The Journal of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children

creative thinkers across all disciplines – is a nice match to the Parallel Curriculum Model
(Tomlinson, Kaplan, Renzulli, Purcell, Leppien, & Burns, 2002). The point here is that
participation in competitions can be strengthened and justified by analysing and matching
curricular and competition goals.
5. Developing specific competition goals: In the development of curricula for gifted and talented
students, teachers and schools may also write process goals and objectives specific to
competition. For example, Udvari (2000) believes that students need to develop skills and
attitudes related to different ways of competing. Riley and Karnes (2005) assert that students
need to develop proficiency in setting and evaluating their personal competition goals. Other
competencies may be locating competitions, making application, gaining sponsorship or
funding, and managing public relations (Riley & Karnes, 2005).
6. Identifying students and teachers for participation: Identification of students for competition
involvement should be taken as seriously as identification for any other special programmes
(Riley & Karnes, 2007). There needs to be a careful match between the competition requirements
and the student’s abilities, qualities, and talents. Similarly, teachers need to be carefully
selected, ensuring that they have the commitment of time, energy, resources, and so on to
successfully guide and support students through the competition process. Having knowledge of
the content, processes, and products required for the competition is equally important.
Finally, and of great importance, these six steps, which are interchangeable and ongoing,
must be documented in school-based policies and procedures, so that sustained support can be
better assured. The evaluation of competition effectiveness in meeting the needs of gifted and
talented children must also be undertaken. Campbell and his colleagues (2001) believe it is crucial
for educators to determine the effects of competitions, but explain the lack of such evidence as
indicative of the poor track record in gifted education of evaluative studies. They also hypothesise
that since many competitions are sponsored by community or business agencies, they may not have
the resources or interest in evaluation. “Research into their effectiveness, focusing on the
experiences and outcomes for participants and other stakeholders, is warranted” (Riley & Karnes,
2009, p. 168). Other areas to be addressed in written policies or documentation could include the
professional learning and support for staff; funding and resources; communication between home,
school and the wider community; and public relations strategies.
In summary, for successful facilitation and implementation of competitions for gifted and
talented students, schools should consider:
• Effective and coordinated planning and supervision of student participation in competitions
(Riley & Karnes, 1998/99), including curricular and policy alignment, documentation, and
evaluation (Riley & Karnes, 2007).
• Careful selection of competitions based upon thorough understanding of their purposes and
procedures, as well as the identified special abilities of individual students (Riley & Karnes,
1998/99).
Working with individuals and teams of students to compete
Beneath the school-wide layers of facilitation and implementation of competitions lies the
most critical element: the competitors. Teachers can work alongside their students, individually or in
teams, to make decisions about competition involvement. Riley and Karnes (2007) suggest using a
standardised interest inventory or simply asking students “What talents do you have?” They might
also list their interests and areas they would like to know more about. The interest and talent lists
can be combined and ranked for analysis against the competitions available. The student should
select several competitions (from resources like Karnes & Riley, 2005 or the school’s competition
database or file). Each student should read the descriptions of the competitions, asking the
following types of questions, as presented by Riley and Karnes (2007):
• Is this competition in my area of ability and interest?
• Can I do what is expected?
• Do I have the time and resources to participate?
• Do I need a sponsor? If so, how will I get one?
• If a team is needed, are there other students interested?
Gifted and Talented International – 26(1), August, 2011; and 26(2), December, 2011. 67