I write this article in an attempt to establish my own view upon gifted and talented education and as an attempt to review and analyse the perspectives and opinions of others in the field of education. I will examine how people believe gifts and talents are created in an attempt to establish and affirm my own viewpoint. I will look at what I…

Use of conventional standardized intelligence tests to identify gifted students presents problems with students from diverse cultural backgrounds. Assessment of learning ability (in particular the method of "test, teach, and test") may be a better method for identifying gifted students. Tests being used in Israel and Great Britain are…

Educational opportunity for growth and self-fulfillment should remain open to people of all ages. In Great Britain there are several higher and adult education systems to encourage and fulfill the talents of youth, adults, and older students, including open learning systems, youth services, flexistudy, open universities, adult education, and…

Parents may expect more services for their gifted children than can be delivered by British school districts, which must consider all children. Parents' preference for independent schools may be due to perceived social and attentional benefits, rather than practices of state schools; however parents want greater participation in planning future…

Using Taxi-Cab Geometry (a non-Euclidean geometry program) as the starting point, 14 mathematically gifted British secondary students (ages 12-14) were asked to consider the differences between Euclidean and Non-Euclidean geometries, then to construct their own geometry and to consider the non-Euclidean elements within it. The positive effects of…

Thoughts on changes in Britain's attitude to prescribing curricular content suggest that the current curricular blueprint is faulty with a huge imbalance of information at the expense of skill development. The author identifies important third millenium skills in the areas of education for survival, understanding our place in the world,…

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…

This article reviews the current state of gifted education in Great Britain, noting the development of a national center; effects of the National Curriculum; needs; aims; and issues, such as early childhood education, distance inservice courses for teachers, and use of information technology to individualize instruction. (DB)

Describes a project in which a small group of teachers of gifted students in primary and secondary schools in England used action research as an holistic way of undertaking professional development, which encouraged them to question their values, beliefs, and assumptions about teaching and learning. (CR)