Sometimes it's not easy for highly creative children to "comply" with a regular curriculum, even at the preschool age. They are wired to explore, experiment, build, imagine, and create. If forced at a young age into a diet heavy on rote learning and directed work, they may struggle. It's not that these children can't do the work, it's…

This paper reports on the findings in the first phase of a design-based research project as part of a large-scale intervention study in Dutch kindergartens. The project aims at enhancing differentiated instruction and evaluating its effects on children's development, in particular high-ability children. This study investigates relevant…

This article is an interview with award-winning author and gifted children consultant, Deborah Ruf, PhD. In the interview, Ruf emphasizes the importance of parental planning for gifted children's growth and development. She speaks to children's social, emotional, and cognitive abilities and needs as factors in developing a balanced plan.…

Although successful entrepreneurship is important for the economic prosperity of any society, one should acknowledge that entrepreneurial giftedness is terra incognita from a research viewpoint. This article analyzes early manifestations of entrepreneurial giftedness in the cases of Richard Branson, Michael Dell, and Bill Gates and thus opens a…

This monograph presents extensive abstracts of 49 papers on developmental approaches to identifying exceptional ability. Sample topics include: the gifted population in prison; identification of gifted rural children; use of the Stanford-Binet for identification; student characteristics and placement into special programs for the highly gifted;…

This literature review examined the congruence between parental estimates and professionals' assessments of the abilities of children with disabilities. Results suggest that there are strong, positive correlations between parental and professional judgments, and that methodology relates to the degree of congruence between parental and professional…

Explores use of tests with more- vs. less-precise age norms to identify disabilities in preschool children. Standard scores associated with the same raw score shifted gradually across age groups on tests with more precise norms, and shifted more dramatically on tests with less precise norms. Indicates that many preschool tests have norm tables…

A comprehensive theory is needed to explain the gifted/creative child's developing intelligence. Literature-based criteria are suggested for evaluating theories and for distinguishing theories from program applications, within four broad categories: nature of the gifted child, education and identification, framework of the theory, and criteria for…

Head Start children (n=446), divided into intervention and comparison groups, received programing to enhance thinking skills. Intervention group children identified as gifted also received programing in their talent area. Intervention group children, whether or not identified as gifted, made significant gains over the comparison group in cognitive…

Discusses research related to identifying early predictors of school success or intelligence. Reports on a study that suggested correlations exist between how babies process information (visual attentiveness) in the first six months of life and the child's performance on intelligence tests in school. (ML)

Aspects covered include federal support for the gifted, identification, the arts, the developmental process, and minority and disadvantaged gifted. Trends examined include cooperation between special and regular classroom teachers, more comprehensive program planning, and greater advocacy efforts. (DLS)

This brief paper offers guidelines on recognizing giftedness in young children based on a study of the developmental characteristics of 77 gifted and average children as reported in parent questionnaires. The questionnaire asked parents to describe their children's development during the first 36 months. Major findings indicated that: parents of…

The McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) was administered to kindergarten-aged chilren to obtain General Cognitive Indices (CGI). A short form of the MSCA was developed to select six subtests that best predicted the CGI. (Author/BEF)

Outlines the patterns and processes of visual representation which occur during early childhood and suggests some differences that may be apparent in relation to the young gifted child. Stages of development are described and the use of children's drawings as indicators of giftedness is also outlined. (Author/CR)