In this article, James J. Gallagher explains, in the context of education, that "civil rights" means the guarantee of equal opportunity and justice for all and the actions taken against those barriers that stand in the way of such equality. How does the issue of civil rights bear on an area of special education such as the education of…

In this article, Brown and Garland, reflect on issues raised by James J. Gallagher, such as educational policies helping to create and support an infrastructure within which the needs of students can be addressed. Gallagher felt that a strong federal policy, such as IDEA, was critical to building and maintaining a solid infrastructure. Gallagher…

Teachers often struggle to provide all students access to specific learning activities that work best for them--and what works best for some students will not work for others. Differentiating instruction makes sense because it offers different paths to understanding content, process, and products, considering what is appropriate given a…

In this article the author's research reports that giftedness is a combination of advanced development and creativity. It is developmental in nature in that it begins as potential (generally in young people), evolves into achievement within recognizable domains during the school years, and becomes increasingly advanced (compared with peers)…

The authors first briefly describe how the concepts of talents and giftedness found in German-speaking Europe have evolved in the school system and in general over the past two centuries, and how the variety of gifted-education efforts found within and beyond schools as well as counseling efforts attest to these changes. They then discuss four…

A comprehensive portrait of the current status of gifted and talented concepts, identification of the gifted, and associated provisions within Peru is presented. The major purposes of this article are (a) to analyze the primary conception of giftedness in Peru; (b) to describe the beliefs that people have about gifted individuals; (c) to present…

This essay presents an overview of the system of gifted education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To highlight the characteristics of this system, however, its presentation is preceded by a discussion of particular aspects of Saudi society and its general system of education. These aspects distinctly differentiate the general and gifted systems of…

Japan has no formal educational system for gifted children. However, in 2005, Japan's Cabinet approved and established the third Science and Technology Basic Plan (2006-10), which includes "nurturing the individuality and ability of gifted ("sainou" in Japanese) children." Enforcement of this plan is exemplified in…

Despite its close geographical, economic, and political ties with mainland China, Hong Kong has not followed the same trajectory on gifted education but instead has preferred to adopt a more Western approach to the definitions and provision for gifted learners (Shi & Zixiu, 2000; Zou, Yang, & Greene, 2007). Hong Kong is, on most measures…

In Austria, gifted education and the education of highly gifted and talented children have been receiving an increasing public awareness and social acceptance over the past decade. The article highlights the existing ideas of giftedness in Austria, and it presents several initiatives having triggered and influenced this positive development. The…

The tiny, multicultural nation of Singapore has a long history of provisions for gifted students. Beliefs about ability and talent development are strongly influenced by traditional Confucian perspectives that view environmental factors as dominant in the development of talent. Early identification is not stressed and working hard is emphasized at…

Many gifted education experts have found that Black, Hispanic, and Native American students are less likely to be identified for gifted programs than Asian American and White students. A study was conducted to ascertain the degree of underrepresentation of these groups in gifted programs in Utah. Using state-collected data from 14,781 students in…

The article is an overview on the provision of gifted education in Hungary. It describes views and approaches that have been and are present, including beliefs and the official provisions for gifted students. A separate part of the study introduces new innovations in gifted education in Hungary, as well as the research results. A very detailed…

In the summer of 2011, the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture, and Science presented a letter to the Cabinet, containing the policy objectives for the education of talented, gifted, and highly gifted students. In action plans for primary, secondary, and higher education, in addition to the development of teacher skills, specific measures were…

As the world becomes smaller in a small field like gifted education, cross-cultural research gives us a unique opportunity to understand top students and academic interventions in a deeper way. In this article, the author describes the importance of cross-cultural research as a way to serve gifted children globally. A description of a…