Page 146 - Kukanja Gabrijelčič, Mojca, and Maruška Seničar Željeznov, eds. 2018. Teaching Gifted and Talented Children in A New Educational Era. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 146
uška Željeznov Seničar and Borut Seničar
ualised programme can be designed for a child with exceptional abilities or
gifts in support of teaching work with the child at kindergarten, in a family
setting and in the wider environment.
The study shows that 67.74 of Croatian teachers and 41.89 of Slovenian
teachers identify gifted preschool children in the course of their work. This
result is an argument for further research to be undertaken into the content,
process and goals of identification. The objective of identification should be
to identify children’s education needs, which is realised, in conjunction with a
child’s interests and wishes, through teaching and education work. Respon-
dents characterised their ability to identify gifted children as ‘I can usually
recognise a gifted child’ and ‘I know how to recognise a gifted child.’
Over half the participants stated that they did not work in a systematic
way with potentially gifted preschool children. Regarding their work, they
pointed out that they most required training in identifying and working with
gifted preschool children, materials, teaching strategies, approaches to iden-
tification and adequate legislation.
The results of the study generate a number of questions that could be ad-
dressed in future research work, such as:
– How teachers conceptualise the process of identifying giftedness in
preschool children and what such conceptualisation consists of;
– What specific procedures are used in practice in work with gifted
preschool children;
– What specific content would be required in the education process for
identifying and working with gifted children.
The results of this study offer proposals for making improvements to the
recognition of potentially gifted preschool children, and to education and
teaching work at both the systemic and operational levels. A systemic ap-
proach that offers kindergartens and families every support in early-years
work with the potential, gifts and talents of preschool children must be es-
tablished to enable us to adequately identify potential gifted preschool chil-
dren and work with them. This approach contains social awareness of the
importance of nurturing individuals’ gifts and talents via the lifelong learn-
ing concept, which requires a concept of continuity at the national level, from
kindergarten to the Third Age, as well as systemic infrastructural support for
families, schooling and educational institutions and all other organisations to
identify, develop and work with gifts and talents. The recognition and iden-
tification of gifts and talents should be sufficiently open as to support the
lifelong learning concept (e.g. we can develop and display some talents as
144
ualised programme can be designed for a child with exceptional abilities or
gifts in support of teaching work with the child at kindergarten, in a family
setting and in the wider environment.
The study shows that 67.74 of Croatian teachers and 41.89 of Slovenian
teachers identify gifted preschool children in the course of their work. This
result is an argument for further research to be undertaken into the content,
process and goals of identification. The objective of identification should be
to identify children’s education needs, which is realised, in conjunction with a
child’s interests and wishes, through teaching and education work. Respon-
dents characterised their ability to identify gifted children as ‘I can usually
recognise a gifted child’ and ‘I know how to recognise a gifted child.’
Over half the participants stated that they did not work in a systematic
way with potentially gifted preschool children. Regarding their work, they
pointed out that they most required training in identifying and working with
gifted preschool children, materials, teaching strategies, approaches to iden-
tification and adequate legislation.
The results of the study generate a number of questions that could be ad-
dressed in future research work, such as:
– How teachers conceptualise the process of identifying giftedness in
preschool children and what such conceptualisation consists of;
– What specific procedures are used in practice in work with gifted
preschool children;
– What specific content would be required in the education process for
identifying and working with gifted children.
The results of this study offer proposals for making improvements to the
recognition of potentially gifted preschool children, and to education and
teaching work at both the systemic and operational levels. A systemic ap-
proach that offers kindergartens and families every support in early-years
work with the potential, gifts and talents of preschool children must be es-
tablished to enable us to adequately identify potential gifted preschool chil-
dren and work with them. This approach contains social awareness of the
importance of nurturing individuals’ gifts and talents via the lifelong learn-
ing concept, which requires a concept of continuity at the national level, from
kindergarten to the Third Age, as well as systemic infrastructural support for
families, schooling and educational institutions and all other organisations to
identify, develop and work with gifts and talents. The recognition and iden-
tification of gifts and talents should be sufficiently open as to support the
lifelong learning concept (e.g. we can develop and display some talents as
144
