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The importance of individualized work with gifted students has been acknowledged in both domestic and international environments, and the process of gifted student identification is a professionally demanding one. The Slovene Concept of Identifying and Working with Gifted Students, which has been internationally cited as an example of good practice, is currently being renewed. Psychologists should simultaneously secure methodologically sound instruments for the teachers to assess giftedness in students, as they are indispensable in identifying the gifted in educational settings. In the present article, we describe the process of translation and adaptation of the Gifted Rating Scales GRS-S (Pfeiffer & Jarosewich, 2003) into Slovene. The scales could be used by teachers and other mentors to assess their students’ potentials and abilities in areas of intellectual and academic ability, creativity, artistic talent, leadership, and motivation. We looked into the psychometric characteristics of the scales, gathered the raters’ comments about them, and conducted a convergent validity analysis with the currently used Scales for the Teacher’s Assessment of Giftedness (OLNAD07). Thirty-six teachers from around Slovenia participated in the study and rated the giftedness of 175 4th grade students. The translated scales exhibit good psychometric characteristics (high internal consistency, criterion validity, factorial structure) and satisfactory convergent validity with OLNAD07. While the participating teachers are in general wary of the present instrument, they feel the proposed GRS-S scales are more suitable for use in the identification process. We thus propose a standardization study to be conducted with a larger sample and we propose the possibility of implementing the scales into the process of working with the gifted in Slovenia. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract) Resumen en idioma originalPostopek prepoznavanja nadarjenih je strokovno zahtevno opravilo, delo z nadarjenimi učenci pa v domačem in mednarodnem okolju prepoznano kot izjemno pomembno. Slovenski Koncept odkrivanja in dela z nadarjenimi je tudi v tujini prepoznan kot primer dobre prakse, trenutno pa poteka njegova prenova. Vzporedno s pripravo prenovljenega Koncepta odkrivanja in dela z nadarjenimi bi morali psihologi zagotoviti tudi metodološko ustrezne pripomočke za učiteljevo oceno nadarjenosti učencev. Ker so v šolskem okolju prav učitelji ključni pri identifikaciji nadarjenih učencev, v članku opisujeva postopek prevoda in priredbe Lestvic za ocenjevanje nadarjenosti GRS-S (Pfeiffer in Jarosewich, 2003), ki jih za ocenjevanje na področjih intelektualnih sposobnosti, učne učinkovitosti, ustvarjalnosti, umetniških talentov, vodstvenih sposobnosti in motivacije lahko uporabljajo učitelji ali drugi mentorji. Poleg preverjanja merskih značilnosti sva zbrala še mnenja ocenjevalcev in izvedla konvergentno preverjanje veljavnosti z obstoječimi Ocenjevalnimi lestvicami za oceno nadarjenosti učenca (OLNAD07). V študiji je sodelovalo 36 učiteljev razrednega pouka iz vse Slovenije, ki so skupaj ocenili 175 učencev četrtega razreda osnovne šole. Rezultati kažejo na ustrezne psihometrične značilnosti prevedenih lestvic (visoka notranja skladnost, kriterijska veljavnost, ustrezna faktorska struktura) in ustrezno konvergentno veljavnost pri primerjavi z OLNAD07. Do slednjih so učitelji precej kritični, predlagane lestvice GRS-S pa ocenjujejo kot primernejši pripomoček za ocenjevanje nadarjenosti. V zaključku predlagava izvedbo standardizacijske študije pri večjem vzorcu in morebitno vpeljavo lestvic v postopek identifikacije nadarjenih. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

As culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse students continue to be underrepresented in gifted programs, the beliefs that frame teacher perceptions of giftedness remain an important area of focus. Literature indicates that a lack of gifted‐specific coursework in teacher preparation programs may sustain ill‐formed preconceptions regarding giftedness, leading new teachers to rely on bias and stereotypic thinking when nominating students for gifted identification. Furthermore, deficit thinking and colorblind racial attitudes may interfere with the implementation of culture‐fair identification practices and the implementation of multicultural pedagogy meant to elicit unique strengths and engage culturally diverse students. This article explores these barriers to equitable programming and concludes with broad recommendations for school psychologists in advocating for traditionally underrepresented gifted students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Dr. Ugur Sak is the founding Director of the Center for Research and Practice for High Ability Education and professor of gifted education studies at Anadolu University. He is the editor of the Turkish Journal of Giftedness and Education, and has been on advisory and executive boards of international associations in gifted education. His research has been published in major journals of creativity and giftedness. In this interview, Dr. Sak discusses a new test of intelligence and reviews the processes and procedures in terms of its standardization. He reviews validity and reliability information as well as standardization and utilization of the test. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Gifted children are an extremely precious resource. But what does it mean to be gifted? Ellen Winner has devoted much of her career to addressing this question. In this essay, I argue that our society misdefines giftedness, placing undue emphasis on analytical skills. Moreover, the problem is getting worse. Amplifying factors in society are narrowing rather than broadening our definition of giftedness. I discuss what is happening, why, and what we can do about it. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Reports the retraction of "The assessment of critical thinking skills of gifted children before and after taking a critical thinking development course" by Suriya Gilmanshina, Sergei Smirnov, Aygul Ibatova and Iza Berechikidze ( Thinking Skills and Creativity, 2021[Mar], Vol 39[100780]). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editors-in-Chief. After a thorough investigation, the Editors have concluded that the acceptance of this article was partly based upon the positive advice of one illegitimate reviewer report. The report was submitted from an email account which was provided to the journal as a suggested reviewer during the submission of the article. Although purportedly a real reviewer account, the Editors have concluded that this was not of an appropriate, independent reviewer. This manipulation of the peer-review process represents a clear violation of the fundamentals of peer review, our publishing policies, and publishing ethics standards. Apologies are offered to the reviewer whose identity was assumed and to the readers of the journal that this deception was not detected during the submission process. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2021-38116-001). The development of critical thinking is a fundamental task of the modern education system. However, practically, it turns out that a number of teachers are not competent enough in this area. The purpose of the study is to identify the most universal and valid methods for the dynamic assessment of the level of critical thinking in children. There are also difficulties associated with the assessment of the level of critical thinking, the selection of valid methods for its study, especially when it comes to preschool or primary school children. The participants (186 children 6–8 years ages from 3 schools of Moscow (Russian Federation) in the group of gifted children did not fall into the groups with a low development of critical thinking, and the participants in the control group did not fall into the group with the highest or the highest level of development of critical thinking. In two tests, the data for the gifted and control groups showed high correlation values between the definition of giftedness and the level of critical thinking development (0.958 and 0.962 in the static test and 0.659 and 0.908 in the dynamic test, respectively). Therefore, it is relevant to select valid methods that would allow the assessment of critical thinking as one of the criteria for the giftedness of a child in dynamics, that is, in the process of developmental learning. During the research such methods were used – sculpture method, absurdity method, verbal fantasy method, drawing method, think of a game method. The research results have shown that giftedness has a psychophysiological basis, the described test methods are valid and can be used for the assessment of the level of critical thinking and the quality of the educational process. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

This essay offers six reasons why the field of gifted education should retire the terms giftedness and gifted. Additionally, in the historical context of longstanding, severe, and pervasive racial and income inequities in the field of gifted education, the term Master’s Discourse is introduced and defined in this call to change terminology. Among the reasons to move on from the gifted terminology are its racist history; its association with underrepresentation; waning support for gifted programming; years of debate in the field over the use of these terms; issues with giftedness being narrowly defined by ability tests; and the need for language to evolve. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

What is the aim of giftedness? Is the goal to narrow in on the gifts of a select few or to nurture everyone’s gifts such that they may be exchanged with each other? Drawing from creativity theory, we emphasize the possible interactive element of giftedness. Current paradigms risk ignoring hidden creativities and for potential to remain in the shadows. Is the promise of one possible eminent creator worth thousands of everyday creators? Do we need to make such a choice? By fostering perspective-taking and other collaborative skills, we may try to have it all. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The terms giftedness and genius entered the research literature in the 19th century. Although not synonymous, both terms were defined according to potential or actual achievement in a specific domain. However, in the early 20th century, both terms became defined according to performance on domain-generic IQ tests. Given the empirical relations between achievement and intelligence, this transfer of meaning is unjustified. Both giftedness and genius must be defined with respect to potential or actual domain-specific achievements. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

As a causal attribution, attributing academic success to giftedness might influence students’ academic achievement. According to previous studies, students’ self-regulated learning and negative learning emotions may mediate the association between achievement attribution and academic achievement. Therefore, the present study employed structural equation modeling to examine the association between attributing academic success to giftedness and academic achievement among elementary and secondary students, and included students’ negative learning emotions and self-regulated learning as mediators. The 2018 data from China Family Panel Studies were included in the present study for analysis. Results showed that the full mediation models had satisfactory model fits. After controlling the effects of the covariates, attributing academic success to giftedness had a positive indirect association with their academic achievement, through the mediation of self-regulated learning and negative learning emotions. Based on these findings, possible explanations and suggestions for practices and future research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

This case study outlines the challenges of eight Australian mothers with intellectually gifted preschoolers. The ideal ways of nurturing children’s giftedness, the parents’ role in early identification and the effect of maternal depression and possible association with twice exceptionality (gifted with a disorder) are discussed. The narratives of case study parents then describe how and whether the needs of their preschoolers were understood or met in early childhood services, and the advice they received about early entry. It was found that early entry met the needs of children whose parents chose this acceleration option and that the preschoolers who missed out because of intervention by their educators did not fare so well. Findings also indicated an urgent need for the inclusion of compulsory early childhood giftedness courses for Australian pre-service educators and an equally urgent need for professional development courses about giftedness for educators already working in early childhood services. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The development of research on giftedness and on psychological characteristics of the genius could have been limited by the ambiguities present in the field. In fact, giftedness has been referred sometimes to individuals with a high Full Scale Intelligence Quotient, but other times to people with a very high competence in a particular domain. The present paper argues that general intelligence, talent, creativity and genius must be distinguished. In particular, very high general intelligence and very high talent can be understood only within a hierarchical theory of intelligence and the psychological profile of a genius typically involves also creativity and other personality characteristics. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract) Resumen en idioma originalIl modesto sviluppo della ricerca sulla plusdotazione ( giftedness) e sulle caratteristiche psicologiche del genio potrebbe anche essere dovuto al fatto che il campo è stato diversamente definito. Infatti talora si è fatto riferimento ad una popolazione con alto Quoziente di Intelligenza Totale, talora invece a popolazioni che presentano un’alta dotazione in ambiti specifici. Il presente intervento parte dalla ipotesi che intelligenza generale, talento, creatività, e personalità geniale vadano distinti. In particolare, superdotazione intellettiva e alto talento possono essere compresi solo all’interno di una teoria gerarchica dell’intelligenza e il profilo psicologico del genio implica tipicamente anche creatività e altre caratteristiche di personalità. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The history of giftedness pertains to historical changes regarding how giftedness is conceptualized and defined, and how it serves the practical purpose of identifying gifted children and providing them an appropriate education. The past century has witnessed debates and controversies about what constitutes this elusive human quality we deem “gifted.” Overall, it has undergone significant changes from monolithic, static to more pluralistic, dynamic conceptions. The first part of this article delineates historical changes in the past 100 years in our understanding of the nature and development of giftedness, followed by the second part on the changing ways we define, assess, and identify gifted children or gifted potential for intervention purposes. The final part of this article depicts a broad trend toward expanding gifted education to a wider range of students, with the understanding that gifts and talents are widely distributed in student populations, and the deliberate cultivation of human potential should not be confined to a selected few. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

This report is a contribution to Ellen Winner’s Festschrift from a very fond former student and collaborator. Ellen’s work has had a major impact on the fields of Psychology and Education by enhancing our understanding of giftedness, visual spatial abilities, the Arts, and metaphoric thought. I focus on the intersections of her work with mine specifically in the areas of giftedness and visual spatial talent in dyslexia. I also touch on some themes underlying her contributions to the field (i.e., myth busting) and her invaluable academic mentorship. One of the most important contributions Ellen has made to the field of giftedness is her synthesis and distillation of the research on the characteristics of gifted children. Ellen is a credit to the field of psychology. She is highly productive and her contributions, impressive. Her work not only advances the fields of Psychology and Education, but it also benefits her students and their students (her academic grandchildren). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

We compared the Wechsler scores of individuals with twice-exceptionality (2e) and giftedness using a three-level Bayesian meta-analysis. Ninety-five effect sizes were calculated from 15 studies ( n = 2,106). Results show that individuals with 2e who have learning disabilities perform lower than individuals with giftedness in Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ; g = −0.62), working memory ( g = −0.79), and processing speed ( g = −0.75). Individuals with 2e who have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder have a distinct profile in which only processing speed differs from individuals with giftedness ( g = −0.55). Results suggest that using a single Intelligence Quotient (IQ) score in the identification process will be misleading. Moreover, IQ may mask the strengths or weaknesses of individuals with 2e. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Most conceptions of giftedness overly focus on the gifted “individual” and leave out the social and global context in which the individual grows. However, human lives are intricately interconnected. An individual’s actions can have large effects on other individuals, societies, and nature. In this article, I argue a paradigm shift is needed in the way giftedness is construed today. I draw on the three C’s conception of giftedness in which gifted behaviors are seen as an interplay of competence in action, commitment to task, and concern for others. I discuss seven profiles of gifted behaviors: Profile 1—competent (high competence); Profile 2—committed (high commitment); Profile 3—concerned (high concern); Profile 4—indifferent expert (high competence and commitment); Profile 5—amateur altruist (high commitment and concern); Profile 6—uncommitted thinker (high competence and concern); and Profile 7—fully developing talent (high competence, commitment, and concern). Further, I discuss how this taxonomy can inform education and identification practices in gifted education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

This paper is framed as an email conversation between the authors, a lifespan developmental psychologist with expertise in the field of wisdom and an educational scientist with expertise in the field of giftedness. We discuss how giftedness is defined and whether the definition, and the concept in general, is still useful in today’s world. We draw three conclusions. First, “giftedness” has taken on a particularly literal meaning as it tends to favor students that are already privileged. Second, educational systems should aim to identify and promote all students’ individual profiles of strengths and interests instead of focusing on promoting the “gifted” ones. Third, given the current state of the world, educational systems should aim to empower “gifting” students who engage themselves for a greater good, instead of “gifted” students competing for grades and achievements. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The purpose of this article was to investigate the conditions for identifying gifted children in their first encounter with the Swedish school system, the preschool. Interviews were conducted with 10 preschool teachers and 5 principals about their conceptions of giftedness and challenges in meeting the needs of gifted preschoolers in practice. The results explored a lack of knowledge on giftedness among the respondents. Thus, their conceptions of giftedness revealed several dilemmas they face when balancing preschool education between focusing on both the group and individual children, and naming someone as gifted in the strong discourse of egalitarian education in Sweden. The findings identified principals to have a key role in terms of if and how gifted children are supported in preschool settings and suggestions for future research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The essays in this special issue of Gifted Education International focus on issues in the terminology of the gifted field, especially the terms “gifted” and “giftedness” themselves. We summarize the contributors' arguments and propose ten common themes that emerge from the essays: 1. Be clear about what terms actually mean. 2. Promote giftedness as being about maximizing opportunity, not elitism. 3. Achieve equity so that all have equal opportunities. 4. If you identify individuals as “gifted,” use multiple and diverse measures. 5. Move beyond IQ and other narrow constructs. 6. Giftedness is dynamic, not just a permanent state. Who is gifted and how they are gifted can change over time and sociocultural and other contexts. 7. Motivation to achieve and to make a difference is more important than static abilities. 8. What matters is what you achieve, not just what you could achieve. 9. Focus on achieving a collective or common good. 10. Focus on instruction to help maximize on potential, not on identification. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The narrow manner in which giftedness is often regarded perpetuates the underrepresentation of students of Color in gifted education programs, particularly for Black students. This case study highlights the story of a gifted Black high school student attending a predominantly White high school in the South. Bianca’s story illuminates her struggle with myriad racialized challenges within and outside of school and, more importantly, demonstrates her sophisticated and critically conscious appraisal of structural inequities. Interpreted through the lens of critical consciousness, Bianca’s story of giftedness illuminates her complex understandings of societal and institutional workings. Given the complexity and effort required to participate in critical ways of knowing, especially concerning the ways in which race and racism function, this study highlights that critically conscious students like Bianca are, in fact, doubly gifted and can offer insights to expand commonly held notions of giftedness and greater inclusivity in gifted education. Implications for educators and policy makers are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The term “gifted” refers to individuals who give evidence of higher performance in specific fields or domains considered relevant for his/her culture of origin. The teachers’ opinion is a valuable aid in identifying giftedness, thanks to the privileged perspective from which they can observe students. The standardized assessment scales compiled by teachers are functional in a multi-informant and multi-method process of evaluation, because they are highly suitable for grasping the complexity that constitutes intellectual giftedness. The present study investigated the psychometric characteristics of the Italian version of the GATES-2, a tool to identify talented and gifted students, in a sample of 925 students, who participated in the Italian adaptation of the instrument. Statistical analyses were conducted to test internal consistency, score stability, and the discriminative validity. The excellent reliability and validity measures of the GATES-2 confirmed its usefulness in recognizing the talent of students. The GATES-2 represents an ideal aid, as it evaluates the five characteristics of giftedness recognized in national definitions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)