Similarities and differences are explored in programs and provisions for academically able students in the United States, Japan, and West Germany. Discussed are social attitudes toward gifted education (especially the belief that special provisions for an "elite" group are undemocratic) and the use of various teaching methods as…

A survey of Iowa school districts found that the provision of special educational services and other aspects of gifted education was highly correlated with the availability of related inservice teacher education. (MSE)

A survey of gifted school-aged children in the United States, Canada, and the Republic of South Africa revealed that this group is capable of envisioning the future realistically and optimistically, and that they are beginning to think more globally than nationally. Some responses are presented. (MSE)

To deliver challenging, high-level, fast-paced instruction in public schools, the gifted and talented must be grouped together for at least those subjects in which they are talented and need differentiated instruction. Arguments that less able youth suffer in the absence of gifted students are flawed. (MSE)

Tested high- and average-achieving German fifth- and seventh-grade students' metacognitive knowledge, attributional beliefs, and performance on a sort recall test. Found ability-related differences in all three areas. Gifted children tended to attribute academic success to high ability while average children attributed success to effort. (SAK)

A 76-item test of intellect-related personality traits was developed and administered to 46 gifted 13 year olds, 51 undergraduates, and 53 seventh and eighth graders. Three component-based traits were obtained: intellectual absorption, apathy, and pleasure. These traits were found to be related to intellectual performance. (TJH)

A one-day program of the Ventura, California, school system attempts to develop leadership, organizational, resourcefulness, and communication skills in gifted students by solving problems in a primitive setting possibly faced by the original Jamestown settlers. (DB)

Gifted adolescents (N=184) completed the Attitude Toward Giftedness Questionnaire. Results indicated they were positive about their giftedness but did not believe that others were positive, and that they viewed giftedness as positive for their personal growth and academic performance but negative for their social relations. (Author/DB)

Examined relationships among young children's metacognitive processing and creative ability, based on information-processing theory and Vygotsky's early thought development theory. Twenty-one five- and six-year olds were assessed on four attributes of creativity, and their private speech was coded. Specific qualities and characteristics of…

Students talented in science were offered an opportunity to use community research facilities and to conduct scientific research in an independent study course at Avon Grove High School in Kemblesville, Pennsylvania. The course involved peer collaboration, cooperative learning, the teacher as mentor, research papers, and oral presentations. (JDD)

Recommended training videos on early childhood special education are described. Individual videos deal with integrating preschoolers with hearing impairments, identifying gifted preschoolers, transdisciplinary assessment, social integration of children with disabilities, an interdisciplinary inservice training project, and early childhood team…

Major topics and geographic locations of articles on gifted education issues were identified for 180 newspaper articles published between January 1986 and December 1994. The majority of articles pertained to schools (32%), followed by those focusing on attitudes (22%), funding (16%), and enrollment/minorities (11%). (SW)

The importance of balancing content instruction with instruction in higher level thinking skills for gifted students is emphasized. The article recommends providing students with sophisticated content, relating that content to essential underlying generalizations and principles, and then concentrating on thinking skills. (SW)

This study of 82 teachers of gifted students showed that teachers trained in gifted education demonstrated greater teaching skills and developed more positive classroom climates than did teachers who had no training in gifted education. Students of trained teachers reported greater emphasis on higher level thinking skills and on discussion and…

Two studies, involving 11 teachers and 195 gifted students, found that interactive writing between teachers and gifted students can promote collaborative learning. Teachers did not spontaneously journal with students in ways most conducive to this mode of learning but learned to use interactive, collaborative discourse functions when shown proper…