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This special issue focuses on a developmental view of giftedness. A developmental perspective on giftedness is in consonance with current views that recognize the dynamic nature of developing abilities and the importance of understanding the processes involved in, and the pathways to, gifted performance. The papers span early childhood to adolescence and a variety of domains-mathematics, narrative, and spatial-artistic. Together, the papers provide a fine-grained view of what makes giftedness from a neo-Piagetian perspective, resulting in a 'design for development' that has strong educational implications. A developmental perspective on giftedness provides a way of capturing the emergent nature of giftedness through articulation of its characteristics at different points in development. Contemporary work in psychology and intelligence questions the absolute, static view of giftedness embodied in traditional notions of giftedness, as defined by superior performance on an intelligence test. There is such developmental diversity among children and adolescents with high IQs that it makes the definition of little use in fostering development in a holistic fashion. The papers in this issue highlight what constitutes giftedness in different domains and raise questions about its developmental course. They suggest that giftedness is more complex than a unitary view can capture. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

This paper describes a developmental psychological approach to understanding giftedness. A theoretical model of exceptional expertise is used to frame our understanding of how gifted children's conceptual knowledge develops in a variety of domains and how the interplay of this conceptual knowledge with domain-specific skills results in rich, elaborate thinking. This model provides a 'design for development' of giftedness in a variety of domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

This paper discusses issues relevant to gifted children’s readiness for school. It raises a number of questions that challenge thinking about what is meant by school readiness. Gifted children can often be ready for school entrance before the age traditionally considered appropriate. Their complex developmental profiles challenge accepted notions of school readiness. Questions and issues pertaining to how giftedness is defined and nurtured, determination of social-emotional readiness for school, and development of giftedness across the life span are considered for their educational implications. Findings from developmental psychology on transition points in development, predictability of intelligence, and motivation to learn are presented as a framework for thinking about educational policy and practice that best support young children with learning profiles that include advanced levels of development. Questions raised also constitute directions for research on a topic that lacks a solid research base. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Artistic giftedness in 4-, 6-, 8-, and 10-year-olds was investigated from a neo-Piagetian perspective, which articulates the increasingly complex structures for representing spatial relations in drawing during middle childhood. Composition, color use, and competence in human-figure drawing also were studied. Gifted young artists structured the spatial relations in their drawings, composed their drawings, and used color in a fashion similar to average children. However, they often used these variables in a flexible way, resulting in distinctive drawings. Their drawings were distinguished by graphic competence and the degree of elaboration in their human figures, skills that appear to be less constrained by developmental factors. Artistic giftedness may be demonstrated by the flexible and elaborate way in which gifted young artists use their structural capabilities and by their advanced mastery of specific artistic skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

An exploratory study of gifted children's understandings of intelligence showed that between the ages of 6 and 12, external indicators of smartness are synthesized with internal factors of feelings and judgments about intelligence. This synthesis becomes more complex with age. At age 12, children's definitions took on an interpretive quality with references to the psychological self apparent. A developmental progression in children's understanding was found which suggests that age is a factor to consider when discussing giftedness with children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Studied 217 gifted young artists (aged 4, 6, 8, or 10 yrs) from a cognitive-developmental perspective and found that, in ability to render perspective, there are age-related trends that are similar to those of children with average ability. Flexible and elaborate use of these perspectival abilities is apparent in the work of the gifted Ss. Artistic abilities other than perspective appeared to be less influenced by development, showing advancement for some gifted Ss. Individual differences in manifestations of giftedness were also found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

in the present study, I [the author] decided to examine the performance of children who were at the upper end of the IQ spectrum three groups of gifted children [aged 6 years] were studied: those with extremely high scores on both the verbal and nonverbal subscales of a standard intelligence test; those with an extremely high score on only the verbal subscale; and those with an extremely high score on only the nonverbal subscale / by comparing the performance of these three groups to that of a normal population, I hoped to maximize the chances of finding children with asymmetrical developmental profiles, and to evaluate the magnitude and frequency of these asymmetries (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

This study explored Ndebele culture of Zimbabwe's views of giftedness. Using questionnaire narratives, data were collected from thirty Zimbabwean teachers and lecturers of Ndebele cultural background. The study established that Ndebele culture views giftedness as an unusually outstanding ability blessed in an individual from birth, which manifests in extraordinary performances and expertise including creativity and inspirational power. The hallmarks of Ndebele culture's views of giftedness are achieving exceptionally outstanding success, creativity, ability to solve problems and inspirational power. Indigenous views warrant attention since contemporary psychology now recognizes multiple views of giftedness. The study therefore recommends considering the implications of indigenous views in planning and implementing broad-based culturally sensitive gifted programs in Zimbabwe. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

In an exploratory study designed to investigate Shona culture of Zimbabwe's views of giftedness, data were collected from sixteen Zimbabwean academics of Shona cultural background. Using questionnaire narratives, the study established that Shona culture views giftedness as an unusual ability blessed in an individual through ancestry which enables him/her to perform with unparalleled expertise even in challenging domains. The hallmarks of Shona culture's views of giftedness are ability to succeed, solve problems, creativity, interpersonal relationships and spirituality. When values are held constant, Shona culture's views of giftedness do not differ from views in contemporary psychology. The study recommends fusing together cultural and modern views of giftedness in the school curriculum in order to develop a diversity of talents in students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

After nearly a century of development, gifted education has evolved into a complex educational discipline with well thought out pedagogy and research agendas. However, while the number of studies escalates, the field as a whole has been criticized for producing fragmented and piecemeal results. One of the reasons for these shortfalls is that the field has invested little in meta-theoretical aspects, such as historical perspectives and philosophical foundations. This article is a comprehensive review and analysis of the conceptual changes and paradigm shifts in gifted education. Three major paradigm shifts in gifted education were identified— demystification (i.e., giftedness as manifested wonders), identification (i.e., giftedness as measurable predictions), and transaction (i.e., effectuation of human possibilities). Presently, there is still an implicit focus on the identification paradigm despite considerable efforts to shift the focus to creating and sustaining appropriate developmental niches for all individuals. Debates in the field are highlighted to provoke discussion of future directions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Considered 2 studies done from constructivist perspectives for their complementarity in understanding the development of gifted young artists. Study 1 used R. Case's (1992) neo-Piagetian theory as a framework and investigated the developmental progression in ability to represent spatial relations in children (aged 4, 6, 8, and 10 yrs). Children identified as gifted demonstrated some advancement in their use of perspective but were distinguished primarily by their elaborate and novel representations of space. An age related progression in acquisition of ability to render perspective supports a general factor in development, whereas abilities unique to the artistic domain support the relevance of including domain-specific characteristics in developmental models of giftedness. Study 2 was done primarily from a structuralist perspective but also incorporated a postformal perspective on the problem-finding and problem-solving behaviors of young artists (aged 13–18 yrs). There was support for age-related domain-general aspects of thought with discipline-specific skills in making multiple comparisons in proportional relations and coordinating multiple perspectives. This finding may be an extension of young children's intrastage elaboration of the spatial structures available to them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

This chapter presents research on giftedness and connects it to relevant work in educational psychology. To provide context for current thinking about gifted learners, a short history of the study of giftedness and education of gifted learners is provided. This is followed by contemporary work that recognizes the dynamic and complex nature of giftedness and considers the nature of educational environments that nurture optimal development. The chapter is written from the Canadian perspective, where giftedness is considered a special educational need and the rights of children with special needs to an appropriate education are enshrined in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These considerations, however, are not always reflected in practice. Consistent with contemporary research in educational psychology that emphasizes the importance of the initial understandings people bring to their learning, the chapter begins with a series of questions to stimulate your reflection on what you now know and think about giftedness and intelligence. Before engaging with the chapter it is important that you make explicit your own understandings of what giftedness and intelligence mean and what intelligence means for learning. These reflections will help you to see how your own beliefs and experiences come to play as you learn about giftedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

Presents a developmental perspective on social giftedness. It is argued that by using a theoretical approach that acknowledges both the various specific forms of human intelligence and the general influences on the development of children's thought and knowledge, a view of social giftedness emerges that can increase our knowledge of the what and the how of social expertise. After a short history of social intelligence and an examination of the state of knowledge of giftedness in the social domain, the contributions of developmental and modular theories of mind to understanding social giftedness are presented. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

Over the past century, strong applications of psychometrics have resulted in an ideology and practices of identification in the field of gifted education. In recent years, an alternative ideology that construes giftedness in an inclusive light and promotes democratic practices has emerged. This ideology posits a new meaning-making system of giftedness that is process-based rather than person-based. In this article, we elaborate some conceptual principles of this emerging ideology. First, we reflect on the nature of giftedness as a social construct using a symbolic interactionist perspective and articulate the dialectical evolution of collective meanings of giftedness. Second, we address the interdependency between an individual and a context when it comes to helping students realize their giftedness. Third, we accentuate a growth orientation and outline the importance of considering giftedness as a process-based entity. Furthermore, we provide a T:CAD conception of giftedness along with ideas for transaction-focused practices that aim to encourage the rendering of this emerging ideology in practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)