Carol van der Westhuizen

Some thoughts on the training of teachers of gifted learners

Ten years after the demise of the apartheid system in South Africa (SA), the ratio achieving gifted: non-achieving gifted is still woefully inadequate. The need for gifted learners to be better equipped for the challenges of a post-modern society and tertiary study needs to be highlighted, since far too many of the gifted currently do not stand even the remotest chance of achieving up to near their potential Furthermore, the narrative of democratic change in SA during the final decade of the 20th century has been a chronicle of the demise of a “racially and culturally segregated and differentiated education system based on the ideology of Christian National Education” (Porteus, 2003:13).

from human to humankind: facilitating global awareness among the gifted

It is generally accepted that the world has become a global village. The notion of world workers constantly migrating from one country and continent to another, has become commonplace. The ever-changing world impacts not only every country in the world but, indeed, every human being, including the gifted. Little wonder then that, in 1975, scholars demonstrated appreciation for the need to move beyond national concerns and to start focusing on the bigger picture; to embrace the notion of a global village and celebrate global awareness. George Parkyn said that our “very survival depends upon a new concern with the quality of human life and its relationship to the finite world we inhabit” (in Conceptual curriculum 2004: 1). Since then the development of global awareness has been increasingly highlighted by a number of authors (Rogalla, 2003; Tallent-Runnels, 2007; Terry, 2008, Volk, 2007 & 2008). Roeper (2008) said the term global awareness “is too limiting, it is really Universal Awareness with which we are concerned”. Sheard (2008) concluded that children who have lived “outside their passport countries” (third culture kids, or TCKs), could be a resource to the gifted community through the lessons the TCKs have learned. She also said that “instilling global awareness in gifted children might have social and emotional costs as well as benefits”.

Undervalued and under-served : the gifted disadvantaged

It is a fallacy that the government does not value bright children because it wants to reduce every child to the lowest common denominator. Nothing could be further from the truth (Asmal, 2003: 4). The omission of gifted learners as a special education needs category from policy documents such as White Paper 6 (Department of Education, 2001) In South Africa is cause for concern. Although the White Paper acknowledges that certain learners may require intensive support to develop to their full potential and that learner differences should be respected, “whether due to age, gender, ethnicity, language, class, disability, HIV or other infectious diseases” (Department of Education, 2001: 16, 6) it makes no specific mention of gifted learners. Asmal (2003:4) stated that the success of the South African (SA) school system is dependent on providing for the “blossoming of the potential of all our children”, but not by isolating gifted learners, since they could “add great value to the potential of other children through collaboration”. Naledi Pandor, South Africas minister of education recently explained: “We must promote the broadest possible view of inclusion, in the sense of social inclusion, which poses challenges for every school that has one or more children who are ‘different’ in some way. We must embrace and celebrate that difference” (2005:5).

Book Review: Diversity in Gifted Education: International Perspectives on Global IssuesDiversity in Gifted Education: International Perspectives on Global Issues Edited by WallaceBelleErikssonGillian, 2006UK: Routledge, London & New York ISBN 10: 0-415-36106-0 Pbk ISBN 13: 9-78-0-415-36106-4

The essays collectively offer a significant contribution to the literature on giftedness by examining critical issues that are related to definitions of giftedness in diverse contexts. As the title suggests, the reader finds in this volume a number of research reports, highlighting salient aspects of best practice that could mutatis mutandis be utilised and adapted to facilitate best practice in virtually every conceivable context. The authors collectively highlight the needs of all learners, not only the (academically) gifted. Drawing on the contributions of an array of eminent scholars, widely respected for their pioneering contributions to the field, the volume exudes an exciting aura of hope and respect for every learner.

Book Review: Thinking Skills Across the Early Years: A Practical Approach for Children Aged 4–7

Extracted from text ... Perspectives in Education, Volume 24(1), March 2006 103 Thinking skills across the early years: A practical approach for children aged 4-7 Belle Wallace, Nicola Beverley, Mike Carter, Lynne McClure and Dorothy Rickarby, 2002 UK: David Fulton Publishers Ltd. ISBN 1-85346-842-8 Pages xiv, 178 Series available from NACE Website: www.nace.co.uk REVIEWED BY CAROL VAN DER WESTHUIZEN AND KOBUS MAREE Published in the United Kingdom, this publication comes at a time when the number of discourses on the indispensability of critical thinking in education is ever-increasing. Perceptions of the value of critical thinking skills in South Africa have changed drastically since ..

Book Review: Thinking Skills and Problem-Solving: An Inclusive ApproachThinking Skills and Problem-Solving: an Inclusive ApproachWallaceBelleMakerJuneCaveDianaChandlerSimon, 2004UK: London. David Fulton Publishers Ltd. ISBN 1-84312-107-7 Pages: 164,

The introduction of outcomes-based education in South Africa changed the way in which learning facilitation is viewed .and conducted in a number of ways. The emphasis at present is on assessing learners on an ongoing basis, instead of using examdriven assessment, with a renewed emphasis on developing critical thinking, reasoning and reflection in the classroom. The emphasis is also on the application of content to reallife situations instead of textbook-bound situations. Learners are offered constant feedback in an attempt to motivate them to take responsibility for their own learning, thereby reaffirming their role in the learning process. This shift from educational inputs to learning outputs, from a narrow focus on classroom processes to learner achievements, and from educator actions to learner outcomes is common to first world and developing countries. It is within this context that the insights presented in this book should be evaluated.