Goals for Gifted Programs: Perceptions of Interested Groups

Abstract

This study assessed the status of goat development for elementary school gifted programs as perceived by national leaders in gifted education, administrators, teachers, and parents of gifted students. Opinion was sought using the Delphi technique, a method for obtaining reliable group consensus through a series of questionnaires interspersed with controlled feedback. The Delphi panel, consisting of 36 respondents, reached consensus for three goal statements from among 11 goals presented for consideration as appropriate for elementary school programs for the gifted: to provide a learning environment that will permit and encourage the capable student to develop to his/her individual potential while interacting with intellectual peers; to establish a climate that values and enhances intellectual ability, talent, creativity, and decisionmaking;to encourage the development of and provide opportunities for using higher level thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaiuation).Authorities in the field of curriculum development (Tyler, 1949;Saylor and Alexander, 1954;Taba, 1962) recommend the establishment of goals and the inclusion of interested groups in the goal development process. Unfortunately, many programs for the gifted have been implemented without identification of appropriate goals (Boston, 1985). A recent study indicates that the only goal some schools have for their gifted programs is &dquo;to have a program&dquo; (DiNunno, 1982). Such a practice is contrary to the process of curriculum development and has earned many gifted programs the dubious reputation of &dquo;fun-and-games activities&dquo; without benefit of a conscientious plan. If this situation is to be changed, some critical searching needs to be done. This searching starts with questions about goals.What goals are appropriate for educating the gifted? If schools are to design coherent, defensible programs, what kinds of goals should be considered? A review of the literature revealed a wide variety of opinion on this topic, but a dearth of recommended goal statements. Only seven sources listing specific goals or aims were found (Clark