Appropriate Programming for the Gifted: An Analysis of Gifted Elementary Students' Perceptions

Abstract

The results of a study to determine whether sixth-grade students in three different gifted programs could depict models of their ideal gifted program in ways that were not limited by their experiences in these programs are described. The 57 subjects performed two Q-sorts using a set of 40 statements taken from the list of recommended practices generated by the Knowledge Production and Utilization Task Force of CEC-TAG. Eight factors emerged using the Pearson product moment correlation, four from each condition of instruction. All were different, with no significant correlations among them. In describing their ideal programs in ways that closely matched the program models which have been available since 1957, these gifted students appear to endorse those practices. The emergence of multiple ideal models, though, speaks to the importance of offering more than one type of gifted program, since none is ideal for all students.