools created to embrace special needs students.

Globalization: Defining the Terrain

Globalization can be a nebulous term. It often roots itself on a continuum where definitions range from economic partnerships to a focus on human capacity to embracing principles of equity and social justice both locally and globally. While globalization has developed different connotations and nuances across various fields, what remains constant is the importance and potential it carries with it. In our increasingly internationalized world, globalization has the potential to represent the move towards interconnection, collaboration, and intercultural understanding.

Book Reviews: BRUBAKER, D. L. (1994) Creative Curriculum Leadership. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press, hardcover

my arguments and finished it feeling that the strongest arguments I already knew had been glossed over or ignored. To take one of the follow-up studies as an example, rather than convincing the reader that the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) gives strong evidence for accelerating high-ability learners, she concludes that &dquo;the radical acceleration of these students did not generally have negative socioemotional effects in later years&dquo; (p. 114). Rather than build upon a statement by Julian Stanley that, &dquo;A few instructional minutes spent with a brilliant youth can produce amazing results...(pp. 125126)&dquo; she diminishes its strength by adding that, &dquo;His view is somewhat biased, and perhaps not ’politically correct’ 16 years later, but it still contains some truth.&dquo; The author states in her introduction that, &dquo;Although the book is not a ’how to’ text for teachers of the gifted, it can also provide them with ideas and resources. As a

42.95, ISBN 0-8039-6140-5, 152 pp., paperback,

The term “at risk,” used to describe more and more of the students in today’s classrooms, has evolved during a twenty-year journey through educational reform. Earlier educational language described these children with terms such as underprivileged. culturally disadvantaged, or an educational minority, to name a few. The general public has described these children and their families as lazy, unmotivated, or uninterested in learning. As noted by Swadener (1990). and commented upon by Cuban (1989). “the description of at-risk students and their families should be familiar. After all, it is almost two hundred years old, and it remains today, as it was when it first appeared, a formula Used by reformers to arouse the public to action” (p. 19). Whatever language we use, we are describing a group of children who have potential but who are at risk for leaming in OUT schools today.