On the nature of giftedness and talent:Imposing order on chaos

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a move away from IQ as the accepted gauge of “giftedness” with a concomitant embracing of multiple concepts of talent. Some in the field welcome this diversification, heralding the changes as portending a shift to a more humane and democratic view of human potential with “talent development for all children” becoming an inspired and laudable goal. Others decry what they see as too hasty a dismissal of the needs of “the gifted child.” The field of gifted education thus finds itself in a morass of confusion. Fragmented by ideological differences and a lack of consensus regarding fundamental definitions, it has as well become charged with intense emotion. This article traces the development of the confusion enveloping the field today. It finds its roots in the very beginnings of the modern study of giftedness and talent and charts its evolution through to the establishment of two contemporary opposing Movements: the Talent Development Movement and the Columbus Group Movement. It is argued that these two Movements exemplify the culmination of two strands of research, theory and practice— “the gifted achiever” strand and “the gifted child” strand. Vygotskian theory is proposed as providing a conceptual framework which can accommodate what has been learned about giftedness and talent since the advent of IQ testing, resolve differences in the field by providing an overarching theoretical synthesis, and orient us toward future directions for research and practice.