The Schoolwide Enrichment Model Around the World: An Overview of Component Applications in Five Countries

Abstract

Although the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) originated and gained widespread use in the United States, a growing number of countries around the world have expressed an interest in this approach for developing the gifts and talents of young people. Conversations with members of the international community of scholars and practitioners indicate that there are three major reasons for the emerging interest in the SEM. First, a growing body of research by international scholars focuses on the broadened conception of giftedness and the mew that giftedness is dependent on high quality developmental experiences as well as innate potential (Gruber & Mandl, 2000; Monks, 1992; Taylor & Kokot, 2000). This research, and the acceptance of newer theories underlying conceptions of giftedness (Gardner, 1985; Gagne, 2000; Renzulli, 1978, 1986a; Sternberg, 1985) have resulted in a reexamination of the strict IQ approach to identifying gifted students in many countries around the world. A second reason for the current interest in the SEM is the model's compatibility with the social philosophies of several nations. Many of the social and emerging democracies have been reluctant to support government sponsored programs for the gifted because traditional approaches have frequently been viewed as elitist and even as a throwback to earlier times when there were strong separations of citizens along class lines. The focus of the SEM, with its flexible approach to identification, access to special services, and various kinds of enrichment opportunities for larger portions of the school population (Renzulli, 1998), has helped to accommodate growing international interests in equity and fairness within their public education systems. Even the independent schools in many nations have embraced the basic idea that giftedness can be developed in far larger proportions of the school population than the very limited numbers that had been served through more traditional and restrictive program models. Policy makers in education ministries who formerly expressed a strong anti-gifted attitude have in recent years become much more receptive to supporting special services that foster giftedness. Within the past 10 years, books and articles on the Schoolwide Enrichment Model have been translated into Chinese, German, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean, and translations are currently underway in Arabic, Greek, Turkish, Russian, and Slovak. Additionally, educators from more than 20 nations from around the world have participated in the summer training programs on the SEM that are held annually at the University of Connecticut; training in the use of the model has been provided by persons from the U. S. and foreign nationals in numerous countries around the world. The third and perhaps most frequent reason for interest in the SEM is a realization on the parts of many educators and policy makers that there is a growing need to expand the promotion of intellectual and creative capital in their respective nations. Even leaders in countries that have gained international acclaim for high achievement test scores are questioning the need to reexamine national priorities and the role that their educational systems play in addressing these priorities. The education systems in many countries have employed a highly didactic and prescriptive pedagogy that emphasizes knowledge acquisition at the expense of creativity, innovation, risk taking, originality of thought, curiosity, and entrepreneurship. These qualities are the traits that trigger creative productivity, which in turn stimulates economic growth and cultural improvements in society. As countries move away from purely agrarian, industrial, and manufacturing economies and toward a more post-industrial information age, the need for high levels of innovation and creativity increases. Although the Schoolwide Enrichment Model values traditional achievement that is geared toward producing highly competent skilled workers and professionals, the model's focus on creative productivity is compatible with emerging needs among nations for scientists, researchers, designers in all arms of production, and leaders who can serve as stimulators of various industries, social service agencies, and education itself. This article presents samples of SEM use in countries selected because of their diverse geography and cultures. The five-country sample allows presentation of SEM component applications from Africa, Europe, Oceania, Latin America, and South America. Inclusion of SEM applications from these five countries-Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, and Switzerland-facilitates a clearer picture of the ways in which the SEM is practical and feasible around the world, thereby providing additional information and ideas about how best to maximize the potential of the Model for student talent development both in the United States and abroad.