Abstract
It is understandable that school peers, significant adults, and the public in general may assume that gifted and talented individuals do not have unique social and emotional needs. When common, positive stereotypes prevail based on images of confident and motivated students, athletes, and musicians, giftedness might be perceived as being unrelated to social and emotional concerns. Educators and others may therefore not recognize or address social and emotional needs, assuming that gifted students deal easily with developmental challenges. Early scholarly work related to giftedness may also have contributed to the notion that high capability means solid mental and physical health and success and satisfaction in career and relationships. Research samples have often not been inclusive enough to reflect concerns of a broad range of high-potential students and may have perpetuated positive stereotypes. In addition, deeply engrained societal attitudes as well as democratic and egalitarian political views may, for many citizens, preclude thinking that students with high-level abilities should be given special attention for social and emotional needs. Federal education mandates have also reflected little concern for the well-being of gifted and talented students. Even the field of gifted education may not have advocated as strongly as it could have for proactive approaches to promote healthy social and emotional development.
Published Version
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