Assessing and accessing high human potential: A brief history of giftedness and what it means to school psychologists

Abstract

The history of giftedness pertains to historical changes regarding how giftedness is conceptualized and defined, and how it serves the practical purpose of identifying gifted children and providing them an appropriate education. The past century has witnessed debates and controversies about what constitutes this elusive human quality we deem “gifted.” Overall, it has undergone significant changes from monolithic, static to more pluralistic, dynamic conceptions. The first part of this article delineates historical changes in the past 100 years in our understanding of the nature and development of giftedness, followed by the second part on the changing ways we define, assess, and identify gifted children or gifted potential for intervention purposes. The final part of this article depicts a broad trend toward expanding gifted education to a wider range of students, with the understanding that gifts and talents are widely distributed in student populations, and the deliberate cultivation of human potential should not be confined to a selected few.

Perceptions about special education and giftedness between psychologists and psychology students: some reflections

“…Despite the recommendations of the scientific literature, identification should not be based only on the application of tests, making use of different methods and techniques (Kerr & Sodano, 2003). The literature has recommended the realization of a process that considers information from different psychometric measures and the incorporation of a variety of resources, including general observations, evaluation of portfolios, and works produced, making use of different methods and techniques (Dai, 2020). A variety of resources, which include general observations, evaluation of portfolios and works produced, in addition to the nomination made by teachers, parents and peers can assist in the decision about the presence of criteria indicative of giftedness (Davis et al,2011;Milligan, 2010;Pfeiffer & Blei, 2008).…”

“…Suppose the identification of giftedness depends on the results of a psychological assessment process, even though the performance of this professional should not be limited to the assessment. They should focus on students assessing eligibility for, after identifying, providing resources and appropriate education, aiming for the students' growth (Dai, 2020).…”

Examining Students’ Perceptions of Giftedness, Need for Cognition, and Goal Orientations

“…Dai and Chen (2013) present a comparison of these two paradigms (gifted child and talent development) and include the differentiation paradigm model, which assumes individuality of student needs, targeting specific strengths and supporting needs in the context of the learning environment. Due to such flexibility, the differentiation model can actually be implemented in combination with the other two paradigm models (e.g., gifted child and talent development; Dai, 2020b).…”

Avaliação da Criatividade no Contexto das Altas Habilidades/Superdotação: Evidências de Validade

“…Vale lembrar que a avaliação da superdotação tem um propósito muito além da identificação. Ela visa conhecer os potenciais de modo que tais informações possam ser utilizadas para fins de oferecimento de atendimento educacional individualizado e proposição de desafios por meio de intervenção (Dai, 2020 Especificamente, no que diz respeito à avaliação da criatividade de indivíduos superdotados, é importante ressaltar a importância de que esse processo seja realizado por meio do uso de instrumentos específicos. O motivo para tal preocupação envolve o fato de que, muitas vezes, as características associadas a este construto podem não ser estimuladas e percebidas, dificultando a inclusão dos indivíduos que apresentam este tipo de superdotação em programas especiais de atendimento (Piske, 2016b;Virgolim, 2014).…”