Gifted and Talented Young People
Abstract
There is at present no policy for Gifted & Talented Education in Northern Ireland. This paper unravels the implications of this in terms of the quality of our education system in preparing our students for 21st Century life, the consequences of students needs not being met and the potential future impacts on our economy if this continues. Although some slow progress is being made, it is argued that change must happen at a Governmental level for any lasting progress to be meaningful.
Key words
Gifted, talented, education, selective, Northern Ireland, policy, 21st century skills, identification, provision, collaboration, learning, personalization.
Introduction
Within the field of Gifted and Talented (G&T) Education, the concept of ‘giftedness’ is a complex one. Definitions are broad and varied with no apparent consensus internationally. White et al. (2003) has stated that there are over 200 working definitions of ‘giftedness’, and while clarity is important in terms of identifying and providing for G&T students, we must be careful to remember the uniqueness of each child and not create generic categories in our quest for the ‘perfect’ definition.
The terms ‘gifted’ and ‘talented’ are often used synonymously, although evidence shows that experts in the area disagree with this usage (Freeman, 2001; Gray-Fow, 2005), choosing instead to see ‘gifts’ and ‘talents’ as abilities that are demonstrated differently in separate domains. An example of this is the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) definition, 2005 (cited by the Council of Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), 2006a, p8) which defines ‘gifted’ students as showing actual or potential high ability in one or more of the main curriculum subjects, and ‘talented’ students as those showing actual or potential high ability in sport, music and performing or visual arts. While this definition could be broader in taking into account other less recognized types of
There is at present no policy for Gifted & Talented Education in Northern Ireland. This paper unravels the implications of this in terms of the quality of our education system in preparing our students for 21st Century life, the consequences of students needs not being met and the potential future impacts on our economy if this continues. Although some slow progress is being made, it is argued that change must happen at a Governmental level for any lasting progress to be meaningful.
Key words
Gifted, talented, education, selective, Northern Ireland, policy, 21st century skills, identification, provision, collaboration, learning, personalization.
Introduction
Within the field of Gifted and Talented (G&T) Education, the concept of ‘giftedness’ is a complex one. Definitions are broad and varied with no apparent consensus internationally. White et al. (2003) has stated that there are over 200 working definitions of ‘giftedness’, and while clarity is important in terms of identifying and providing for G&T students, we must be careful to remember the uniqueness of each child and not create generic categories in our quest for the ‘perfect’ definition.
The terms ‘gifted’ and ‘talented’ are often used synonymously, although evidence shows that experts in the area disagree with this usage (Freeman, 2001; Gray-Fow, 2005), choosing instead to see ‘gifts’ and ‘talents’ as abilities that are demonstrated differently in separate domains. An example of this is the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) definition, 2005 (cited by the Council of Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), 2006a, p8) which defines ‘gifted’ students as showing actual or potential high ability in one or more of the main curriculum subjects, and ‘talented’ students as those showing actual or potential high ability in sport, music and performing or visual arts. While this definition could be broader in taking into account other less recognized types of
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