Guiding the development of gifted students - dilemmas and some solutions

Abstract

The paper will develop the following issues: (1) One of the basic controversies about the mechanism of ability formation, expressed by the question "nature or nurture?" posed by F. Galton in 1869, has been resolved by compromise. Empirical studies show that the impact of both factors is fairly equal. However, this does not mean that only 50% of a student's abilities are defined by pedagogical interactions. For while no one questions the possibility of modifying the influence of environmental factors with the intention of stimulating certain directions of human development, quite a few people doubt the possibility of effectively influencing some parameters of life and health in the case of genetic predisposition. (2) Among both parents and teachers there is a belief in the dominant influence of genetic factors on the direction and strength of a student's abilities, which is reflected in commonly made statements such as "he was born this way," "he's good at math, it runs in the family," or "he has no aptitude for science," or "he inherited musical ability from his mother." (3) Environmental influences on gifted students mainly focus on supporting the development of special talents, overlooking the all-important issue of the style of educational interactions. (4) The postulated vector for working with gifted pupils is the formation of their individuality capable of resisting all kinds of social pressures. In this understanding, man is born as a genetically equipped organism but his development, growth and maturation are significantly modified by the processes of socialisation and upbringing. The article concludes with the author's proposal of the main directions of work with students aimed at stimulating the development of their abilities.