Gifted education policy in the US

The former and current ECHA correspondents from the U.S. (Prof. Pamela Clinkenbeard and Dr. Kimberley Chandler) will provide an overview of gifted education policy at the national level, and will show the wide variations in policy among the 50 states and territories. The emphasis will be on advocacy with federal and state legislators, with examples of how to inform and involve parents as advocates. The U.S. National Association for Gifted Children (nagc.org) offers advocacy training opportunities annually at their Leadership and Advocacy Conference, which is attended by state leaders in gifted education. Attendees interact with their federal legislators and share information with each other on what has worked in their states in terms of advocacy at several levels: state legislators, state departments of education, school districts, individual schools, and even individual classrooms and teachers. The goal of this presentation is to share a brief overview of the gifted education policy landscape in the U.S., and to exchange policy strategy ideas with several other countries.

Recent public debates and consultations on education in Scotland.

At any one time in Scotland there are a range of consultations taking place across all aspects of Government. Members of the public, 3rd sector organisations, business etc are invited to comment on proposed changes to anything from roads to health care to education. Ensuring that the voice of gifted learners is heard in educational consultations is an ongoing issue.

Education has been high on the policy agenda in Scotland, and all the main political parties agree that a successful educational system is an essential requirement if the nation is to fulfil its ambitions for the future. There is less agreement in how that is to be achieved. Catherine Reid and Margaret Sutherland, University of Glasgow, will examine recent public debates and consultations on education in Scotland. They will argue that gifted education should be an integral part of the education system. They will examine the central focus of the consultations and consider whether such events can act as a catalyst for change at ground level, particularly for highly able learners.

Educator, parent, and student attitudes toward gifted education policy in Ireland

Currently, there is no relevant national policy for gifted learners in Ireland and giftedness is excluded from the Education for Persons With Special Educational Needs Act (2004). The only formal outlet for gifted students in Ireland is the enrichment programmes at Centre for Talented Youth, Ireland (CTYI) based at Dublin City University. A study of educator attitudes in Ireland (Cross et al., 2014) determined that while most Irish teachers are generally supportive of gifted children, there is a lack of access to specialised knowledge in the area and a challenge in identifying gifted students who are under-performing. In 2023, the Department of Education in Ireland formed a working group to establish the role of giftedness in upcoming changes to special education needs legislation. Many of this group’s members are parent advocates, whose children attended or currently attend CTYI programmes.

Dr. Orla Dunne, residential programme manager at CTYI, will discuss the Centre’s research on educator, parent, and student attitudes toward gifted education policy in Ireland, with emphasis on potential legislative changes and current government interest in including giftedness within the Special Educational Needs Act. 

Inclusion, special education, and giftedness in educational policy in Sweden

In 2024, it is 30 years since the Salamanca Statement was published by UNESCO. The document focuses on inclusion policy and includes an aim to make inclusion a central feature of education systems worldwide. How this aim has been interpreted varies considerably between countries. Moreover, there are differences concerning who should be the subject of inclusion. 

In this presentation Dr. Caroline Sims presents how the relationship between inclusion, special education and giftedness has been interpreted in educational policy in Sweden. The questions she addresses concern what happens when central policy becomes local, and how actions intended to be inclusive actually create exclusion. The presentation will also address matters to do with translation of policies – translation between languages but also, perhaps more importantly, between discourses.