ECCWC301A - Gifted Education: A Critical Analysis of Australian Policy

This assignment provides a critical analysis of gifted education in early childhood in Australia. It begins with an annotated bibliography of six articles focusing on various aspects of gifted education, including defining giftedness, teacher training, government initiatives, and challenges in program development. The report then evaluates the current status of gifted education in Australia, critiquing the existing policies and highlighting their drawbacks, such as the lack of clarity on addressing mistakes made by gifted children and insufficient support for gifted children with disabilities. The analysis extends to the selected articles, identifying their limitations, such as the absence of specific recommendations for aligning definitions and evaluations, and the lack of quantitative data on the effectiveness of certain programs. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of partnerships between families and teachers in supporting gifted children and advocating for collaborative and patient participation to foster their confidence and development. Desklib offers a range of resources for students, including similar assignments and past papers.

Running Head: CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF GIFTED EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA
CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF GIFTED EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF GIFTED EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA
There are many children who show advanced mental and intellectual development if
they are guided by their teachers properly. Their performance in the academic as well as in
the non-academic spheres exceeds the boundaries of the expectations of their teachers and
parents. They are considered to be ‘gifted children’. The purpose of this study is to find out
six different articles based on the recognition of the gifted children in Australia, during their
early childhood. The first section of the essay contains an annotated bibliography that talks
about the areas highlighted in those six articles. The next section of the essay observes
whether those articles have done justice with the main topic of discussion-“Gifted education
in early childhood”. In this context, this section critically analyses the policies implemented
by the Australian government in favour of the education of the ‘gifted children’. The final
section of the essay discusses the importance of the partnership between families and teachers
to facilitate the process of gifted education and recommends some support services that
should be provided to ‘gifted children’.
Jarvis, J. M., & Henderson, L. (2014). Defining a coordinated approach to gifted
education. Australasian Journal of Gifted Education, 23(1), 5.
The First article- “Defining a coordinated approach to gifted education”, focuses on
the philosophies regarding ‘gifted education’ and finds out a proper definition of the
‘giftedness of a child’. Next, this articles talks about special programs, models for
identification as well as the evaluation of the ‘gifted students’ during the early phase of their
childhood. In this context, this article analyses the educational practices as well as pedagogies
incorporated by educational institutions in Australia. This article also points out that the
evaluation practices implemented in order to identify the giftedness of a child are not always
proved fruitful due to the lack of alignment among the definition and identification,
philosophies of gifted education while designing such programs (Jarvis & Henderson, 2014).

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Fraser-Seeto, K. (2013). Pre-service teacher training in gifted and talented education: An
Australian perspective. Journal of Student Engagement: Education Matters, 3(1),
29-38.
The second article-“Pre-service teacher training in gifted and talented education: An
Australian perspective” focuses on unique characteristics of the gifted students. According to
this article, every gifted child is from a different domain and need different educational
programs to utilise their full potential. This article states that, it is the concept and belief of a
teacher that casts upon a deep impact on the development of a ‘gifted child’. If teachers are
not trained or their misconception regarding gifted education are not cleared, they will not be
able to identify the potentialities of a gifted child and design appropriate educational
pedagogy for them (Fraser-Seeto, 2013).
Fraser-Seeto, K., Howard, S. J., & Woodcock, S. (2015). An investigation of teachers'
awareness and willingness to engage with a self-directed professional development
package on gifted and talented education.
The third article-“An investigation of teachers' awareness and willingness to engage
with a self-directed professional development package on gifted and talented education”,
incorporates a quantitative study of nearly 96 schools. The results revealed that, sometimes
the lack of knowledge and skills on the part of the teachers become obstacles in the
identification as well as the fulfilment of the needs of the gifted children. This article also
suggests a professional development package for the teachers and an inclusive approach to
education (Fraser-Seeto, Howard & Woodcock, 2015)..
Watters, J. J. (2013). Starting small: A staged approach to professional development in
gifted education. Australasian Journal of Gifted Education, 22(1), 18.

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CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF GIFTED EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA
The fourth Article-“Starting small: A staged approach to professional development in
gifted education.” Elaborates the initiatives taken by Australian government to aid the gifted
education. In this context, this article talks about Australian Government Quality Teacher
Program (AGQTP). This article aims to find out all the shortcomings of education system in
guiding the gifted children and makes provision for the required fund in all the sectors of
schooling. This article also reveals how the AGQTP designed a progressive and collaborative
framework for the professional development of the teachers (Watters, 2013).
Kettler, T., Oveross, M. E., & Salman, R. C. (2017). Preschool gifted education: Perceived
challenges associated with program development. Gifted Child Quarterly, 61(2),
117-132.
The fifth article-“Preschool gifted education: Perceived challenges associated with
program development” This article attempts to highlight all the challenges in the way of
successful implementation of the gifted education services. In this context, this article has
conducted a survey considering 254 pre-school as the sample size. The result shows that
approximately 95% percent of the schools neither have an appropriate framework nor follow
policies to provide effective gifted education services. This article has also highlighted the
constraints of the gifted education services and recommended to balance time, money, space
in order to recognise and serve the gifted children (Kettler, Oveross & Salman, 2017).
Kaplan, S., & Hertzog, N. B. (2016). Pedagogy for early childhood gifted education. Gifted
Child Today, 39(3), 134-139.
The sixth article-“Pedagogy for early childhood gifted education” This article talks
about the importance of an effective pedagogy to provide better services for gifted education.
This article also emphasizes on the federal attention in the course of improving the quality of
the gifted education. According this article the federal intervention will aid the nourishment

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of the potentialities of the gifted children. These talented children will enrich the human
resource of the country. In this context, this article recommends the implementation of a
skilled-based approach (Kaplan & Hertzog, 2016).
Critical analysis of the gifted education policy of Australia
In order to evaluate the current status of gifted education in Australia, the policy for
gifted and talented education need to be analysed. According to this policy, the children
whose performance in the preschool are indicative of their above average potentialities will
be considered as gifted children. The performance is judged on the basis of their human
abilities like creative, intellectual, social as well as physical abilities. The several rights that is
ensured to the children who are categorised as gifted include- a child’s right to be acquainted
with the giftedness a he or she possesses, the right to learn new things everyday, the right to
be confident as well as passionate about the talent he or she possesses and feel good for his or
her accomplishments (Journals.sagepub.com, 2019). This policy also give gifted children the
right to make their identity beyond their specialised domain. Again, they are allowed to make
mistakes. This policy also concerned for the students who have some kinds of disabilities. It
ensures a supportive environment for learning to the students possessing any kind of
deformity. The Disability Standards for Education 2005 states that the ‘students with
disabilities’ will get the opportunity to clarify all the obligations of the education as well as
training providers, also they will be allowed to access and participate in the process of the
education system (Education.nt.gov.au, 2019).
A critical analysis of the policy reveals that, the policy did not clarify whether the gifted
students will have the rights to talk about their mistakes freely. It did not take into account the
cases in which, the pre-school gifted children repeat their mistakes unknowingly and did not
specify their right to ask guidance in case of the repetition of any mistakes These are some of

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CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF GIFTED EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA
the drawbacks of this policy. Again, there may be cases, in which the gifted children become
confused about the areas they should pursue and need counselling, but, this policy did not
consider counselling of gifted children important. This is another major drawback of this
policy. The official document of this policy specifies that the policy is concerned about the
development of the ‘student with disabilities’, but studies show that, the gifted children who
have any kinds of disabilities do not get proper guidance in most of the schools of Australia.
Often the children with disabilities do not get the chance to nourish the talent they have
because of the lack of a supportive environment, empathy, encouragement on the part of the
teachers. This is indicative of two major loopholes. Firstly the policy, is ignorant about the
‘gifted children with disabilities’; secondly, this indicates that the government has not made
any provision to supervise the implementation of this policy.
Critical analysis of the Articles
It is true that the first article- “Defining a coordinated approach to gifted education”
emphasizes on the alignment of the definition identification as well as the evaluation of the
giftedness in a child while designing appropriate programs and modules for them, but this
article does not mention how then alignment can be done. Thus, the lack of recommendations
for the alignment process is one of the major loophole of this article. This article has given an
overview of the coordinated approach related to the gifted education system of Australia, but
lacks in –depth analysis and statistical evidences, these have made the content of the article
feeble.
The second article-“Pre-service teacher training in gifted and talented education: An
Australian perspective” emphasizes on the requirement of the training of the teachers in order
to identify the giftedness in a child, but it does not suggest any appropriate framework for the

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training. The content of the article would have been more effective it would have mentioned
the training programs arranged by some of the education institutions of Australia.
It is true that the third article-“An investigation of teachers' awareness and willingness to
engage with a self-directed professional development package on gifted and talented
education” emphasizes on the adoption of an inclusive approach to gifted education, but it
does not provide a proper definition of what the inclusive approach is or how it can be
implemented.
The fourth Article-“Starting small: A staged approach to professional development in
gifted education.” attempts to find out all the loopholes of education system, but, it does not
make any quantitative study of the problems of the ineffective pedagogies that create
obstacles in the path of guiding gifted children in Australia properly. Again, this article does
not make any critical analysis or provide any statistical data regarding the success of the
AGQTP programs.
The fifth article-“Preschool gifted education: Perceived challenges associated with
program development” incorporates a statistical survey and shows that 95% percent of the
schools in Australia do not have an appropriate framework for gifted education services, but
it does not show how an appropriate framework can be designed. It only mentions the
importance of balancing time money and framework in preparing an effective framework for
the gifted education services. Thus, the lack of the proper recommendations is one of the
major drawbacks of this article.
The sixth article-“Pedagogy for early childhood gifted education” does not emphasize
on the procedures for effective implementation of the skilled-based approach in the gifted
education services of Australia. This article talks about the federal intervention but does not
suggest several types of initiatives that can be taken by the government.

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Importance of partnership between families and teachers
The collaborative approach of the gifted education system suggests the partnership
between the teacher and the parents of the gifted children (Australiancurriculum.edu.au,
2019). Effective involvement of the parents and the teachers to identify the giftedness, in a
child will aid the proper implementation the framework designed for gifted education. In
spite of being talented sometimes the gifted children lacks confidence, sometimes they do
realize the importance of educational practices that will help them become proficient in their
respective domain; in such cases a collaborative and patient participation of both the teachers
and the parents is necessary (Education.nt.gov.au, 2019). This partnership approach is very
effective to make proper counselling of the gifted child so that he or she understands their
giftedness and follows and agree to follow pedagogies designed to enhance their efficiency
(Hodge & Kemp, 2006).
This is also true in case of the student with disabilities, as the encouragement on the part
of the teacher as well as the parents will help them forget their disabilities and nourish their
talents. This partnership approach will also assist those specially abled children to overcome
all the disadvantages they face (Aaegt.net.au, 2019). The schools has to take necessary steps
like inclusion of the children and their parents in the educational programs, so that the
partnership approach to the gifted education can be implemented properly. Also, the parents
should take out some time to participate in the collaborative process of identification,
nourishment and evaluation of the giftedness of their children (Aph.gov.au, 2019).
Support services
A proper support services to the gifted children as well as gifted and specially abled
children requires enthusiasm and positive attitude on the part of the teachers. Hence, the

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teachers are the core components of the strategies formulated for the effective
implementation of the gifted education services. It is also true that the acceleration of the
programs designed for gifted education is not possible without the cooperation on the part of
the parents. After a child is identified as ‘gifted’ he or she needs to follow pedagogies to
become more efficient in his or her domain. At this particular stage, the support from the
family is essential, as it will help them to cope with the acceleration programs. There are
some gifted students who struggles with financial disadvantages. In such cases, the family
should support them so that the financial constraints do not hinder the nourishment and
evaluation of their talent (Scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu, 2019). There are cases, when the
giftedness of a child is not identified through the education system of the school. In such
cases the family should come forward, and engage the children in the extra extra-curricular
activities and identify their talents. In this context the support from the mothers have proved
fruitful (Ro.uow.edu.au, 2019). Experts also recommends the support from fathers as well as
the extended family to the gifted children (www.researchgate.net, 2019).
Finally, it can be concluded that, sometimes the absence of the expectation and
motivation on the part of the family create obstacles in the evaluation of giftedness and
exercise of the practice to enhance efficiency. This happens mostly in the case of the students
with disabilities. The responsibility of the gifted education system is to carry on regular
counselling to identify the children who faces such problem and create enough opportunities
for them so that they can be motivated to spread their wings.

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References
Aaegt.net.au. (2019). AAEGT - Australian Association for the Education of the Gifted and
Talented | AAEGT is the National Association representing the interests of gifted
children. Aaegt.net.au.
Aph.gov.au.
Aph.gov.au. (2019). Australian Association for the Education of the Gifted and Talented Ltd.
Australiancurriculum.edu.au. (2019). Gifted and talented students.
Australiancurriculum.edu.au.
Capern, T., & Hammond, L. (2014). Establishing positive relationships with secondary gifted
students and students with emotional/behavioural disorders: Giving these diverse
learners what they need. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39(4), 3.
Education.nt.gov.au. (2019). Gifted education - Department of Education.
Education.nt.gov.au.
Fraser-Seeto, K. (2013). Pre-service teacher training in gifted and talented education: An
Australian perspective. Journal of Student Engagement: Education Matters, 3(1), 29-
38.
Fraser-Seeto, K., Howard, S. J., & Woodcock, S. (2015). An investigation of teachers'
awareness and willingness to engage with a self-directed professional development
package on gifted and talented education.
Hodge, K. A., & Kemp, C. R. (2006). Recognition of giftedness in the early years of school:
Perspectives of teachers, parents, and children. Journal for the Education of the
Gifted, 30(2), 164-204.

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CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF GIFTED EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA
Jarvis, J. M., & Henderson, L. (2014). Defining a coordinated approach to gifted
education. Australasian Journal of Gifted Education, 23(1), 5.
Journals.sagepub.com. (2019). SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class journal
research. Journals.sagepub.com.
Kaplan, S., & Hertzog, N. B. (2016). Pedagogy for early childhood gifted education. Gifted
Child Today, 39(3), 134-139.
Kettler, T., Oveross, M. E., & Salman, R. C. (2017). Preschool gifted education: Perceived
challenges associated with program development. Gifted Child Quarterly, 61(2), 117-
132.
Ro.uow.edu.au. (2019). A Short History of State Education Policy for Gifted and Talented
Children in New South Wales1788-1989 Ro.uow.edu.au.
Scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu. (2019). Gifted Education in Australia
Scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu.
Watters, J. J. (2013). Starting small: A staged approach to professional development in gifted
education. Australasian Journal of Gifted Education, 22(1), 18.
www.researchgate.net
www.researchgate.net. (2019). Gifted Education in the Australian Context.