Towards a systemic theory of gifted education

Abstract In this target article, we argue that current approaches to gifted education are based on the erroneous view that to understand the development of exceptionality we need to understand firstly the components of giftedness, including cognitive such as intelligence and non-cognitive factors such as motivation. In contrast, systemic approaches to understanding exceptionality focuses on the interactions of these components where it is important to firstly understand the system that leads to exceptionality before it is possible to understand its components. After analyzing the weaknesses of current approaches to gifted education we then present three central arguments for the need for a paradigm shift. This is followed by an introduction of constructs of a systemic approach of gifted education. Using the Actiotope Model of Giftedness to understand the development of exceptionality, this article describes the basic principles of a gifted education that is based on this systemic approach. Keywords: Actiotope Model of Giftednessgifted educationsystems theoryexceptionality Notes 1. We use the term "gifted individual" to refer to those with a statistical probability for outstanding performance, rather than an individual with a particularly personality or intellectual trait. 2. Publication bias describes the phenomenon in which researchers as well as the editors and publishers of scientific journals prefer significant positive results to those which are negative or inconclusive. This leads to the latter sorts of results being underrepresented in research literature. Reports about measures or programs in gifted education which turned out to be ineffective were thus less likely to be published. Consequently, such negative results could not be considered in the meta-analyses (Dickersin, Citation1990; Sackett, Citation1979).