England Policy in Gifted Education: Current Problems and Promising Directions

Abstract

This article presents and analyzes policies in identification and provisions in England with respect to gifted education. England has developed a national policy to provide services to identified students. Surveys and interviews with teachers illustrate how implementation of both identification and provision policy elements were handled. Although policy evaluation was conducted by an external ministry agency, it appears to have had little impact on practice. The article suggests that policy implementation, if left to local schools in the absence of monitoring controls, results in lack of services to gifted children in local school environments.

The Impact of School Environment on Talent Development: A Retrospective View of Gifted British and Polish College Students

“…On the contrary, in 2012 in England, it was determined that the rules and regulations regarding gifted and talented students are not coherently implemented (Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills, 2013). Several studies on the issue of educating gifted students in England have presented critical opinions, stating that calling a child gifted or talented, as recently popularized by the policy of the Government of Great Britain, may be perceived as a sign of harmful obsessions, wherein children are categorized and labeled in accordance with specific cultural and social concepts (Heller-Sahlgren, 2018; Koshy et al, 2018; Koshy & Pinheiro-Torres, 2013; Lambert, 2010).…”

Policy approaches and initiatives for the inclusion of gifted students in OECD countries

“…This programme also operated within the awareness that geography plays an important role in the academic access and the ability of students to realise latent talents. For example, in targeting urban areas, it acknowledged that gifted students may "have been hibernating in social situations, given neither recognition nor encouragement" (Casey, Portman Smith and Koshy, 2011 [51]; Koshy, Smith and Brown, 2017 [147]).…”

“…Research has shown that the involvement of parents and communities in the learning process of their children plays a prominent role in their overall success and well-being in schools. Reviews of international evidence on parental involvement showed that "good parenting has a significant impact on children's achievement and adjustment, evident across all social classes and all ethnic groups", including for gifted students (Koshy, Smith and Brown, 2017 [147]). Increasingly, school-family partnerships and community-centred approaches are recognised as highly efficient in supporting all students, including gifted ones, and help them achieve their potential (Matthews and Menna, 2003[193]; OECD, 2019 [194]).…”

“…Parents most often show interest in supporting their child when s/he is identified as gifted, and in knowing more about her/his special educational needs (Bicknell, 2014[195]; Koshy, Smith and Brown, 2017 [147]; Wellisch, 2020 [196]; Paul, 2018 [197]). Furthermore, parents can be pillars in gifted education when they receive relevant information and resources.…”

High-achieving adults’ opinions on their educational lives and suggestions about educating gifted students

“…Practices for the education of gifted students continue to develop around the world and many countries' attention on gifted education is increasing (Koshy, Smith and Casey, 2018;Kronborg, 2018;Reid, 2015). The researches in the field display that acceleration, enrichment and differentiation practices used in educational services for gifted students, have increased the academic achievement of gifted students (Colangelo, Assouline and Gross, 2004;Lee, Olszewski-Kubilius and Peternel, 2010;Umar and Reis, 2014).…”