Giftedness in Early Childhood Education

Do you work with children that are curious, self-motivated, creative, and possess unusual leadership? Or students that have advanced vocabulary, exhibit high performance intellectually or are great problem solvers? If the answer is yes, you may be working with a gifted and talented child.

Often times when an individual thinks of ESE (Exceptional Student Education) they think of children that are struggling academically or behaviorally. Students that are excelling and possibly behavior issues due to boredom also fall under the ESE title. These children are referred to as gifted and talented.

Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines gifted as having great natural ability and revealing a special gift. These children with their special gifts and their parents with their questions are the challenge I have chosen for my course project. Specifically the challenge is children with varying abilities with the sub-topic of giftedness in early childhood. I have chosen this topic to look at the brighter side of education. I also want to give a voice to a group of children that are sometimes left to their own devices as schools focus on struggling children. Gifted and talented children need to be provided opportunities to maximize their potential.

My initial questions deal with identification of children that are gifted and talented. I am specifically interested in the identification of these children in unrepresented populations: various races, low socioeconomic and English language learners. A second question is resources available to support the families of gifted children. If the child is identified as gifted, does my child have to attend a different school and how will this affect the family? The final area to be addressed is gifted and talented children that are not challenged and thus become behavior issues.

References:
Merriam-Webster Dictionary online. (2013). Merriam-Webster, Inc.