School-Based Conception of Giftedness

Abstract

The development of human potential occurs in a vast array of settings across the world. In the United States, in addition to the options of both public and private schools, parents homeschool their children and send them to academic summer programs, often resulting in able students developing to a point of extraordinary accomplishment. Some talents are typically developed early in life (e.g., piano playing), whereas others manifest much later (e.g., architecture). Some talents are developed entirely outside of school, whereas others are developed in schools to a considerable extent. Some talents are in domains that schools have key roles in developing, others may have no direct relationship to a school's curriculum. Given the limited resources and dominion of schools, we set out to create a conception of giftedness that is situated in schools. It is our belief that a school-based conception of giftedness (SCG) will clarify what talents schools can and cannot be expected to develop. The SCG will allow for clearer communication among educators, administrators, and school boards about the role and responsibilities of our schools in developing talent. ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT AND SCHOOL-BASED GIFTEDNESS In this chapter, advanced development and giftedness within the context of the school are discussed. Our contention is that advanced development is the fundamental concept for understanding giftedness, and we attempt to explain our position by offering a definition, describing the roots of the definition – explaining the changes in our thinking – that have led to a deeper understanding of giftedness and schooling, and proposing a modified definition.

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