Gifted or Able?: Realizing Children's Potential (Children With Special Needs Series)

The education of exceptionally able children raises fundamental questions not only about the organization of education and the curriculum but about the nature of human abilities, society's values, parenting, the psychology of child development and learning, and of the complexity of our multi-faceted personalities. Until recently, the majority of studies on giftedness have concentrated upon intelligence, intellectual abilities and creativity but, important as these aspects are, Peter Young and Colin Tyre argue that we need a stronger conceptualization of the subject which includes such factors as curiosity, motivation, cognitive learning strategies, abilities which are life-enhancing and strategies concerned with life skills and problem solving. We need to recognize differences between individuals in terms of their courage, cooperativeness and commitment which - outside of test and academic situations - are very relevant to achievement. Above all, we need a pedagogy rigorous enough to address the realization of all our children's abilities. "Gifted or able" makes practical suggestions about how to provide this in context of current concerns about education and the needs of society and in the light of research, the lives of gifted people and the author's own experience.