Wrestling with Misconceptions: Is the Gifted Label Good or Bad?

Autor/inn/en	Matthews, Dona J.; Foster, Joanne F.
Titel	Wrestling with Misconceptions: Is the Gifted Label Good or Bad?
Quelle	In: Understanding Our Gifted, 20 (2008) 4, S.3-7 (5 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1040-1350
Schlagwörter	Stellungnahme; Gifted; Misconceptions; Child Development; Individual Differences; Student Attitudes; Teacher Attitudes; Classification; Academic Achievement; Academic Failure; Intelligence Quotient + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Begabter, Hoch Begabter; Missverständnis; Kindesentwicklung; Individueller Unterschied; Schülerverhalten; Lehrerverhalten; Classification system; Klassifikation; Klassifikationssystem; Schulleistung; Intelligenzquotient
Abstract	One of the popular misconceptions about giftedness is that the gifted label is a benefit. It is probably a fixed blessing at best and can bring unexpected problems to children, their families, and their teachers. Children who are labeled gifted often have uncertain feelings about the designation and the whole "gifted" experience, if not immediately, then over time. The authors have seen circumstances where children do receive benefits from the label--for example, they may perceive it as a validation of their abilities or an affirmation of their sense of differentness, the label results in educational changes that better match their particular abilities and interests, or the designation provides increased opportunities for interactions with their intellectual peers. However, gifted labeling may compartmentalize people. It can be problematic if one is either gifted or not gifted. The authors present three true accounts of "outsider" attitudes and/or reactions of people who have not themselves been officially labeled as gifted. In these brief stories one sees that outsiders' responses to the gifted label can include reluctance to acknowledge it, negative general perceptions, and misconceptions of what the word gifted means. The understanding of giftedness is rapidly changing, and some observers now describe it as a paradigm shift in progress (Borland, 2005; Matthews & Foster, 2006). The shift is toward a focus on developmental diversity and away from the categorical model where a few children are labeled as gifted and all others are, therefore, relegated to the "not-gifted" category. Because the approach to giftedness has changed over time, some people fear that gifted education will eventually not exist. On more careful consideration, however, the more flexible perspective the authors have been discussing here actually clarifies and intensifies the question of identification. Instead of asking, "Is this child gifted?" parents and teachers begin to ask, "How is this child gifted, and what should we be doing about it?" They recognize that some children have advanced learning strengths and needs at certain times and in certain subject areas, and that these strengths and needs must be addressed if those children are going to continue to learn. By working together to develop a growth mindset in parents, teachers, and students, and by labeling programs rather than people, they are better able to support gifted level outcomes. (ERIC).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10