Page 147 - 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. 147
How Kindergarten Teachers Perceive Giftedness
we get older) and enable every individual to achieve self-realisation in life
through willpower, motivation, work and learning.
Conclusions
Recognising and identifying potentially gifted preschool children, and work-
ing with them, should be part of nationwide, systemic concept of the de-
velopment of gifted and talented people within the terms of the concept
of lifelong development and learning. This entails a sufficiently open space
for recognising and developing giftedness and talent that does not involve
merely identifying gifts and talents but also identifying the educational, so-
cial and emotional needs of individuals so as to support their development.
Early identification of giftedness by defining it in a child’s early years can be a
‘trap’ for those we identify, as well as for those we do not. As a result, teachers
and other educators must be given high-level training to conduct the iden-
tification process and interpret the information obtained with due care, and
with due regard to the ethical dimension as regards the child’s development
and learning potential. The study shows that teachers are split between need
(an awareness that it is important), an ethical dilemma (which concept or ap-
proach to choose) and reality (they need more training).
Professional and scientific cooperation should begin within the framework
of the giftedness concept at an early age. There is a need for cooperation be-
tween different professionals, psychologists, educators, kindergarten teach-
ers and everyone involved in the life of young children.
References
European Economic and Social Committee. (2013). Opinion of the European
Economic and Social Committee on unleashing the potential of children and
young people with high intellectual abilities in the European Union (SOC/445-
EESC-2012-963). Brussels: Author.
Gagné, F. (2003). Transforming gifts into talents: The DMGT as a developmental
theory. In N. Colangelo & G. A. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of gifted education
(3rd ed., pp. 60–74). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Gagné, F. (2005). From gifts to talents: The DMGT as a developmental model. In
R. J. Sternberg and J. E. Davidson (Eds.), Conceptions of giftedness (2nd ed.,
pp. 98–119). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Kurikul za vrtce [Curriculum for kindergartens]. (1999). Ljubljana: Zavod za šol-
stvo.
Margrain, V., & Farquhar, S. (2012). The education of gifted children in the early
years: A first survey of views, teaching practices, resourcing and adminis-
tration issues. APEX: The New Zealand Journal of Gifted Education, 17(1), 1–13.
145
we get older) and enable every individual to achieve self-realisation in life
through willpower, motivation, work and learning.
Conclusions
Recognising and identifying potentially gifted preschool children, and work-
ing with them, should be part of nationwide, systemic concept of the de-
velopment of gifted and talented people within the terms of the concept
of lifelong development and learning. This entails a sufficiently open space
for recognising and developing giftedness and talent that does not involve
merely identifying gifts and talents but also identifying the educational, so-
cial and emotional needs of individuals so as to support their development.
Early identification of giftedness by defining it in a child’s early years can be a
‘trap’ for those we identify, as well as for those we do not. As a result, teachers
and other educators must be given high-level training to conduct the iden-
tification process and interpret the information obtained with due care, and
with due regard to the ethical dimension as regards the child’s development
and learning potential. The study shows that teachers are split between need
(an awareness that it is important), an ethical dilemma (which concept or ap-
proach to choose) and reality (they need more training).
Professional and scientific cooperation should begin within the framework
of the giftedness concept at an early age. There is a need for cooperation be-
tween different professionals, psychologists, educators, kindergarten teach-
ers and everyone involved in the life of young children.
References
European Economic and Social Committee. (2013). Opinion of the European
Economic and Social Committee on unleashing the potential of children and
young people with high intellectual abilities in the European Union (SOC/445-
EESC-2012-963). Brussels: Author.
Gagné, F. (2003). Transforming gifts into talents: The DMGT as a developmental
theory. In N. Colangelo & G. A. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of gifted education
(3rd ed., pp. 60–74). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Gagné, F. (2005). From gifts to talents: The DMGT as a developmental model. In
R. J. Sternberg and J. E. Davidson (Eds.), Conceptions of giftedness (2nd ed.,
pp. 98–119). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Kurikul za vrtce [Curriculum for kindergartens]. (1999). Ljubljana: Zavod za šol-
stvo.
Margrain, V., & Farquhar, S. (2012). The education of gifted children in the early
years: A first survey of views, teaching practices, resourcing and adminis-
tration issues. APEX: The New Zealand Journal of Gifted Education, 17(1), 1–13.
145
