The Extent, Nature and Effectiveness of Planned Approaches in ...

legislative requirements, identification, advocacy, accessibility, and social and emotionalconsequences. On the one hand is the argument that a gifted child should be placed with the mostsuitable peer group irrespective of age, and on the other hand is the unsubstantiated view that earlyentry has negative effects on social and emotional development. Early entry is argued as one way ofmatching a child’s natural capability with an appropriately challenging environment. However, theNew Zealand early childhood curriculum, Te Whäriki, should be responsive to individual needs. Inimplementing the curriculum, the starting point is the learner and the knowledge, skills, and attitudesthat the child brings to their experiences (Ministry of Education, 1996). The curriculum enables earlychildhood services to plan teaching and learning programmes to respond to the particular interests andabilities of each of child. Overseas, the notion of responsiveness is advocated by supporters of earlyentry: “Gifted learners should be afforded the opportunity to begin school-based experiences based onreadiness” (Van Tassel-Baska, 1992a, p. 71). Therefore, the decision for early entrance should bebased on the child’s interests and readiness for learning with reasonable levels of competence in earlyreading and calculation skills, motor skills, and social and emotional maturity. Social and emotionalmaturity must be considered in light of a child’s background and advanced intellect (Cornell et al.,1991; Robinson & Weimer, 1991).Similarly, early entrance to tertiary institutions, a strategy which has long been used in countries suchas America to accommodate gifted students’ learning needs, is recognised as an appropriateaccelerative option for students who have mastered material at an earlier than usual age (Southern &Jones, 1991). These institutions sometimes offer programmes which may vary widely in theirphilosophy and approach, but are designed to meet the needs of students who are ready for universitybut would like to be part of a peer group who have made the same decision to leave secondary schoolearly. Several Australian universities, including the University of New South Wales and the Universityof Melbourne, accept early entrants (Gross & Sleap, 2001). Many students complete these programsand then transfer to another university where they eventually receive their degrees. For example, Grossand Sleap (2001) report that In New South Wales, the University of Wollongong offers one such earlyentry programmes where students who have completed Year 10 or 11 may apply to complete a one ortwo semester early entrance programmes. Completion of these programmes provides eligibility into afull degree programmes at that university as well as a number of other universities in Australia.However, it seems that in New Zealand, only a few institutions have instated special early entranceprogrammes to attract and support young talent.Not necessarily all gifted and talented students should be considered for early entrance to tertiaryeducation. Early entrance criteria should include factors such as high motivation, recommendationsfrom high school personnel and use student and parent interviews (Boothe, Sethna, Stanley, &Colgate, 1999). Brody and Stanley (1991) reiterate that it must clearly be the student’s desire ratherthan an effort to please a parent or mentor. The students should be strongly motivated and beconsiderably mature (Boothe et al., 1999). As with early entry to school, “The decision to enter college[i.e., tertiary education] early is one of matching a students needs and abilities to the appropriateenvironment” (Olszewski-Kubilius, 1995, p. 121).Grade advancement decisions should be based on facts rather than myths (Feldhusen et al., 2002).Students should consult with parents and need to be aware that may have to deal with the objectionsfrom friends and teachers. The conduit for early entrance may come from outside the walls of thestudent’s school (Olszewski-Kubilius, 1998a). Jones and Southern (1991), Brody and Stanley (1992)and Sayler and Lupkowski (1992) offer guidelines for parents and students, when considering earlyentry. They recommend that students should have high academic ability, choose a provider that offersa wide range of courses, have exhausted the challenging opportunities available in their current gradeor school system, consider their personal organizational skills, have a sincere desire to accelerate,consider attending programmes where a group of young students attend together so that age-peershave a support group, and also need to be prepared to leave friends and miss opportunities for sportsand other high school activities. Ultimately, the decision for early entry “…comes down to whether itis a good match between an educational setting and a student’s needs and characteristics” (Olszewski-Kubilius, 1995, p. 124).104