DEVELOPING METHODOLOGY FOR IDENTIFYING GIFTEDNESS IN VISUAL ART EXPRESSION DOMAIN IN PRESCHOOL AGE

Abstract

Among professionals dealing with giftedness, one of the commonly accepted purposes for identifying giftedness is providing gifted with adequate pedagogical support, optimal nurturance, cognitive growth, development and opportunities for self-fulfillment. It is also recommended for researchers to choose one position in which giftedness would be understood and setting precise criteria for defining giftedness. In this article, we are interested in identifying giftedness in the domain of visual art expression among preschool children. Some of the general criterions for identifying gifted children include creativity, precocity, high intrinsic motivation, individual speed and approach to learning. The excellence criterion, the rarity criterion, demonstrability criterion, the productivity criterion and the value criterion are given as factors within the Pentagonal theory for identifying the gifted. When it comes to the visual art giftedness as domain-specific giftedness, realm of production is most readily apparent distinction between gifted and non-gifted children. It is presented in children’s artworks. This considers on the one side a child reaching the level of relatively realistic representation in early childhood, and on the other side it is child’s advance in experimentation with form, color, line, composition and other aesthetic properties of a drawing/painting. While having these sets of characteristics of artistically gifted children, we faced the problem in lack of standardized or generally accepted or recommended instruments for this process. Being in this position, we approached developing methodology - procedures, research techniques and instruments, relying on the recommendations given by professionals dealing with artistic development and art giftedness theoretically and through practical research. This methodology, as well as the results achieved through implemented research are presented in the article. With the sample of close to 350 preschool children in our local community, we were able to identify visual art giftedness in around dozen preschoolers, proving our instruments and procedures efficient enough. On the basis of these results, we can further work on improving and refining this methodology reaching as many artistically gifted children as possible, striving to support their giftedness.