Abstract
Identification of gifted children in Mexico has been limited. This population may be thus considered at educational risk, requiring that programs to enhance the development of their potential be implemented. Social validity will make it possible to learn to which extent procedures, goals and outcomes of implemented interventions are relevant and accepted by participants, in order to promote future interventions that serve as a protective factor for these students. The purpose of this study was to assess the educational significance, the acceptability of procedures, and the social effects of a creative and cognitive enrichment program for gifted children, their parents and teachers, based on the ecological risk/resilience model. In this descriptive non-experimental mixed-method design study, 15 children, 16 parents and 3 teachers participated, responding to different questionnaires. Results were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitatively, no statistically significant differences were found in responses of fathers and mothers regarding educational significance, assessment and intervention procedure acceptability, or social effects. Children, parents, and teachers considered their participation in this program to be useful, since they were provided with comprehensive assistance that not only enhanced the development of the children’s potential, but also promoted interaction between school and family settings. The social validity of the creative and cognitive enrichment program based on the ecological risk/resilience model shows the development of resilient behaviors in children, parents and teachers that encourages the stimulation of these children’s potential.
Highlights
A giftedness category1 in Mexico was included in the special education field in the middle 80’s as part of a six-year government program called Capacidad y Aptitud Sobresaliente (CAS) (Talent and Giftedness), which encouraged the identification and fulfillment of gifted-identified children’s potential (Secretaría de Educación Pública [SEP], 2006), thereby recognizing that this population had special educational needs (SEN) that required specialized educational programs
Programs aimed at gifted children in the country have been limited over the years because of a lack of a clear, specific conceptualization for proper identification and assistance (Zacatelco, 2005; Zavala, 2004), as well as the failure of the policies put in place, the lack of financial resources, the use of models that have not achieved tangible results as expected (Cortés, 2010), and changes in the way that the bodies be responsible for detection assess, or provide assistance (Acle, 2013a)
The ecological risk/resilience model in special education stresses that, when studying an individual, interactions between different environmental components must be taken into account since he/she is involved in many settings (Acle, 2006)
Summary
A giftedness category in Mexico was included in the special education field in the middle 80’s as part of a six-year government program called Capacidad y Aptitud Sobresaliente (CAS) (Talent and Giftedness), which encouraged the identification and fulfillment of gifted-identified children’s potential (Secretaría de Educación Pública [SEP], 2006), thereby recognizing that this population had special educational needs (SEN) that required specialized educational programs. Ordaz & Acle (2012) highlight that this situation indicates how limited the identification process of these students population is at basic education levels and non-existent at higher levels of education As a consequence, this group is considered to be vulnerable, especially those students that live in marginalized areas and have no real opportunities to access educational programs, added to the conditions they live in that limit or hinder the development of their potential (Llobet, 2005; Valadez, Betancourt, & Zavala, 2012). That is the reason why detection should not be considered as a one-time process in students’ lives but rather an ongoing process with different circumstances (Valadez et al, 2012) From this perspective, the ecological risk/resilience model in special education stresses that, when studying an individual, interactions between different environmental components must be taken into account since he/she is involved in many settings (Acle, 2006). A gifted child can be understood as a result of a variety of reciprocal interactions between individuals and environment
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