Senate Select Committee Report

APPENDIX 3 DEFINITIONS OF GIFTEDNESS AND TALENT PROPOSED BY STATE AND TERRITORY EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS

New South Wales

The general policy statement issued in 1983 by the Department of Education included the following definition:

The talented child possesses one or more exceptional abilities and is capable of outstanding performance.

Victoria

The Gifted Children Task Force of the Victorian Department of Education adopted the following definition:

Gifted children are those who, by virtues of outstanding abilities or potential, are capable of high performance in a number of areas.

The Department's draft policy statement of 1981 referred to a need for differentiated services beyond those which are provided in the regular school for the average student. It included the following definition:

. . . the term talented is used to describe a student who may possess an outstanding ability or have potential in a particular area. The terms "gifted" and "talented" are not mutually exclusive.

South Australia

In its Policy Regarding Fostering Gifts and Talents Among Children of 1983, the South Australian Education Department moved away from its 1979 policy statement on 'intellectually gifted students' who were to be 'educated in their neighbourhood schools' within an adaptive education framework. The Department now believes the concept of giftedness is seen as one of differentiated giftedness, in that children display gifts and talents at particular times as well as in specific content areas. It is, therefore, inappropriate to talk in terms of an unvarying discrete group of children.

Queensland

In its policy statement issued in 1985, the Queensland Education Department proposed a definition based on the work of Renzulli:

Gifted children are those who because of above average abilities, creativity and task commitment perform or are capable of performing at a high level in potentially valuable areas of human endeavour.

Western Australia

In 1981, the Western Australian Education Department defined a 'target group' of gifted and talented children in the following terms:

There is now a measure of acceptance of the view that the major concern is for the upper 1 per cent to 5 per cent of each age group, where inclusion in the group is determined on the basis of a variable group of personal and socio-psychological factors.

Following the Kelly and Beazley Reports, a Departmental draft policy statement dated November 1985 spoke of gifted students in the following way:

There are exceptional students who have educational needs because of outstanding potential or performance in one or more curriculum areas.

Tasmania

The Tasmanian Education Department's 1984 policy statement recognised the complexity of defining gifts and talents.

. . . the range of human gifts and talents is almost endless . . . the distinction between "gifts" and "talents" is difficult to explain and probably unnecessary to make . . . gifts and talents will be valued differently at different times in any one society, will be valued in different ways by different groups in that society and will range far beyond the gifts and talents commonly recognised and endorsed by the system of schooling.

Australian Capital Territory

In its policy statement of 1983, the Australian Capital Territory Schools Authority adopted the 1981 Commonwealth Schools Commission statement:

Gifted students are those possessing, to an outstanding degree, demonstrated competence or potential in intellectual, creative and/or other abilities.

Northern Territory

The 1983 Northern Territory Policy Statement on Gifted Students used the following definition.

Gifted children are those capable of high performance with demonstrated achievement and/or potential ability in one or more specific areas.