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

FORMAL IDENTIFICATION OF GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTSThe questionnaire probed responding schools’ identification of gifted and talented students. Firstly, itqueried the extent of formal identification over the last 12 months. The nature of identificationmethods, areas of giftedness and talent identified, and year levels of identification were also ofimportance. This section begins by examining the ‘big picture’ of formal identification. It thenexamines the extent and nature of identification across areas of giftedness: intellectual/academic;creativity; visual and performing arts; social/leadership; culture-specific; and physical/sport. For thepurposes of the questionnaire, these areas were defined for respondents as follows:We recognise that giftedness and talent will mean different things to different people.However, for the purposes of this questionnaire, the following areas of ability are used asdescribed below:• Intellectual/Academic refers to students with exceptional abilities in one or more of theessential learning areas (i.e., language and languages, mathematics, technology, healthand physical education, social sciences, science, the arts).• Creativity refers to students with general creative abilities as evidenced in theirabilities to problem-find and problem-solve, and their innovative thinking andproductivity.• Expression through the Visual and Performing Arts refers to music, dance, dramaand visual arts.• Social/Leadership refers to students with interpersonal and intrapersonal abilities andqualities which enable them to act in leadership roles.• Culture-Specific Abilities and Qualities refers to those valued by the student’s culturalor ethnic group, including traditional arts and crafts, pride in cultural identity,language ability and service to the culture.• Expression through Physical/Sport refers to students with excellent physical abilitiesand skills, as evidenced through sport and/or health and physical educationprogrammes.Within this framework, we also recognise that concepts of giftedness and talent must becontextualised, and in doing so your school’s concepts may or may not ‘fit’ ourcategorisation. We recommend that in identifying your school’s areas of ability youconsider the major focus of your identification and provision. Alternatively, you may usethe ‘other’ option, specifying the area of ability.Schools were asked to report the methods of identification used for determining abilities in each ofthese areas. The following methods of identification were given: teacher observation/nomination;teacher rating scales/checklists; achievement tests; IQ tests; teacher-made tests; portfolios;auditions/performances; parent nomination; self-nomination; peer nomination; and whänaunomination. Additionally, respondents were asked to indicate the level at which identification occurred(i.e., schoolwide, NE-Year 2, Years 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12 or a combination).The Extent of Formal IdentificationSchools were asked to indicate whether gifted and talented students had been formally identified overthe last 12 months: 60.3% of schools reported that they had been; 39.7% had not. Amongst schooltypes, 58.4% of primary schools, 78.9% of intermediate schools, 70.5% of secondary schools, and42.0% of ‘other’ schools have undertaken formal identification. Formal identification was reported by46.4% of rural schools and 66.4% of urban schools.176