This paper highlights milestones in the development of conceptions of social giftedness in the general psychology and education literature and the literature specific to gifted education. It focuses on "the ability to act wisely in human relations" and addresses conceptual and methodological issues that have affected the study of the construct of…

A psychotherapist recounts her personal and professional development in concepts of self-esteem. The article considers core conditions for development of healthy self-esteem, the powerful effects wrought by teachers who create healthy emotional environments, emotional intelligence and emotional literacy, current initiatives to develop emotional…

Discussion of why many experimental educational programs seem promising initially but disappointing when widely applied leads to detailed examination of the concept of "explanation." A proposed model for planning classroom work involves: (1) focusing students on the nature of the problem; (2) orienting pupils to a theoretical construct; and (3)…

This article describes how gifted primary children can play with and extend mathematical concepts when guided with appropriate leading questions that scaffold their explorations. Suggested activities help children explore binary numbers, triangular numbers, squares and square roots, prime numbers, fractions, percentage, ratios, calculator work,…

A review of British research on effective teaching of able students leads to a report on the Oxfordshire Effective Teachers of Able Pupils Project. This study found effective teachers shared similar beliefs about learning, had empathy with the needs of able children, created a secure classroom environment, held high expectations, used…

In response to an article (Hany, 2001) discouraging the practice of acceleration through grade skipping for gifted students, this article defends acceleration as one option for gifted students, describes use of acceleration in Germany including early school entrance, individual grade skipping, acceleration in one subject, and acceleration in…

American (n=47) and Israeli (n=66) teachers gave their opinions on aspects of gifted education. The Israeli group stressed cognitive abilities, the power of heredity, and the competence of regular teachers. Americans stressed hard work and believed more in the modifiability of human characteristics. Overall, Israeli teachers were more concerned…

Robert J. Sternberg, director of the Center for the Psychology of Abilities, Competencies, and Expertise, reviews current concerns regarding giftedness and reflects on his work. He laments the use of programs whose efficacy has not been shown and stresses the need to identify giftedness in all its forms. (CR)

This article discusses seven ways to develop spiritual intelligence, including: think about goals and identify values; access inner processes and use visualization to see goals fulfilled; integrate personal and universal vision; take responsibility for goals; develop a sense of community; focus on love and compassion; and take advantages of…

This article reassesses the contribution of the Plowden Report (1967) to educational thinking in the United Kingdom. It discusses how the report was scapegoated by politicians advocating a performance-led approach and suggests the report, which advocated a holistic, child-centered educational approach, has much to contribute to present educational…

This article discusses preparing able learners for the technologically dynamic future by teaching High Thinking Processes (HTP). It describes components of HTP and four main elements for developing HTP: well organized and justified curricula with appropriate tasks; metacognitive teaching; learning communities and challenging environments; and…

This article discusses how to recognize young gifted children (ages 5-8), gifted education, and issues for teachers. Educators are urged to enable students to make their thinking visible, allow autonomy in learning, allow for imagination and time for deep level thinking, challenge able children, and help children to be self-critical. (Contains 4…

This article describes the High/Scope Cognitively Oriented Pre-School Curriculum that recognizes that the power to learn resides in the child and focuses on active learning practices. It discusses child-initiated learning, key skills for thinking, key concepts involved in teaching thinking skills, and activities that support the development of…

This article examines the possible meaning of the construct "emotional intelligence". Two case studies of adolescent males are presented and indicate that emotional intelligence has a significant impact not only on the qualitative level of intelligence actualization but also on the quantitative level of intelligence measurement and scholastic…

This article discusses the influence of educators on the development of gifted students and describes the efforts of the English College in Prague to put skilled teachers and gifted students together. It stresses the need for effective and focused teaching and outlines characteristics of a learning environment. (CR)