Gifted children: Current trends and issues

Several major topical issues and an overview of our state of knowledge about gifted children are presented. There is relatively little empirical research on the gifted, and development of programs is at a rudimentary level. Difficulties in defining and identifying giftedness may have produced an overly optimistic portrait of the gifted. Despite possible problems related to superior ability, evidence suggests that gifted children as a group are fairly well adjusted. Counseling for gifted underachievers has not proven effective. Enrichment appears to be the key element in educational provisions for the gifted. Inadequacy of much of the existing research is a consistent finding.