Caregivers play an important role in the development of talent in high-potential children, however, limited research exists on their observations and perceptions of their child's development. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine caregivers' perceptions of the social and emotional characteristics of gifted children in grades K-3.…

Just as children have fairly consistent attachment styles toward parents, we argue that parents have fairly consistent attachment styles toward children. It generally will be easiest for gifted children to develop their gifts and display them successfully if their parents were securely attached to them. But the children who have experienced…

There is insufficient Swedish research on giftedness and home-school collaboration and meeting gifted children's needs in early childhood education. This qualitative study explored these issues by interviewing parents of gifted children. The thematic analysis examined parents' descriptions of children's early development, asynchronicity, and…

This article reviews the implications of many of the major schools in the history of psychology for understanding giftedness and its inner workings: operationist, psychometric, psychoanalytic, associationist, behaviorist, Gestalt, cognitive, humanistic/positive psychology, functionalist/pragmatic/constructivist, cultural, and biological. Each…

The cognitive perceptions that enable gifted children to process academic information in superior ways also qualitatively impact the psychosocial dimensions of their lives. Overexcitabilities represent common super-sensitive areas in gifted children. However, giftedness does not end with adulthood and neither do the complex processes of…

Annemarie Roeper and Leta Hollingworth are the ethical bedrock of the field of gifted education. Though they never met, their legacies are intertwined. They gave us a child-centered perspective, in which ethical development plays a pivotal role. This article traces the similarities of their philosophies, exploring the life experiences that may…

A 15-year phenomenological case study of an exceptional female from age 15 through 30 was focused on exploring the subjective experience of development during adolescence and young adulthood, with attention to how giftedness and context interacted. The main focus became her response to trauma, which was revealed early in the study. Data, including…

Florence L. Goodenough is not a name immediately associated with gifted education. Although she studied under two of the field's most recognized pioneers, Leta S. Hollingworth and Lewis Terman, her initial work in gifted education did not evolve into the mainstay of her research. This work discusses her contributions to gifted education, work in…

This article provides further evidence of the often observed sensitive nature displayed by children who are gifted. It also addresses the positive and negative effects that this sensitivity can have on these individuals. Earlier, the authors explored this concept through an analysis of the works and life experiences of Geoffrey, aged 9, a prolific…

Case studies of extremely gifted individuals often reveal unique patterns of intellectual precocity and associated abnormalities in development and behavior. This article begins with a review of current neurophysiological and neuroanatomical findings related to the gifted population. The bulk of scientific inquiries provide evidence of unique…

Explores giftedness from infancy to adolescence within a psychodynamic developmental framework. Gifted development is discussed in terms of drive, ego functions, object relations, and self-experience. Also discussed are the history of giftedness, gifted infants and preschoolers, gifted school-age children, and giftedness in male and female…

This article serves as a primer to make the neuroimaging literature more accessible to the lay reader and to increase the evaluative capability of the educated consumer of cognitive neuroscience. This special issue gives gifted education practitioners and researchers a primary source view of current neuroscience relevant to modern definitions and…

Developmental exceptionalities span the range of learning abilities and encompass children with both learning disorders and learning gifts. The purpose of this article is to stimulate thinking about these exceptionalities, particularly the complexities and variations within and across people. Investigators tend to view learning disabilities or…

A year-long qualitative study of 10 families of gifted children (grades 5 to 8) found 4 levels of parental reasoning concerning their child's social and emotional development: (1) no framework; (2) an intellectual framework only; (3) a full intellectual and partial social-emotional framework; and (4) a comprehensive framework recognizing both…

Gifted adults are recognized by society solely by their achievements, though the unusual developmental trajectory of the gifted creates an extraordinary experience of life at any age. The achievement orientation is now taking over gifted education and makes it difficult for the gifted to understand and honor the qualities of mind that make them…