Ethical Dimensions of Education for the Gifted: How Do We Determine which Gifts to "Unwrap"?

Abstract

Education for the gifted and talented is currently receiving more widespread attention than perhaps at any time since the early days of the space race. Evidence of concern for meeting the special needs of gifted and talented students is easy to see. First, parents and educators are serving as advocates for gifted and talented youngsters by joining or establishing local, regional, and state organizations that promote high quality education for this group. Such advocacy organizations fill mailboxes with newsletters and calendars with meetings and conference dates. Second, general readership domestic magazines regularly are running stories on prodigies, programs for bright children, and interviews with educators who have carved out a reputation as experts on children with high ability. Third, educational journals are disseminating new research findings and descriptions of new curricular variations for gifted and talented students. Fourth, new specialty periodicals such as GICIT (established in 1978) and Gifted Children Newsletter (established in 1980) are experiencing immediate acceptance and circulation growth. Fifth, state legislatures throughout the land are mandating must be done; the something typically has state departments of education cranking out technical assistance publications, identification guidelines, subsidy programs, small grant programs, and the like. Sixth, teacher education divisions in colleges and