A Century of Contributions to Gifted Education traces the conceptual history of the field of gifted education. Bookended by Sir Francis Galton’s Hereditary Genius published in 1869, and Sidney Marland’s report to the United States Congress in 1972, each chapter represents the life and work of a key figure in the development of the field. While the historical record of gifted education has previously been limited, A Century of Contributions to Gifted Education explores the lives of individuals who made fundamental contributions in the areas of eminence, intelligence, creativity, advocacy, policy, and curriculum. Drawing heavily on archival research and primary source documentation, expert contributors highlight the major philosophical, theoretical, and pedagogical developments in gifted education over the course of a century, providing both lively biography and scholarly analysis.

A Century of Contributions to Gifted Education traces the conceptual history of the field of gifted education. Bookended by Sir Francis Galton’s Hereditary Genius published in 1869, and Sidney Marland’s report to the United States Congress in 1972, each chapter represents the life and work of a key figure in the development of the field. While the historical record of gifted education has previously been limited, A Century of Contributions to Gifted Education explores the lives of individuals who made fundamental contributions in the areas of eminence, intelligence, creativity, advocacy, policy, and curriculum. Drawing heavily on archival research and primary source documentation, expert contributors highlight the major philosophical, theoretical, and pedagogical developments in gifted education over the course of a century, providing both lively biography and scholarly analysis.

A History of American Gifted Education provides the first comprehensive history of the field of gifted education, which is essential to recognizing its contribution to the overall American educational landscape. The text relies heavily on primary documents and artifacts as well as essential secondary documents such as the disparate historical texts and relevant biographies that already exist. This book commences its investigation of American gifted education with the founding of the field of psychology and subsequently gifted education at the early part of the 20th century and concludes just over a century later with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001.

"Through individual profiles, more than 50 influential people in the field of gifted education share their perceptions and insights of where gifted education has been and where it is going. Each profile provides contact information, professional background, significant contributions to and publications in the field, those people who have influenced their careers, perceptions of critical events in gifted education, and opinions on future changes necessary to sustain the field. Along with an historical overview in the form of a timeline, Profiles of Influence contains narrative summaries of both the critical events identified and needed changes suggested in the individual profiles. In addition, profiles of the major organizations and associations supporting gifted education are included."--Back cover.

This report on the educational needs of American gifted and talented students identifies indicators of an educational crisis, describes the current status of education for these students, and presents recommendations to meet the educational needs of these students. Indicators demonstrating the need for change include the relatively poor performance by American students on international tests and the small number of students performing at the highest levels on National Assessment of Educational Progress tests. Recent studies have shown that gifted and talented elementary school students have mastered 35-40% of the curriculum in five basic subjects before they begin the school year; most regular classroom teachers make few, if any, provisions for talented students; highest achieving students study less than an hour a day; and only 2 cents out of every $100 spent on K-12 education supports special opportunities for talented students. A review describes how gifted and talented students are currently identified, the number of students served, the kind of support available, the kind of education most gifted and talented students receive, and characteristics of effective programs for these students. Seven recommendations are offered: (1) set challenging curricular standards; (2) establish high-level learning opportunities; (3) ensure access to early childhood education; (4) increase learning opportunities for disadvantaged and minority children with outstanding talents; (5) broaden the definition of gifted (a broadened definition based on the federal Javits Gifted and Talented Education Act is offered); (6) encourage appropriate teacher training and technical assistance; and (7) match world performance. (Contains 43 references.) (DB)

This book highlights how to conduct research in gifted education when researchers have to choose from myriad theoretical ideas, hypotheses, claims, practical models, and strategies. It shows researchers how to build clarity, rigor, and relevance into a research agenda that combats fragmentation and contributes to enhanced theoretical and practical endeavors in the field. Specifically, Paradigms of Gifted Education advocates a paradigmatic approach to conducting research in gifted education and shows how it can be done every step of the way by specifying the essential questions of What?, Why?, Who?, and How? in a coherent manner, and by selecting methods that are appropriate for the question asked and the phase of the research efforts. To facilitate the development of a research agenda, the book identifies three major paradigms of gifted education and 20 essential research questions that would help move the field forward.

The SAGE Handbook of Gifted & Talented Education provides a comprehensive and international overview of key challenges and issues in the field of gifted education, making this an invaluable volume for individuals in the fields of education, public and private school administration, psychology and beyond. Containing contributions by a range of expert authors from around the world, chapters include discussions of the wide range of human abilities and talents which impinge upon academic success, with explorations of various political, social and economic factors which influence how ‘giftedness’ and ‘gifted education’ is defined and understood in different regions around the globe. PART 1. CONCEPTS OF GIFTEDNESS AND IDENTIFICATION: SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL NEEDS PART 2: EDUCATIONAL PROVISION: PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES PART 3: GLOBAL RESPONSES TO EMERGING G&T PROVISION: DEFINING THE FUTURE