Through literature reviews, discussions, and a survey of members of the Council for Exceptional Children, a common core of knowledge and skills essential for entry-level special education teachers was developed, composed of 107 statements in 8 categories. The categories include: (1) philosophical, historical, and legal foundations of special…

This paper, commissioned for the development of the national report, "National Excellence: A Case for Developing America's Talent," examines the relationship between American culture and efforts to educate gifted and talented students. The paper presents a historical overview of the cultural forces that have affected public policy, reviews the…

Several recent experiences suggest that Hungarian students are among the best prepared mathematically in international comparisons of achievement. This paper outlines the cultural background of mathematics learning in Hungary that influences that international standing. Achievement factors in the whole cultural context include: the role of…

The Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities provides a comprehensive academic program in a residential setting for approximately 300 academically gifted high school juniors and seniors. Operated by Ball State University, the Academy has created a curriculum with three dimensions--one for learning a core body of knowledge (the Core…

This manual was developed as part of a project to identify and serve the needs of gifted and talented economically disadvantaged elementary and secondary level populations. Section I presents a leader's manual for a workshop that discusses innovative procedures for identifying bright children in all cultures and populations. The workshop examines…

This paper reports results from two dissertation studies and several pilot and case studies examining the effects of early enrichment on children's language and cognitive development. Early enrichment in these studies included home visits with parents, typically beginning before the child reached 6 months of age, and continuing until the child was…

This paper introduces the Learning Outcomes Study at the University of Virginia, an ongoing 2-year investigation of over 1,000 elementary school children who entered one of 16 different gifted programs (or no program) in the fall of 1990. The study will compare effects of four examples each of four types of program delivery arrangements: (1)…

This final report of a 2-year research project examines how the needs of pupils with non-recorded learning difficulties were identified and met in the mainstream schools of one region in Scotland. Non-recorded pupils were defined as those pupils who were identified as experiencing learning difficulty but whose difficulties were not pronounced,…

This final evaluation report describes third-year activities of Project GO-FOR-IT (Great Opportunities for Optional Resources to Improve the Talents of Gifted Bilingual High School Students) which provided supplemental instruction in English as a Second Language, content area instruction, and native language arts instruction to 271 gifted and…

The handbook for parents of gifted students in Virginia provides basic State guidelines and lists resources. The state definition of gifted students is given and the six areas of giftedness specifically defined. Typical characteristics of the gifted child are briefly listed. Gifted identification procedures are outlined including referral,…

The International Baccalaureate (IB) program, in which students in the last 2 years of high school can earn a diploma recognized for university admission throughout the world and for course credit at colleges and universities in Canada and the United States, is described. Information about the program is provided in the following areas: (1)…

A mentor-assisted enrichment program was initiated in the 1981-82 school year for gifted/talented (GT) 6th and 7th graders in a public elementary school in Vancouver. The mentors were 11 pre-service teachers who used a "Four Phase Enrichment Model" to assist pairs of students to plan, carry out, complete, and then present an enrichment project to…

This paper offers an overview of the Academic Enrichment for Gifted in Summer (AEGIS) programs, an in-depth view of one AEGIS program, and a description of the creation and production of a historic play. In 1984, Arkansas sponsored its first 5 summer AEGIS programs, involving 275 students. In 1988, programs served 1,300 students. Day-programs…

This document describes a study of 5,000 minority undergraduate students whose SAT mathematics scores were 550 and above. Background information, high school program, college experience, and the results of two questionnaires were analyzed. Other information was drawn from a national longitudinal database, High School and Beyond (HS&B). Results…

A one-year follow-up study of a 1988 report on Wisconsin's internal "brain drain" indicates that the state's historic educational advantage is shrinking. Assessment of performance on the American College Testing Program (ACT), the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT), and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) reveals that scores are…