Giftedness in the Euro-American Culture

The first author was recently conducting psychological research at a sixth-form college (which takes in students who are in their last 2 years of secondary education) in England. During a break from testing, he asked a few teachers what they thought about giftedness and how it should be assessed and nurtured. The teachers seemed quite perplexed and asked the author to define what he meant by giftedness. The author remarked that there surely must be some criteria they use to define giftedness in England. The teachers responded that they weren’t familiar with the term. They then explained their system of education. Compulsory education ends at age 16 years. Those who wish to continue on to higher education can join a sixth-form college for 2 years, during which they can choose to specialize in a number of particular areas, master their A-level exams (which are measures of achievement, similar to the SAT IIs in the United States), and apply to university. The author asked what sort of test is required for entry into most of these sixth-form colleges. The response was simply, “No test, just the desire to pursue higher education and a willingness to work hard.”