The word "gifted," when used to describe children's intellectual abilities, evokes varied opinions in teachers, caregivers, and families of young children. Some attitudes are positive, others negative, while still others are built upon misconceptions about individuals who are gifted. Giftedness occurs in people from infancy through adulthood.…

Compared the SIT with the WISC-R for a group of intellectually gifted students. Results indicated reduced correlations between the measures. (Author)

Intellectually gifted students in grades 6-12 living in central Mississippi were administered the Preferred Instructor Characteristics Scale. Rural, low socioeconomic group students had a stronger preference for teachers with personal-social behaviors such as friendliness, enthusiasm, and respect for students, compared to suburban middle-upper…

The article presents current information on the definitions states use to determine giftedness, updating a 1977 survey. Charts present components of the definitions, areas of giftedness, and other areas included in the definitions. (Author/CL)

Educators of children with special needs are required by law to employ "child find" to identify children with disabilities in their communities. Similar efforts to locate gifted children are required in a few states, but the practice is not mandated at the federal level. A rationale for child find is provided, as well as the guidelines of child…

The purpose of this study was to determine public support for gifted education in the state of Mississippi. The information garnered from the survey was used to inform the general public and specific groups as to the degree of support held for the public education of gifted children and youth. A 21-question instrument from a previous study was…

Compared area scores from short-form version of Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test (Fourth) with those from long form for 33 gifted children. Found three of five mean difference contrasts were significantly different and correlation coefficients between corresponding area scores and Test Composite were statistically significant. Suggests that…

This article discusses the need for competitions and contests in schools to develop and enhance talents in academics, fine and performing arts, leadership, and service learning. An academic contest school assessment checklist is included. Information on several national contests for children and youth is presented. (CR)

The article reports on an update of a 1984 directory of graduate degree programs in gifted education. The 1986-87 edition lists programs at 134 colleges and universities in 42 states and the District of Columbia along with appropriate contact persons and their addresses. (Author/VW)

The relationship between the "Children's Personality Questionnaire" and "Your Style of Learning and Thinking" was examined for 94 gifted 9-14 year-olds. Results revealed a relationship between personality variables and preference for a particular style of information processing. (CL)

Thirteen states' certification requirements for teachers of the gifted are described and two models advocated by the National Association for Gifted Children and The Association for the Gifted (for certification of teachers of the gifted and teachers of the fine and performing arts) are described (CL)

Subjects (199) attending a self-contained high school for the intellectually gifted were given the High School Personality Questionnaire. The instrument failed to discriminate between those individuals who actually held a leadership position and those who did not. Difference in personality characteristics between the two groups was significant,…

Performance and full scale scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Revised correlated significantly for 80 gifted students (grades 4-7) with scores on three subtests of the Lifetime Health Related Physical Fitness Test of the American Association on Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. (CL)

Surveys completed by colleges and universities revealed, among other findings, that over two-thirds had policies allowing for early admission of gifted students, but few students took advantage of the opportunity. Possible reasons may include lack of specialized counseling and lack of personnel directly responsible for administering the program.…

A computerized search was conducted of U.S. newspaper coverage of gifted education, and results were analyzed in terms of geographic location, major topic areas, and topic categories crossed with geographic location. The 62 articles were classified as addressing schools, enrollment/minorities, screening, funding, attitudes, curriculum content,…