INFORMATION TO USERS This was produced from a copy of a document sent to us for microfilming. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help you understand markings or notations which may appear on this reproduction. 1.The sign or “target” for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is “Missing Page(s)”. If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting through an image and duplicating adjacent pages to assure you of complete continuity. 2. When an image on the Him is obliterated with a round black mark it is an indication that the film inspector noticed either blurred copy because of movement during exposure, or duplicate copy. Unless we meant to delete copyrighted materials that should not have been filmed, you will find a good image of the page in the adjacent frame. 3. When a map, drawing or chart, etc., is part of the material being photo­ graphed the photographer has followed a definite method in “sectioning” the material. It is customary to begin filming at the upper left hand comer of a large sheet and to continue from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. If necessary, sectioning is continued again—beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete. 4. For any illustrations that cannot be reproduced satisfactorily by xerography, photographic prints can be purchased at additional cost and tipped into your xerographic copy. Requests can be made to our Dissertations Customer Services Department. 5. Some pages in any document may have indistinct print. In all cases we have filmed the best available copy. Universe Moorilms International 3 0 0 N. ZEEB ROAD, ANN ARBO R. Ml 4 8 1 06 18 BEDFORD ROW, LONDON WC1R 4E J, ENGLAND 8020708 H o n s in g e r , M a r ia n L . K l u d y DESCRIPTION OF THE CURRICULUM GOALS IN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR GIFTED CHILDREN IN MICHIGAN: 1971-1979 Michigan State University University Microfilms International Ph.D. 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 1980 18 Bedford Row, London WC1R 4EJ, England PLEASE NOTE: In a ll cases th is m aterial has been filmed 1n the best possible way from the av ailab le copy. Problems encountered with th is document have been id e n tifie d here with a check mark v * . 1. Glossy photographs _ _ 2. Colored illu s tr a tio n s _ _ 3. Photographs with dark background '4. Illu s tra tio n s are poor copy________ 5. °r1nt shows through as there is te x t on both sides of page _ _ _ _ 6. In d is tin c t, broken or small p rin t on several pages throughout 7. Tightly bound copy with p rin t lo s t 1n spine _ _ _ 8. Computer p rin to u t pages with in d is tin c t p rin t ________ 9. Page(s) lacking when m aterial received, and not available from school or author ________ 10. Page(s) ________seem to be missing in numbering only as te x t follows ________ 11. Poor carbon copy________ 12. Not original copy, several pages with blurred type 13. Appendix pages are poor copy ________ 14. Original copy with lig h t type ________ 15. Curling and wrinkled pages ________ 16. Other University Micrdnims International DESCRIPTION OF THE CURRICULUM GOALS IN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR GIFTED CHILDREN IN MICHIGAN: 1971-1979 By Marian Kludy Honsinger A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan S tate U niversity in p a r tia l fu lfillm e n t of the requirements fo r the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Secondary Education and Curriculum ABSTRACT A DESCRIPTION OF THE CURRICULUM GOALS IN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR GIFTED CHILDREN IN MICHIGAN: 1971-1979 By Marian Kludy Honsinger The purpose of th is study was to obtain d escriptive information about the curriculum goals and philosophies of programs fo r g ifte d children in Michigan schools. As many v ariab les as possible were sought in order to ascertain the reasons why special educational programs were deemed necessary fo r g ifte d children. Instances of commonality in primary goal statements of proposed programs were examined. The review of lite r a tu r e reveals th a t basic lack of noimative goal agreement among educators causes what appear to be fa ilu re s in economic and technical decisions. Economic and technical decisions, i f made without concern fo r noimative and ultim ate goals, appear more lik e ly to f a i l o r to be short liv ed . Long teim s ta b ility in c u rric u la r decisions seems to derive from c a re fu l consideration o f ultim ate and noimative goals. A wide range o f reasons why school d is t r ic ts develop educational programs esp ecially designed fo r g ifte d children i s lis te d in th is study. The goal statem ents were prim arily tech n ical and u t i l i t a r i a n , but sane evidence was present th a t educators do speak to the question of ultim ate and normative goals. Marian Kludy Honsinger Eight variables were in v estig ated , and each v ariab le contained a number of categ o ries. These v ariab les evolved from a p ilo t study, from the lite r a tu r e , and from the au th o r's tra in in g and experience. The v a r i­ ables were 1) ultim ate goals, 2) normative goals, and the following technical and u til ita r ia n goals: 3) methods of d eliv ery , 4) ta le n ts to be developed, 5) agents to be served, 6) subjects to be taught, 7) under­ lying behaviors and s k i l l s , and 8) b en efits from the programs. Two other catego ries, agent and audience, were considered independent v aria b les. The complete population of docunents from 133 d i s t r i c t s was used. These w ritten communications a l l followed the same p a tte rn of a complete request fo r funding from the Michigan Department o f Education. Informa­ tio n from the docunents was handwritten on f i l e cards fo r each d i s t r i c t . Included on the cards were the exact words, phrases, or paragraphs in which the d i s t r i c t expressed i t s goals and philosophies. Findings were reported by separate categories and v a ria b le s. mate goals and philosophies were reported by few d i s t r i c t s . U lti­ Among normative goals, the b e lie f th a t children ought to be aided to develop to each p erson's p o te n tia l was communicated by h a lf of the d is t r ic ts in the study. Other normative goals were Social Development, V ocational/ Economic Training, P o litic a l P a rtic ip a tio n , M oral/Ethical Values, and Equal Educational Opportunity. One q u arter of the d is t r ic ts indicated th a t g ifte d children had been the most neglected group in th e ir schools. Among technical and u t i l i t a r i a n goals, the f a c t th a t g ifte d ch ild ren learn d iffe re n tly from the normal c h ild who makes s a tis fa c to ry progress in the "regular" classroom was c ite d by more than h a lf of the d i s t r i c t s . Only 25 percent o f the d is t r ic ts reported using some s o rt of research base fo r th e ir decisions. The w ell-being o f other ch ild ren was a major expected Marian Kludy Honsinger outcome. Improved behavior, development o f high standards, independent research s k il ls , and creativ e thinking s k ills were planned. Plans fo r jo in t programs between d is tr ic ts were found in 25 percent of th e d is t r ic ts . From these findings, i t was concluded th a t more p ilo t programs in crea tiv e thinking, leadership tra in in g , and aid fo r the underachieving g ifte d are needed. Urgently needed are two kinds o f infoim ation: the b est methods of id en tify in g g ifte d ch ild ren , and the b est methods of evaluating programs. P racticing adm inistrators need to include ultim ate and noimative goals without slig h tin g technical and u t i l i t a r i a n goals. G ifted children do require special kinds of tra in in g in order to develop to th e ir p o te n tia l. Policy makers need to aid d is t r ic ts in a rtic u la tin g th e ir own ultim ate and noimative goals before deciding upon technical and u t i l i t a r i a n goals. Areas of g re a te st need seem to be in program evaluation, pupil id e n tific a tio n , and dissemination of presently availab le information. seems to be a t issu e. A carefu l balance of individual and so c ie ta l goals DEDICATION To Audra, C hristina, Darik, Seth, P a tric ia , Michael, Ja n et, Mike, Wendell, Olive, and Ray. They represent most of the g ifts and ta le n ts included in th is study. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Without the help and encouragement of many individuals, the w riter would not have been able to complete th is work. Among these people are: my committee chairman, Dr. Ben Bohnhorst my d is s e rta tio n chairman, Dr. Lawrence Lezotte my committee members, Dr. Peggy R eithm iller and S is te r Mary Honora Kroger, Ph.D. the S tate Consultant, Programs fo r Gifted and Talented, Nancy Mincemoyer philosopher Margaret W atters, Rusden S tate College, Melbourne, A ustralia fellow educators and frien d s, among whom are Nancy Mathews, Joanne Nako, Eilene Nutting, Leigh Janes, A lfred Smith, Dr. Kenneth McClarty, Abby Sanborn, Sr. June Martin, M illa McClaghlan, Heidi Hollenbeck, Debbie McKean, and Dr. Mark Orchard. Each of these people furnished ex p ertise in one o r more areas o f th is study. A sincere thank you is extended to a l l who have had a p a rt in helping complete th is research p ro ject. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................ v ii LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................. v i i i Chapter I. II. III. THE PROBLEM.................................. 1 Need fo r the Study...................................................................... Purpose of the S tu d y ................................................................ G eneralizability of the Study .............................................. Research Questions of the Study ......................................... Statement of the Problem.......................................................... Basic Assumptions fo r the S t u d y ......................................... Procedural Steps and Methods .............................................. O verview ....................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 4 5 6 8 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE.......................................................... 9 Introduction................................................................................. General Curriculum Theories.................................................... Statements about Knowledge .............................................. Statements of R eality .......................................................... Statements about Valued A c t i v i t y ................................... The Three Cognitive In te re s ts of Habeimas . . . . Decision M aking........................................ The Real World of G o a l s .................................................... Meeting D ifferen tiated N e e d s . ......................................... Curriculum and E q u a lity .......................................................... Curriculum Goals fo r the Education of G ifted Children . Finding the Exceptional S t u d e n t s ................................... Curriculum R atio n ality of Means and E n d s ....................... Sum m ary....................................................................................... 9 9 12 13 14 16 18 20 21 22 26 26 27 35 METHODS AND PROCEDURES............................................................... 37 Introduction................................................................................. Selection of the D is tric ts .................................................... Data C ollection Instrument .................................................... C ollection of Data...................................................................... 37 37 38 38 Page Chapter IV. V. D efinitions of the Categories (Terms) ............................. V alidity of the Data................................................................ R e lia b ility ................................................................................. Analysis of Data ..................................................................... Geographical Locations of the D is tric ts in the Study . Demographic Designations of the D is tric ts in the S tu d y ....................................................................................... Grade Levels to be S e rv e d .................................................... Summary....................................................................................... 40 54 54 55 56 PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA......................................... 62 Introduction ........................................................................... Design Im plications ................................................................ Ultimate Goals and Philosophies . Normative G o a l s ...................................................................... Technical and U tilita r ia n Goals ......................................... Bases fo r D e c i s i o n s .......................................................... Delivery S y s te m s ................................................................ Talents to be Developed .................................................... Primary Agent to be S e rv e d ............................................... Subjects to be Taught.......................................................... Underlying S k ills and B e h a v io r s ................................... B enefits to Community and School ................................... Programs Funded by the S tate of M ichigan....................... Notes on the Data C o lle c tio n ............................................... Summary....................................................................................... 62 62 64 68 72 72 76 79 81 82 84 89 93 97 98 SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECQMCNDATIONS . 59 60 61 . 104 Summary....................................................................................... Purpose of the S tu d y .......................................................... Lim itations o f the Study.................................................... Review of the L ite ra tu re .................................................... Design of the S t u d y .......................................................... Findings............................ D isc u ssio n ................................................................................. The Urgency to M o v e .......................................................... Creative Problem Solving..................................................... Some P ositive R eassurances............................................... The Gifted Unnoticed- - Some R e f le c tio n s ........................ The Pattern-M akers................................................................ Conclusion of the D is c u s s io n ......................................... R econrnendations...................................................................... Present P ractices Need Encouragement............................. Id e n tific a tio n and Evaluation Needed............................. Research Base N eeded.......................................................... Cost Per Child Requires Creative Thinking . . . . End Goals Must be P u r s u e d ............................................... Teacher and Administrator Education Needed. . . . 104 104 105 106 107 110 117 117 118 118 120 122 124 125 125 126 127 128 128 128 v Page C hapter Democratic P rinciples Need Application and E xperim ent................................................................................. 129 Parenting S k ills - How E f f e c tiv e ? ......................................... 129 Conmunity Involvement N e e d e d ................................................129 Psycho-Motor S k ills Need D e f i n i t i o n ....................................130 Creative Thinking and Leadership Needed ....................... 130 Final Statement................................................................................. 131 APPENDICES A. Demographic D efin itio n s..................................................................... 133 B. F ile Card Example.................................................................................135 C. P attern of Response (proposal forms) D. Example of Ultimate and Normative Goals E. 1978 U.S. D efinition of G ifte d n e s s ...............................................147 F. Tables and Figures Comparing Pre and Post July 1977 G o a ls ................................................................................................... 148 .................................. ............................ 136 146 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................... 154 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 3.1. Grade Levels to be S e rv e d ........................................................... 60 4.1. Number of D is tric ts Mentioning C ertain Other Categories Along with Ultimate G o a l s .................................................... 65 4.2. Categories Also Mentioned with Local G o a l s ........................ 67 4.3. Primary A g e n t.................................................................................. 81 4.4. Funded Programs Compared to the T o t a l .................................... 93 4.5. Frequency of Communicated Goals ............................................... 99 (Comparisons of pre and post July 1977 goals appear in Appendix F) v ii LIST OF FIGURES F ig u re Page 2.1. Perspectives of M an.................................................................. 15 2.2. Real World of G o a ls .................................................................. 20 2.3. Individual D iffe re n c e s ............................................................ 25 2.4. Delivery System P l a n s ............................................................ 31 2.5. Theory of R atio n ality and Social Decision Making 3.1. Locations of D is tric ts in the Study..................................... 3.2. Geographical Locations of D is tric ts in the Study . . 58 3.3. Demographic Designations of D is tric ts in the Study. . 59 4.1. Ultimate Goals and Philosophies .......................................... 66 4.2. Noimative G o a l s ....................................................................... 70 4.3. Bases fo r D e c is io n s .................................................................. 75 4.4. Delivery S ystem s....................................................................... 78 4.5. Talents to D e v e lo p ................................................................. 79 4.6. Subjects to be T a u g h t ............................................................ 83 4.7. Child S k ills and Behaviors...................................................... 86 4 .8 . Teacher and Parent C h a n g e s ................................................. 88 4.9. Adm inistration C hanges........................................................... 89 4.10. School and Community B en efits................................................ 92 (Comparisons of pre and post Ju ly 1977 appear in Appendix F) v iii . . 34 57 CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Why do school d is tr ic ts in Michigan develop educational programs especially designed fo r g ifte d children? In th is study, the researcher has attempted to fin d instances of commonality in primary goal s ta te ­ ments communicated to the Michigan Department of Education, Programs for G ifted and Talented D ivision, by the school d is t r ic ts in the s ta te . Need fo r the Study Among educators, equal opportunity and i t s counterpart, d if fe r ­ en tiated curriculum, are perennial and enduring iss u e s. The standard fo r equal opportunity develops out o f so c ie ta l d efin itio n s o f a norm, but th is norm is a m u ltip lic ity o f goal statem ents--a mixture of so c ia l, moral, and fin a n c ia l considerations. In these in fla tio n a ry tim es, lim ited funding and increasing debate over federal and s ta te financed educational programs under­ score the need fo r careful curriculum planning fo r exceptional c h il­ dren. Yet, l i t t l e information ex ists regarding the predominant p h ilo ­ sophical p o sitio n s o f educators toward the g ifte d , esp ecially a t the school d i s t r i c t le v e l. To d ate, l i t t l e e ffo rt has been made to research th e commonalities of various goal statem ents for programs fo r g ifted children. U ntil the present p ractice s and p o sitio n s are known, evaluations and improvements are d if f i c u lt . 2 The research er's primary in te n t in th is study was to discover the reasons given fo r o fferin g d iffe re n tia te d programs fo r g ifted children. Both primary and secondary philosophies and goals were compared among school d is tr ic ts who sought fin an cial or other aid from the S tate o f Michigan. I t was f e l t th a t i f the common purposes fo r education o f g ifte d children could be discovered, educators would be b e tte r able to assess the effectiveness of th e ir own programs for the g ifted . Without a basis fo r comparison, any educational program may be lik e ly to miss an important concept, the absence o f which subsequently lim its the pro­ gram's growth. Purpose o f the Study Hie au th o r's purpose in th is study was to obtain information about the curriculum goals and philosophies o f programs fo r g ifte d children, and to make the information available to those educators who are charged with the re sp o n sib ility o f decision making about such programs. A growing need for such information is becoming more and more evident as educators express in te re s t in answering the question o f why as w ell as how d iffe re n tia te d programs are offered to g ifte d children. Some educators have re s is te d tre a tin g g ifte d children as a sep­ a ra te group from the standpoint of some s o rt o f end goal--perhaps fe a r o f e litism ; perhaps fe a r o f asocial development. Other educators fe e l th a t giftedness deserves as much a tte n tio n as any handicap from the standpoint o f a means goal, o r pedagogical strateg y . 3 Consistency in philosophies about why g ifte d children should receive sp ecialized education is in question. The task o f th is research centered upon a d escrip tiv e study o f primary goal statements communi­ cated by Michigan school d is t r i c t educators who presently o ffe r or wish to o ffe r programs of special aid to the g ifted . these goal statem ents were sought. Commonalities in From the re su lts of the study, i t is hoped th a t educators w ill be able to arriv e a t basic philosophical p ositions more e a sily and more co n sisten tly with other educational programs. G eneralizability of the Study The findings o f th is study may have impact beyond the lim its o f the study i t s e l f . F ir s t, the study was lim ited to Michigan, but many other s ta te s have in te re s t in programs fo r g ifte d children. other s ta te s may be able to use the information gathered. These Second, the n ational government also has separate programs supporting educa­ tio n o f g ifte d children through the Department o f Health, Education, and Welfare.* That department might find the information from th is study u sefu l. F in ally , the concept of primary goal statements may extend to educational programs other than programs fo r g ifte d children. Certain o f the categories discussed do apply to persons other than those id e n tifie d as g ifte d and talen ted . *now organized as th e Department of Education 4 Research Questions o f the Study The instances o f commonality in primary goal statements of proposed programs fo r g ifte d children were examined. As many variables as possible were sought in order to ascertain the reasons why special educational programs are deemed necessary for g ifte d children in Michi­ gan school d is t r ic ts . General research questions fo r th is d escriptive study were as follow s: 1. What goals are evident in the w ritten communications between school d is tr ic ts and the S tate of Michigan? 2. Into what categories do the goals fa ll? 3. How often do the same goals appear from d is t r ic t to d is tr ic t? 4. Which goals appear most often? 5. Is there a difference between the to ta l percentages in each category and the to ta l percentages in each categoiy in the programs which were funded by the State? 6. Is there a difference between the goals appearing most often before and a f te r July 1977 when c e rta in changes in the Michigan programs were made? Statement o f the Problem The problem was resolved by: 1. Identifying a w ritten s e t o f sim ila r goal statement communications th a t could be compared. 2. Obtaining permission to compare these goal statem ents. 3. Conducting a p ilo t survey of the w ritte n communications to the S tate o f Michigan from fiv e school d i s t r i c t s . 4. Identifying th ree broad areas o f inform ation, s ix sub areas, and 124 separate categories in six dependent v aria b les. 5 5. Seeking guidance from knowledgable persons regarding the in te rp re ta ­ tio n o f any statements in question. 6. Defining the categories so th at the study could be rep lic ate d . 7. Completing the co llec tio n o f data. 8. Submitting a random sample o f the raw data to another educator fo r re p lic a tio n and comparison of categories selected . 9. Determining th a t the data were indeed categorized co rrectly . 10. Analyzing the data to find the commonalities among statements fo r goals fo r educational programs for g ifte d children in Michigan school d is tr ic ts . Basic Assumptions fo r the Study To provide the b asis fo r th is study, the following assumptions were made: 1. That the documents housed in the O ffice o f G ifted and Talented Pro­ grams, Michigan Department of Education, were adequate to e l i c i t commonalities among goal statem ents about programs fo r g ifte d children in Michigan schools. 2. That th e research er's experience w ith and knowledge o f g ifte d c h il­ d ren 's education was s u ffic ie n t to provide a b asis fo r categ o rization of the goal statem ents. 3. That th e rese arch er's experience w ith and knowledge o f curriculum theory were s u ffic ie n t fo r completeness o f categ o rizatio n o f the goal statem ents. 4. That in questions o f in te rp re ta tio n o f the w ritte n communications, a second or th ird p arty would be s u f fic ie n t fo r co n su ltatio n reg ar­ ding the co rrect in te rp re ta tio n . 6 5. That in some cases, school d is t r ic ts would n o t communicate primary goals to the S tate of Michigan even though the goals were present and recognized w ithin the d i s t r i c t . However, the study was concerned with whether o r not each d i s t r i c t made an e ffo rt to include goals in the various categories. Procedural Steps and Methods I t was necessary to determine i f the information sought was housed in one lo catio n . Since the study was lim ited to the S tate o f Michigan, aid was sought from the Michigan Consultant fo r Programs fo r G ifted and Talented. She was able to make available the following groups of information: 1. P ilo t programs funded by the S tate of Michigan 2. Programs proposed for funding but not funded 3. Other d i s t r i c t programs which were planned w ith the aid o f S tate advisors. A to ta l o f 133 d is tr ic ts were represented in the o ffic e archives. Approximately the same types o f inform ation were av ailab le from each d is t r ic t. The research was lim ited to the p rin te d words as communicated to the S ta te by the school d is t r ic ts . Rather than choose only a random sample o f the d is t r ic ts repre­ sented, the proposals and programs o f a l l school d is t r ic ts were su r­ veyed. In th a t way, the p o s s ib ility would be lessened o f choosing proposals th a t did not contain primary goal statem ents while missing some proposals th a t did contain f u ll primary goal statem ents. 7 By agreement w ith the Michigan Consultant, i t was deemed e th ic ­ a lly co rrect to tr e a t the separate schools anonymously. D is tric t names were used u n til the c o llec tio n of data was completed. The names were deleted from the data a f te r a ll d is tr ic ts were surveyed and i t was c e rta in th a t no d is tr ic ts were surveyed twice. A p ilo t survey was conducted in August, 1979, through the cooper­ ation o f the Consultant. The purposes o f the p ilo t survey were: 1. To determine the extent of the m aterials av ailab le in the arch iv es. 2. To randomly se le c t fiv e school d i s t r i c t s ’ proposals fo r examination. 3. To id e n tify the categories of information which were av ailab le. 4. To make allowances fo r ad ditional categories th a t might appear as the research progressed, since the study was d escrip tiv e in nature. Data were co llected by w ritin g the exact words o f p e rtin e n t statem ents on d ata cards. One 5x8" card was used fo r each d i s t r i c t . Each data card was a modified version o f the standard n eed le-so rt f i l e card. A to ta l o f 121 holes around the edges o f each card were found adequate fo r the 118 categories designated by the end o f the p ilo t survey. Complete d e fin itio n s were w ritte n fo r each category a f te r the p ilo t study was completed. Provisions fo r more categories allowed additions as the survey progressed. A to ta l o f 124 cate­ gories in eig h t dependent v ariab les evolved by the end o f the study. D efinitions o f a l l categories appear in Chapter I I I . 8 Overview The data co llected from information in the archives o f the Mich­ igan Department o f Education provided adequate information fo r the au th o r's purposes in th is researd i. The variables and categories of goals and philosophies were developed from the lite r a tu r e which is reviewed in Chapter I I . III. The design of the study is d etailed in Chapter In Chapter IV the re s u lts of the survey are reported and analyzed. In Chapter V the e n tire study is summarized, conclusions are sta te d , and recommendations fo r fu rth e r study are made. • CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE Introduction P ertinent information regarding curriculum goal statements o f programs for g ifte d children is reviewed in th is chapter in the f o l­ lowing sequence: General curriculum th e o rie s; curriculum and equal­ ity ; curriculum goals fo r the education of g ifted children; and c r ite r ia fo r curriculum ra tio n a lity o f means and ends. philosophical positions are reviewed. Certain Goals for the education of g ifte d children are compared with goals fo r the education o f ce rtain other special groups o f children. The major philosophical positions in the reviews have provided the basis fo r the research o f th is study. General Curriculum Theories Herbert Kliebard (1970) sta te d th a t curriculum has been plagued by, among other th in g s, a lack o f d e fin itio n . He f e l t th a t educators1 framework fo r curriculum as well as th e ir in te lle c tu a l horizons had become lim ited to technological ra tio n a le s. He was re fe rrin g esp ecial­ ly to what became known as "production models" o f curriculum which developed through the works o f Bobbitt (1918) and Tyler (1949). Although they approach the work o f planning curriculum from a technological ra th e r than a philosophical and/or s c ie n tif ic base, th e ir models have prevailed and have dominated curriculum construction to the p resent day. 10 Bobbitt was w riting a t a time when " s c ie n tific management" was being applied to the performances o f workers on the job, and when vocational education was being introduced in the schools. During th a t same era, the fam iliar Cardinal Principles o f Education-h ea lth , command o f fundamental processes, worthy home membership, vocation, citiz en sh ip , worthy use of le is u re , and e th ic a l ch aracter-were guiding cu rricu la. Bobbitt reported th is prevailing a ttitu d e : The ce n tral theory is simple. Human l i f e , however varied, consists in the performance of sp e cific a c tiv itie s . Edu­ cation th a t prepares for l i f e is one th a t prepares d e fin ite ­ ly and adequately for these sp e cific a c tiv itie s ..T h is requires only th a t one go out in to the world of a ffa irs and discover the p a rtic u la rs of which these a ffa irs co n sist. These w ill show the a b i l i t i e s , a ttitu d e s , h a b its, appre­ c ia tio n s, and forms o f knowledge th a t men need. These w ill be the objectives o f the curriculum. They w ill be numerous, d e fin ite , and p a rtic u la riz e d . The curriculum w ill then be th a t se rie s o f experiences which children and youth must have by way of a tta in in g those objectives. (1918, p .42) Like the work o f Bobbitt, Ralph T yler’s impact on the curriculum f ie ld began a t a time when s c ie n tif ic management was a predominant method of curriculum planning. Tyler helped bring c la r ity and unity to the confusion in curriculum during a period o f rapid growth. The growth was in more than population and economy, because research and development was ju s t becoming a major industry in education. Tyler ca lle d h is Rationale (1949) a production model of teaching and le a rn ­ ing. He was not prim arily concerned with which objectives and p h ilo ­ sophies appeared in a p a rtic u la r curriculum because he f e l t th a t each community would decide i t s o b jectiv es, and the educational philosophy would be the community's as w ell. 11 Today, as the size of the community grows nearer and nearer to ­ ward Marshall McCluhan's "Global V illa g e e d u c a to r s are faced with train in g larg er and la rg e r groups o f people using the same philosophy and objectives. Further, modem technology is producing an exponen­ t i a l l y accumulating volume of knowledge. This huge body of informa­ tio n forces a choice o f what can and cannot be f i t into one lifetim e . The learn er is becoming the s ta rtin g point (and the end) in the minds of many educators. Therefore, the theories of John Dewey have been receiving renewed in te re s t. This is a retro sp ectiv e move fo r the th e o ris ts , however, and is not a s u ffic ie n t d irectio n to s a tis fy Pinar. In 1975, he wrote: ...T he production model and the u t i l i t a r i a n c rite rio n , applied to a l l school subjects as they have evolved over die past h a lf century, w ill c o n stitu te our fundamental frame of reference. The coming of modem technology, ra th e r than freeing us from the e a r lie r form ulations, has served instead only to rein fo rce them or r e s t r i c t them fu rth er. The task o f the next f i f t y years in the cu rricculum f ie ld is e s se n tia lly one of developing altern ativ es to the mode o f thinking and the lim ited framework th a t has so clearly dominated our f i r s t f i f t y years, (p .49) Pinar continued to w rite (1978): The s ta te o f the f ie ld is a r r e s t. For movement to occur, we must s h if t our a tte n tio n from the technical and the p ra c tic a l, and dwell on the notion of emancipation, (p .11) The notion of emancipation incorporates some o f Dewey's th e o rie s, but the term is from Jurgen Habermas, whose theories w ill be discussed la te r . Goodlad and Richter (1966) and Frankema (1966) attempted to aid in the c la r ific a tio n o f c u rric u la r th e o rie s. Goodlad and Richter looked h o rizo n tally ; Frankema looked from a v e rtic a l perspective. 12 Frankema concluded th a t philosophies o f education were e ith e r analy­ t i c a l or normative. He found th a t se ts of statements w ill e ith e r describe and define (hence being a n a ly tic a l), or they w ill t e l l what should or should not be included, and what should or should not be done in the process (hence being norm ative). Goodlad and Richter looked fo r levels o f decision making. They found four: 1) s o c ia l, 2) ideological, 3) in s titu tio n a l, and 4) in stru c tio n a l. They borrowed heavily from the ideas of Tyler, but they placed values a t the beginning, while Tyler f e l t th a t values could be discerned a f te r the subject m atter, the le arn ers, and the community were studied. Pinar (1975), agreeing with Goodlad and R ichter, placed values near the center o f c u rric u la r decisions. However, he found Frankema's theories lacking in human dimension because o f the m u lti-faceted nature of the human "being" who is doing the learning. Pinar considered th a t curriculum theorizing should be categorized three ways: 1) statements about knowledge, 2) statements about curriculum r e a l i t i e s , and 3) statements about valued a c tiv ity . Statements about Knowledge Among th e o ris ts concerned w ith statem ents about knowledge was Jerome Bruner (1961). He was a leader among a large group of persons who began to stru c tu re subject m atter by d isc ip lin e s during the 1960's and 1970's . Courses o f study, packaged s e ts o f knowledge, and in -serv ice tra in in g p ro life ra te d as the r e s u lt o f knowledge th e o ris ts . 13 Statements of R eality Among important th e o ris ts dealing with statements about r e a lity was Joseph Schwab. In re la tio n to th is p a rtic u la r study, Schwab (1970) said: ...s o c ie tie s do not e x ist only fo r th e ir own sakes but for the p ro sp erity o f th e ir members as individuals as w ell. In the same way, learners are not only minds or knowers but bundles o f a ffe c ts , in d iv id u als, p e rso n a litie s, earners of liv in g s. They are not only group in te ra cto rs but possessors o f p riv ate liv es . . . the conditions o f group behavior and the character of so c ieties determine in some large p a rt the p e rso n a litie s which th e ir members develop, the way th e ir minds work, and what they can learn and use by way of know­ ledge and competence, (p. 34) Among other th e o ris ts who approached the r e a litie s o f curriculum from various perspectives were Goodlad, R ichter, Mann, Bruner, Dewey, and Huebner (Pinar 1975). Huebner (1968) made a study o f the language o f th e o ris ts . He found s ix kinds o f language: 1) d escrip tiv e , 2) explanatory, 3) con­ tr o llin g , 4) leg itim izin g , 5) p re sc rip tiv e , and 6) a f f ilia tiv e . Since Frankema had already c la s s ifie d c u rric u la r philosophies as e ith e r ana­ ly tic a l or normative (1966), P in a r's a tte n tio n to Huebner and Habermas in the same address to the AERA Annual Meeting (1978) becomes worthy of note. Pinar, in h is "S tate of the Art Address" to the 1978 AERA, placed Huebner in the middle o f three groups of th e o ris ts , and these groups seem to lead d ire c tly toward the subject of th is d iss e rta tio n . Pinar c la s s ifie d the th ree groups o f th e o ris ts as tr a d itio n a lis ts , conceptual-em piricists, and reco n c ep tu a lists. T ra d itio n a lis ts , to Pinar, included Tyler, Alexander, Taba, Tanner, and Zais, among o th ers. 14 Conceptual-em piricists o f note were Huebner and Schwab, and both pro­ nounced the curriculum f ie ld "moribund" in the 1970's . To revive the f ie ld , Pinar suggested th a t the reconceptualists should step out of the narrow bounds o f curriculum and consider what other so cial scien ­ t i s t s were saying--Jurgen Habermas prim arily. Habermas' theories can be d ire c tly co rrelated to educational curriculum by using Frankema's two cu rricu la r theory c la s s ific a tio n s -an a ly tical and normative--and Huebner's six kinds o f c u rric u la r lang­ uage. However, normative (v a lu e oriented) statements should be d is ­ cussed f i r s t . Statements about Valued A ctivity Pinar (1975) s ta te s f la tl y th a t curriculum designs are valueoriented statem ents. In ad d itio n , he feels th a t "The in ten tio n of designs is c le a rly to p rescrib e, le g itim ize , and win advocates ra th e r than simply describe, explain, and/or c o n tro l." (p. 11) He l i s t s several kinds of designs--subject-centered, core curriculum, and the child-centered approach to mention three--and suggests th a t there may be as many as six current designs in the schools. But "there is s t i l l the problem o f the basic u n it around which designs are b u ilt; and the value commitment, perhaps a t a d iffe re n t le v e l, is ce n tral to design." (p. 12) ...D esigners have generally opted fo r p r io r ity on subject m atter, so c ia l phenomena, or people (le a rn e rs). As argu­ able as th is e ith e r-o r p o sitio n appears on a philosophical lev el i t is extremely d if f i c u lt to avoid on a p ra c tic a l design lev el since the nature o f ra tio n a l thought is lin e a r and i t does make a d ifference which one o f the three one begins w ith. This is frequently so because the 15 choice o f p rio rity often implies a value p o sitio n about a referen t th a t makes the d e fin itio n o f th is referen t d if ­ feren t from what i t s d e fin itio n would be i f i t came la te r in the s e t of p r io r itie s . (Pinar 1975, p. 12) The d iffic u lty o f the e ith e r-o r p o sitio n (subject m atter, so cial phenomena, or people) in a p ra c tic a l design can be illu s tr a te d using The Common Goals o f Michigan Education (1978). Michigan's goals promote experiences fo r students to enable them to achieve "optimum personal gTowth." But then the goals s ta te th a t as a re s u lt of these experiences, each student should be able to do/develop/acquire so c ial behaviors in th irte e n groupings. Therefore, several d iffe re n t perspectives of educational goals appear to be held simultaneously and in contradiction to each other. (The goal o f developing c itiz e n ­ ship might be a so cial one; the goal o f developing the c h ild 's un­ lim ited p o te n tia l could be termed aso cial i f members of the community chose to define i t th a t way.) The chart below (Longstreet 1973, p. 23) illu s tr a te s various philosophical po sitio n s on the goals of education. SOCBTTS CLAIMS ON EDUCATION m sR C T x n s or hah Vocational/ Boonoalc Developnant P o litic al Developaant Social Developaant Moral/ Ith ic a l Developnant SaifDavalopaant Han above a l l preparing fo r an a fte rlife t hla aaaantlal q u alltle a are predetermined but ha aay have fraa a l i i to uaa than fo r good or e v il. Han above a l l preparing to f i t Into tha auperorganio atrueturaa of ooolatyi hla aaaantlal q u a lltlee a n jxedateralnod but hla happlnea depania upon hla baing abla to f i t Into tha atruoturaa of th la world. Han abova a l l a contractual p articipant of aoclaty—a ehange agant of aoolatyi ha la Innately aoelal with a broad but not unllnltad range of powara—underatandlng huaannaaa la aaaantlal. Han innately aoolal but of unllnltad potential and in control of h la daatlny In th la unlaoraa flex ib le aoelatal arganlaatlon la v ita l to tha true fu lfillm en t of aan'a p o te n tia l. Han a being of unllnltad potential but not nteeaaarlly aoolal—individual expre anion la n o n lapoctant than aoolaty. Figure 2.1. Perspectives of Man (Source: Longstreet 1973, p. 23) 16 Examples o f philosophical positions among educators include these: Broudy (1972) considers the goals of education to be occupational competence, c itiz e n sh ip , and a q u ality of l i f e which is to lerab le even w ithin a technological society. On the other hand, I llic h (1970) accepts only p o litic a l and vocational develop­ ment as the dominant goals, and Jensen (Longstreet 1973) chooses to lim it the functions of the schools to the development of the in te lle c t, matching the views o f H irst (1974). Jencks (Longstreet 1973) defines the goals o f education as income, cognitive s k i l l s , occupational s ta tu s , educational attainm ent, and job sa tisfa c tio n ; but he lim its the major goal to achieving eq u ality as measured by adult incomes. Herndon (1968) concentrates on so cial and s e lf- development, but cannot decide i f man is so c ial or aso cial. The Three Cognitive In te re sts o f Habermas Considering the widely varied philosophical p o sitions o f w ellknown educators, P in a r's "S tate of the Field" assessment is under­ standable: ...T he s ta te of the fie ld today is fragmented and arrested . Reconceptualized notions o f curriculum are not widely under­ stood. These notions asp ire to be in te lle c tu a lly independent o f the so -called cognate f ie ld s , and asp ire to produce emancipatory knowledge...(1978, p. 9) The word "emancipatory" is one o f three "cognitive in te re s ts " iden­ t i f i e d by Jurgen Habermas (1971). His second cognitive in te re s t is "technical" and the th ird is ca lle d " p ra c tic a l." Habermas' complete theories are complicated, and they have aroused an enormous amount of discussion. One of the more important recognized in te rp re te rs o f the 17 theories o f Habermas is R. J . Bernstein (1976). I t was to Bern­ s te in th a t Pinar turned in an e ffo rt to explain Habermas1 work with re la tio n to education, and i t was Habermas’ three cognitive in te re sts to which Pinar referred in the context of the need fo r reviving the curriculum fie ld . To the 1978 AERA group, Pinar said: . ..F o r movement to occur, we must s h if t our a tte n tio n from the technical and the p ra c tic a l, and dwell on the notion o f emancipation, (p. 11) Habermas suggests a retro sp ectiv e look--a s e lf-re fle c tio n in to an awareness of and then lib e ra tio n from the p ast. This lib e ra tio n from the past is what Pinar seeks and on which he is presently working, using Habermas’ three cognitive areas fo r reference. Bernstein defines these areas thus (1976): Technical in te re s t is associated with work. P ra ctic al in te re s t is associated with in te ra c tio n , and i t guides the historical-herm eneutical d isc ip lin e s. Emancipatory in te re s t is associated with power, and i t guides the c r i t i c a l d isc ip lin es (social scien ces). But th e important point is th a t Habermas does not accept any one's claim th a t one of th e three in te re s ts provides the most fundamental understanding of the world. However, Habermas does consider the eman­ cipatory in te re s t as the most basic one. (Pinar 1978, p. 8) A problem a ris e s , then, when Pinar says "Above a l l e ls e , the tra d itio n a l function of curriculum theory is to guide p ra c tic e : curriculum development, design, and evalution. is te c h n ic a l." (1978, p. 8) This guidance... 18 I f the tr a d itio n a lis ts have been prim arily concerned with the technical in te re s ts (hence s t a t i c to the point of being moribund), then the most basic Habermasian interest--em ancipatory--has been allowed to become less important than the other two. I f the conceptual-em piricists have been prim arily concerned with emancipatory in te re s ts , then the technical concerns o f the re a l world of the schools, as well as the p ra c tic a l in te re s ts which answer the hermeneutical questions, have become less important than the emancipatory in te re s ts . Thus, the conceptual-em piricists have un­ balanced curriculum in a d iffe re n t d ire c tio n , according to Habermas' th e o rie s. Decision Making Technical and economic (p ra ctic al) decision making have been studied much more than so c ia l decision making, reports Watters (1979) because they are much more d isc re te . "What appear to be fa ilu re s in economic and technical d e c isio n s--v a c illa tin g behavior or simply indecision--may w ell be the e ffe c t of a b asic lack of goal agreement among group members," she r e p o r ts .. . " I t is lik e ly th a t an exploration of the underlying so cial decision p rin cip les could account fo r what appear to be ir ra tio n a l economic o r technical d ecisio n s." (pp. 6-7) While goal s e ttin g , th a t i s , so c ial decision making, leads to group in te g ra tio n , and while achievement o f the goals leads to s a tis fa c tio n , n e ith e r th e s e ttin g nor the achievement accounts fo r the m otivation to i n i t i a t e a c tiv ity in the f i r s t p la c e ... The motivation to transform our environment to our own ends is in n ate, and the r a tio n a lity o f the means used is dependent upon the id e n tific a tio n o f the ultim ate end and whether o r not the means chosen are appropriate to i t . (Watters 1979, p. 8) 19 According to Edmonds (1978), school goals usually go unchallenged u n til th ere is a loud cry th a t an in ju s tic e has been done to a sp e cific group. I f a group voice grows loud enough, i t may a rtic u la te in te re s t in ab stracts such as efficie n cy , w ell-being of students, or equality. Schools can accept these in te r e s ts , says Edmonds, and respond to them without ever having to d eliv er any evidence th a t they have done any­ thing to meet them: no te s t scores or annual audits can measure them. When Americans launch an in v estig atio n in to th e ir school system, they tend to Mcouch th e ir language in maximums" and to use "ab stract and grandiloquent d escrip tio n s," according to Edmonds, which make assessment of efficien cy nearly impossible. Governmental response to community outcries about declining scores and s k il ls has been two-fold: 1) looking fo r groups o f students who did not receive equal opportunity, and 2) looking for b e tte r methodology. M illions of d o lla rs on behalf of eq u ality have been spent on programs such as Head S ta r t, Upward Bound, V ista, and Special Education. (Feiriberg 1978) As the d o lla r amounts grow, more and more voices demanding "equal opportunity" are heard. Aside from emotional or tra d itio n a l reasons, very l i t t l e em pirical data e x is ts to show th a t a p a rtic u la r kind of d iffe re n tia te d program produces b e tte r learning opportunities fo r exceptional children. No research base has preceded most o f the n atio n al and s ta te laws. When a school d i s t r i c t is found to be paying fo r sp ecial programs, the data may r e f le c t the d i s t r i c t 's a b ility to pay or to receive grant money or to plan programs or to re a c t to commu­ n ity pressures. indicated a t a l l . The actu al number of needy students might not be (Feinberg 1978) 20 The Real World of Goals Societal decisions on educational purpose need to be re la te d to the range of behaviors a c tu ally occurring in the schools, according to Longstreet (1973). She o ffers the following chart as a method of analyzing a school system: In d irec t R olet P a r en ts s ' / P r e p a r in g fo r a f t e r l if e a. in A c o n tr a c tu a l m e m b e r o f s o c ie t y oc £ I n n a te ly s e e ia l b u t u n lim ited p o t e n t ia l A s o c ia l w ith u n lim ited p o te n tia l * Figure 2.2. Real World o f Goals (Source: Longstreet 1973, p. 24) Actual behaviors in the schools may be contradictory to the general goals held by the coimiunity and/or so ciety . labeled "the hidden curriculum ." These behaviors are A th e o ris t may be able to discern more about the actual goals o f an educational organization by looking a t the ways the s t a f f ac ts toward the stu d en ts, toward each o th er, and toward the community; the ways students and community a c t toward the s ta f f ; and th e m aterials, t e s t s , and subjects stre sse d . At other tim es, the 21 hidden curriculum may be the same as the actual goals of the so ciety , but contradictory to the sta te d goals in curriculum policy manuals. (Longstreet 1973). Are the students being educated in a strongly vocational program? Do the parents encourage absences? Do adm inistrators encourage active p a rtic ip a tio n in a democratic student government? Are a l l students expected to do the same exercises in the same length of time? are lo cal m atters. These Money may or may not be the key to q u ality in edu­ catio n , says Broudy (1972), but lack o f i t is one key to inequality. Monetary support is also tie d up with school co n tro l, and school con­ tr o l becomes a local m atter of what should and should not be taught. Meeting D ifferen tiated Needs In the 1970's, c la rific a tio n s of needs and the needy have expanded to include not only b ilin g u al and learning disabled but also those who suffered reverse discrim ination. Backlashes to changes have occurred in the areas of r a c ia l and economic equal opportunity, and in areas of spending fo r sports versus other ta le n t areas. The D etroit Free Press (March 5, 1978) reported an incident where a c e rta in P rin cip al Palcuzzi made a presen tatio n to h is PTA group. The PTA lis te n e d to what they thought was a proposal fo r a sp ecial program for g ifte d ch ild ren . He proposed th a t 1) children should be grouped by a b ility , 2) p a rt of the school day should be given over to sp ecial in stru c tio n , 3) talen ted students would be sharing th e ir ta le n ts with students from other schools --tra n sp o rta tio n furnished by the school, 4) a ch ild would be advanced according to h is ta le n ts ra th e r than h is age, and 5) the ta le n te d would have sp ecial teach ers, sp e c ia lly train e d and highly sa la rie d . At f i r s t , 22 the PTA voiced a l l i t s objections to the new program. Then Principal Palcuzzi revealed th a t he had been describing the long-established basketball program a t h is school a l l along. Longstreet*s hidden curriculum, and Broudy's money=equality=local control were firm ly demonstrated. Curriculum and Equality Walter Feinberg (1978) points out th a t the C ivil Rights Act of 1964 said in e ffe c t th a t no individual was to be labeled as p a rt of a p a rtic u la r group. one group: Negroes. Yet the act arose from concern fo r the sta tu s of The whole point o f special p riv ile g e has been aimed toward more black professional people plus a higher ra tio o f Hispanics and American Indians, says Feinberg. He feels th a t equality of opportunity is ’’largely a procedural m atter so as to elim inate any discrim inatory p ractices in se lec tio n o f individuals and groups to c e rta in p o sitio n s," i . e . , black medical students. He feels th a t the compensatory programs o f the 1960's r e f le c t the b e lie f th a t h is to ric a l in eq u ities developed in so c ia l, p o litic a l, and economic l i f e can be corrected through an emphasis on education. Problems o f ra c ia l eq u ality reach from pre-kindergarten through college. But so do other eq u ality problems: sex b ia s, b ilin g u al b ia s, middle income scholarship bias (not to mention the general categories o f special needs o f the handicapped). There is one category described by Dr. Harold C. Lyon of the U.S. O ffice of Education (Boyd, 1976, p.4) There is another m inority denoted not by race, socio-economic background, ethnic o rig in , or impaired fa c u ltie s , but by th e ir exceptional a b ility . They come from a l l lev els o f so ciety , from a l l races and n atio n al o rig in s, and are equally d is trib u ­ ted between the sexes, (the g ifte d and talented) 23 S tate and n ational grants are supporting p ilo t programs fo r g ifted children (Trezise 1976), but as y et the debate waxes hot as to whether or not promotion o f separate programs fo r g ifte d children amounts to e litism and also to emotional maladjustment of the students. Approaches to the teaching o f g ifte d children range from continuing to ignore th e ir unique q u a litie s , to offering c e rta in special programs in p a rtic u la r su b jects, or offering a complete program fo r the g ifted . Gamson (1979) explains in equality and e litism th is way: Societies in d iffe re n t stages o f development produce d iffe re n t levels of educated c itiz e n s . In the early stages, large numbers of people educated a t the highest lev els are not necessary. As more people complete secondary schools and they re a liz e the b en e fits possible from a college education, they begin to demand access to such tra in in g . Societies in the in d u s tri­ a liz a tio n process need more people with more education. As a re s u lt a mass secto r and an e l i t e se cto r become s ig n ific a n t e n titie s . The mass sector comes from elementary and secondary schools; the e l i t e secto r comes from secondary schools and u n iv e rsitie s . Especially in the early stages of in d u stria l development, higher education does not tr e a t people equally, so some method must be devised fo r locating the students most lik e ly to learn . Some students can pass the te s ts ; some cannot. students who can pass the te s ts are from low income groups. Some So so cie­ tie s which promote equality may fin d themselves with a c o n flic t between mass and e l i t e aims in education. In the United S tates th ere e x ists a continuing c o n flic t and a mis­ understanding o f the aims o f educators who promote d iffe re n tia te d t r e a t ­ ment o f g ifte d children. Through s ta te and n atio n al o ffic e s , and through 24 the courts, exceptional students have been described thus: No person in the United S tates s h a ll, on the grounds o f race, color, or national o rig in , be excluded from p a rtic ip a tio n in , be denied the b enefits of or be subjected to discrim ination under any program or a c tiv ity receiving Federal fin an cial assista n ce ." (from T itle VI of the C ivil Rights Act of 1964) A ch ild who, because of temporary or more permanent ad ju st­ ment d if f ic u ltie s o r a ttrib u te s a risin g from in te lle c tu a l, sensory, emotional, or physical fa c to rs, cerebral dysfunctions, perceptual facto rs, or other sp e cific learning d is a b ilitie s , or any combination th ereo f, is unable to progress effe c tiv e ly in a regular education program is an exceptional ch ild , or a child with special needs." (Council fo r Exceptional Children, 1972) Gifted and talen ted children are those id e n tifie d by p ro fes­ sio n ally q u a lifie d persons, who by v irtu e of outstanding a b il­ i t i e s , are capable o f high performance. These are children who require d iffe re n tia te d educational programs and/or services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program in order to re a liz e th e ir contribution to s e lf and society. (Report to the Congress o f the United States by the U.S. Com­ missioner of Education, 1971) Regardless o f these d escrip tio n s, many schools continue to o ffe r what they conceive to be the norm. However, norm has come to mean C average, or minimum competencies, or whatever the middle class has, or whatever i t takes to allow every student the chance to go to co lleg e. Long­ s tr e e t (1973) concludes th a t eq u ality does not mean equal education. Equality never means exactly the same in education. Equal oppor­ tu n ity may e x is t p o litic a lly and not so c ia lly , o r vice versa. I t may ty p ify the economic/vocational view of a so cial order but be considered an undesirable q u ality in te lle c tu a lly . In fa c t, adds Longstreet, equal opportunity in te lle c tu a lly might be the rig h t to d iv e rs ity . I f th a t be tru e , then equality means equal opportunity to be educated according to each person's c a p a b ilitie s . 25 Therefore, equal educational opportunity means creating an environ­ ment which provides services to meet each stu d en t’s needs. the perennial issue: Herein lie s What does the school do fo r the 15 to 20 percent of i t s population which is recognized to need d iffe re n tia te d programs not o rd in arily p ossible in the reg u lar classroom? population is ca lle d "exceptional." This segment o f the The chart below illu s tr a te s most of the types o f exceptions p resen tly recognized in the schools even i f no special services are offered to combat the e ffe c ts o f the differences. Several of the individual differences might be combined in th e problems of one person. Conceivably, several o f the problems could appear in a sin g le classroom. PHYSICALLY IALRVTKD GIFTED SUM ARTISTICALLY LEARNER INTELLECTUALLY GIFTED ECONOMICALLY DEPRIVED UCULLt DimROIT Z Figure 2.3. Individual Differences EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED 26 Curriculum Goals fo r the Education o f Gifted Children Progress in some instances has been slow regarding implementa­ tion of good d iffe re n tia te d programs (or equal programs) fo r several reasons. dates. ernment. F irs t, schools generally r e s is t fed erally imposed man­ (People do not lik e to be to ld what to do by the federal gov­ More paper work and record keeping is involved. are hard to monitor and co stly to implement.) Programs Second, educators question whether schools are supposed to perpetuate society or supposed to be agents or change. F in ally , some programs are f e l t to be encroachments on basic relig io u s te n e ts. (Feinberg 1978) Finding the Exceptional Students Many o f the s ta te lev el id e n tific a tio n p ro jects have not been suc­ ce ssfu l. Usually, the only children who are id e n tifie d are those who have f ilte r e d through the system, beginning with a l i s t the teacher is asked to make o f the problem children in the classroom. No cen­ tra liz e d co llectio n o f data has been developed; no e ffic ie n t method o f screening has emerged. Rights o f privacy have not been easy to circumvent in order to aid the needy. Giftedness is o ften hidden. Part of the problem science has in helping g ifte d young people has to do with th e ir heterogeneity. High IQ does not represent a p ti­ tude in any one f ie ld , and i t can represent aptitude in several areas a t once. Same g ifte d people are ex tro v erts; some are in tro v e rts . Some study; some d o n 't lik e to . Some are v a stly b e tte r a t mechanical comprehension o r s p a tia l relatio n sh ip s than o th ers. Some cry out against the pace o f the normal school; some d o n 't mind. In try in g to plan programs fo r these diverse stu d en ts, educators flounder. 27 Many o f the b rig h t are s t i l l going through schools g ettin g a "free r id e .” Some teachers fe e l th a t i f the b rig h t ch ild is shown the lib ra ry , he or she w ill learn without aid. a l l students are g ifte d . Taylor (1976) feels th a t He in s is ts th a t i f one breaks a class of th ir ty students into categories and takes a random sampling of the th ir ty , a l l w ill score high in one of the areas. But Renzulli (1976) fe e ls th a t i f th ere were no such thing as a g ifte d grown-up, one would not be looking fo r g ifte d children. Curriculum R atio n ality o f Means and Ends Normative, expeditious, and u t i l i t a r i a n reasons ebb and flow throughout the h isto ry o f a tte n tio n paid to g ifte d young people. Plato wrote th a t a group o f future leaders should be selected from among those children who are tenacious of memory and hard to deceive. The New York City schools in 1899 in s titu te d a system by which the b rig h t ch ild would receive tra in in g according to h is brightness and the slow ch ild according to h is slowness. Ihe French government in 1904 became in te re ste d in A lfred B inet’s te stin g procedures because there appeared to be students in French schools who were under­ achievers ra th e r than simply mentally defectiv es. Terman's studies C1926 and 1975) of a group of g ifte d students sought to dispel the myth o f the "mad s c i e n t i s t .” Douglas in 1958 and Torrance in 1969 were looking fo r untapped ta le n t (Ward 1968). Hunt in 1961 and Bloom in 1964 were looking a t the s ig n ific a n t ro le environment plays in shaping in te lle c tu a l ta le n t (Ward 1968). In 1950, Hollingworth 28 charged th a t since Terman’s work, s c ie n tis ts have a poor record fo r a c tu ally helping the in te lle c tu a lly g ifte d (Renzulli 1976). The efficien cy movement in American education (approximately 1910-1930) was modeled a f te r a plan to elim inate waste and promote efficien cy in the factory. Testers began to think of th e ir ro le as identifying sp e cific levels of ta le n ts , and adm inistrators began to think of themselves as tra in in g each person by placing the person in a ’’track’' toward some s o rt of vocational goal. The efficien cy movement was revived in the 1960Ts , and caused p a rt o f the reconsid­ e ra tio n of the p lig h t o f the g ifte d ch ild . Were the programs ’’p ra c tic a l? " the adm inistrators wanted to know. But ’’p ra c tic a l" has come to mean expeditious and e f f ic ie n t. The ancient philosophers thought o f "p ra c tic a l" as "reasoned judg­ ment." The ancient Greeks equated "p ra c tic a l" with " ju s t and fa ir" --moral and e th ic a l. However, Watters (1979) reports th a t the change in meaning re fle c ts the d e p o litic iz a tio n --to use a word from Habermas--of humanity. Man who was a p a rtic ip a n t in society has become a p a rt o f technology. and technical. Social goals have become pragmatic ( I f man is seen as a n atu ral p a rt o f the environment, then freeways are p a rt o f nature ju s t as ra b b it t r a i l s are, says W atters.) With the advent o f ad m in istrato rs' retu rn to in te re s t in develop­ ing p ra c tic a l means ra th e r than good ends came the f i r s t debates about tra in in g g ifte d children as f a s t as p o ssib le. Many educators f e l t th a t prom otion--sidestepping the tra d itio n a l age/grade segregation-was th e answer. A cceleration was defined as any procedure which 29 enabled a student to complete h is work in a shorter-than-usual period of time. On the other side of the debate was a demand for enrichment. Enrichment was a term ''educators hide behind when they d o n 't want anyone to know th e y 're not doing anything fo r the g ifte d ," according to Gold (1977). In the m atter of curriculum philosophies fo r g ifte d children, Joseph Renzulli and V irg il Ward have been prominent figures. Ward (1968) lis te d the following e s se n tia l elements in any program for g ifted children: 1. A statem ent o f philosophy and objectives 2. A plan fo r student id e n tific a tio n and placement 3. A considerable amount of a tten tio n to se lec tio n and train in g the teacher 4. Some b u ilt- in device fo r evaluation Renzulli has published numerous a r tic le s in which he advocates th a t g ifted programs must begin with a basic statem ent of philosophy. Boyd (1976) lim its the objective of a school system to the in te lle c tu a l development and says th a t philosophies are already implied in the mind's processes. Ward's suggested th e o re tic a l ratio n a le (1968) l i s t s a complete gamut o f objectives: 1. Actualized ex p erien tial and behavioral p o te n tia lity 2. Mature, healthy p erso n ality actualized s e lf with constructive and g ratify in g involvement o f productive or creative d isp o sitio n 3. Understanding and s k i l l of every nature and in whatever degree required by the actualized s e lf fo r sa tisfy in g experience 4. Optimally developed p o te n tia lity fo r general in te lle c tiv e operations: re f le c tiv e , c r i t i c a l , creativ e 5. Extraordinary understanding and s k i l l , lo calized , actualized ta le n t 6. Optimally developed, continually becoming person, fre e and responsible universalized human mind and character, educated fo r so c ia l and c u ltu ra l in te ra c tio n . 30 The simple, straightforw ard approach o f Renzulli co n trasts sharp­ ly with the grand plans of Ward. four. Boyd would lim it Ward to item number U nfortunately, none o f the three men emphasize normative goals which deal with why g ifte d children should be tre a te d as a separate group. Senator Jacob J a v its has been championing the cause o f g ifte d children since 1976, the same year a national lobby fo r them was formed. He claims th a t i t is u n fair to spend so much money on s tu ­ dents who are under par while neglecting the "great n atio n al resource Cof the) g ifte d and ta len ted children who can grow up to be geniuses, o r, c e rta in ly , extremely productive c itiz e n s" (Gold 1977). Ja v its points out th a t giftedness is labeled a handicap by the U.S. Office of Education. In r e a lity , since pedagogical research has iso la te d g ifte d youth as having sp ecial learning needs, the United S tates appears to be a t a point in i t s h isto ry where giftedness is tre a te d sp e cia lly not because o f a need fo r a sp ecial kind o f c itiz e n , not because the g i f t ­ ed demand eq u ality , but because they learn d iffe re n tly from the "norm." Figure 2.3, page 25, shows most o f the p resen tly id e n tifie d deviations from the norm among children. Figure 2.4, page 31 , shows means goals as applied to program decisions fo r g ifte d youth. That chart may be applied to other curriculum plans as w ell as g ifte d plans. Some educators have h e s ita te d to tr e a t g ifte d children as a separate group from the standpoint o f some s o rt of end goal. A ctually, g if ­ tedness deserves as much a tte n tio n as any other handicap from the ^'\APPROACHES evaluation '- ^ INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTION ENRICHMENT ACCELERATION SEPARATE CLASSES SEPARATE SCHOOLS FACTORS ACADEMIC EFFECTIVENESS T h e o r e tic a lly , very e f f e c t i v e , but p ra ct l c a l l y lim ite d , because o f demands on te a c h e r 's time S a tis fa c to r y fo r some g if t e d stu d en ts b u t n ot a l l ; B e n e fit may be negated I f s t u ­ d en t advanced more than one year D i f f i c u l t to ad m in ister system -w ide; ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICABILITY Uniform sy stem w ide p o lic y req u ired , but uniform a p p lic a ­ t io n may be d i f ­ f i c u l t to Insure P o s s ib le f o r In d iv id u a l te a c h e r s, p rln c [p a ls to "implement" In name on ly ( l i p s e r v ic e ) ... — ..... Figure 2.4. Some s c h o o ls may have i n s u f f i c i e n t num­ b ers o f g if t e d to j u s t if y c la sse s ; Im plem entation on p a rt time b a s is l i k e l y to cause c la s s sc h ed u lin g problems A llow s su b je c t a p titu d e grouping as w e ll as gen era l i n t e l l e c t grouping J u s t i f ie d on b a s is o f t o ta l number o f g if t e d in system ; Academic d ep a rtm en ta liza tio n p o s s ib le ; More e f f i c i e n t program a d m in istr a tio n , ev a lu a tio n ... Mixed L i t t l e o r no im pact, depen­ d in g on uniform ­ i t y o f implemen­ t a tio n Coat o f s p e c ia l m a te ria ls h ig h (must be a v a ila b le throughout th e system ; L ittle f is c a l im pact; S im ila r ly fo r c o s t o f prep aring teach ers Most e f f e c t i v e fo r e n t ir e system ; B e n e fits a l l stu d e n ts ; Only p a r t ia lly e f f e c ­ t iv e on p art time b a s is No Impact (apprinach i s la r g e ly " l n v is l ble") POLITICAL ACCEPTABILITY ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY Very e f f e c t i v e I f for s i n g l e sc h o o l I f f u l l time ( a l l day); No a d d itio n a l m a te ria ls requ ired Teachers who are in t e r e s t e d /q u a lif ie d in g if t e d ed u cation may n ot be a v a ila b le in each sch o o l Delivery System Plans (Source: Boyd 1976, p. 11) P o te n tia l adverse p u b lic re a c tio n Economies o f s c a le ; Use o f alread y a v a ila b le reso u rces p o s s ib le ; Perm its h ir in g o f teach ers tra in ed in g if t e d ed u cation 32 standpoint o f a means goal. When Senator Ja v its called the g ifte d ch ild a "great n atu ral resource" and a p o te n tia l "extremely pro­ ductive c itiz e n ," h is goals appear to be s lig h tly more ’ends1 than 'means1. Compare J a v its ' approach to giftedness with the motives of some other fed erally funded programs: From a Minnesota program:* "The In s titu te is based on the ideal th a t students w ill find the simple, though profound, sa tis fa c tio n and pleasure which is found in the in te lle c tu a l and aesth etic immersion o f one’s to ta l being in creativ e study." From a Washing­ ton, D.C, mathematics program: "In a sense, (mathematics) is proba­ bly the most generally useful su b ject...w e d elib erate ly chose to sp ecialize in th is area where great precocity often occurs because one can be splendid in mathematics without y et having had many of the usual l i f e experiences o f an adolescent or ad u lt. Also, because o f th is precocity, many students in school are h o rrib ly bored." Again from the Minnesota program: "from the school ad m in istrato r's standpoint, students were recommended with the hope th a t those who showed superior academic and/or creativ e a b ilitie s would receive supplemental knowledge, gain confidence in pursuing fu rth e r study and bring back ideas to stim ulate and motivate classm ates." A fu rth e r rep o rt from Kurtz (1977) explained th a t by using the Tenth Rule o f Three Cubed'*' "the g reatest minds in our country can 1. Tenth Rule of Three Cubed - Take l/1 0 th of the stu d e n t's IQ, su b tract i t from 27, and get the reasonable age fo r graduation from high school. Kurtz claims th a t th is ru le holds tru e between 115 and 157 IQ. 33 develop th e ir ta le n ts to whatever extent they wish." At the same conference on g ifte d children, Jackson (1977) reported th a t the United States would gain $15.4 m illio n i f i t allowed b rig h t children to en ter college early so th a t they are paying income tax e a r lie r , and th a t the gains to individuals would exceed $140 m illion annually. Goal statements such as the s ix above i l l u s tr a te a d iv e rsity of th in k ­ ing about American education o f the g ifte d . They apppear to re f le c t several aspects of the types o f goals lis te d by Frankema, Goodlad, R ichter, and Pinar. Most of a l l , they r e f le c t the types o f goals and the d iffe re n t c r ite r i a for r a tio n a lity used by decision makers as presented in W atters’ Theory of R atio n ality and Social Decision Making (1979). I f one compares the goal statem ents o f the programs offered to g ifte d children across the nation with W atters' theory (see Figure 2.5, page 48), one begins to see th a t types of decisions made in Min­ nesota may have had to do w ith "how i t ought to be" while the rep ort of m illions of d o lla rs saved fo r the n atio n may have had to do with "what gives the b est re tu rn ." At the same time, the Tenth Rule of Three Cubed may be a concern fo r the "most e f f ic ie n t way." Watters contends th a t few educators weigh normative reasons fo r decisions as heavily as they weigh expeditious and u t i l i t a r i a n reasons. She also contends th a t few educators bother to match means goals to a tru e end goal, or ultim ate goal, except as the u ltim ate goal is understood w ith­ in the individual making the decision. In other words, the ultim ate goal is probably personal ra th e r than a goal o f consensus among the educators who plan programs. Since the advent o f Bobbitt and Tyler, 34 SUMMARY DIAGRAM SlIMMUM BONUM (End or highest goal, u ltim ate purpose) MEANS GOALS (Intermediate) TYPE OF DECISION SOCIAL (Integrating) Moral P rin cip le CRITERION FOR RATIONALITY How ought i t to be? (Normative) Figure 2.5. ECONOMIC (Allocating) Maximization What gives the b e st return? (U tilita ria n ) TECHNICAL (Impl ementing) E fficiency l Which is the most e f f ic ie n t way? (Expeditious) Theory o f R atio n ality and Social Decision Making (Source: Watters 1979, p. 6) 35 expeditious and u t i l i t a r i a n reasons fo r c u rric u la r decisions have been the accepted standards fo r many o f the new programs developed in recent years. Pinar would c a ll th is s o rt o f decision-making the tra d itio n a l function o f curriculum theory--technical guidance. Habermas would consider the technical and p ra c tic a l in te re s t to be as important as the emancipatory in te re s t, but Habermas would seem to recommend th a t emancipatory in te re sts are the most basic. Watters would seem to consider normative goals as sim ilar to eman­ cipatory in te re s ts . I t appears th a t W atters' theory fo r so cial decision making is a careful analysis of several d iffe re n t, compli­ cated philosophies. I t also appears th a t W atters' theory is a b e tte r approach to educational decision making than P in a r's sug­ gestion. Pinar (1978) wanted to s h if t the a tte n tio n from the tech­ n ic a l and the p ra c tic a l, and dwell on the notion of emancipation. His approach would seem to lead educators too fa r away from the basic three in te re s ts o f Habermas. Watters cautions th a t the b asic lack of normative goal agreement among group members causes what appear to be fa ilu re s in economic and technical decisions. Summary Again, the question is asked: For what reasons do school d is ­ t r i c t s in Michigan develop educational programs esp ecially designed fo r g ifte d children? Are the programs planned because educators want curriculum which is expeditious and e ffic ie n t? Are the planned programs designed to promote a so c ia l in te g ra tio n o f g ifte d children in to th e ir society? 36 Are the programs planned as p a rt of a g reater design fo r a strong nation? Are the programs based upon ra tio n a l decision making processes? Since programs for g ifte d children in Michigan have returned to the fo refront in the p ast decade, basic curriculum theory about those programs would seem an important consideration for the S tate of Michigan as i t aids the educators in the fie ld . Chapter I II w ill describe the design o f the research conducted to ascertain the nature of the goal statements made about Michigan programs for g ifte d children. of the data co llected . Chapter IV w ill report the re s u lts and analyses Chapter V w ill present conclusions and recom­ mendations fo r continued improvements in the education of the g ifte d . CHAPTER I I I METHODS AND PROCEDURES Introduction The au th o r's in te n t in Chapter I I I is to explain the tech­ niques and procedures used in conducting the research fo r th is study. Topics covered include selectio n of the archival docu­ ments of the population o f the study, development o f the data c o l­ le c tio n instrument, the data co llec tio n procedures, and the data treatment and an aly sis. Selection o f the D istric ts I t was f i r s t necessary to id e n tify a body of information which could be considered re la tiv e ly uniform over a large number of d is ­ tric ts . Accordingly, the Michigan Consultant fo r Gifted and Tal­ ented Programs was contacted fo r advice. She made av ailab le three groups o f correspondence from d is t r ic ts throughout the S tate . One group consisted of grant proposals fo r g ifte d programs which had not received funding. Another group of documents consisted of grant proposals fo r g ifted programs which had been funded by the S tate. The th ird group was a mixture o f documents about present programs and on-going plans. Since a major concern in the study was the presence or absence of goal statem ents, a l l th ree groups were previewed to a sc e rta in th a t they did , indeed, contain goal statem ents. 37 38 Data Collection Instrument A separate f i l e card (see Appendix B) was used fo r each d is t r ic t. Information was handwritten on the cards as the documents were read. Words, phrases, and sentences were w ritten d ire c tly from the documents. I f a special paragraph or page was deemed important enough fo r la te r review, the paragraph or page was photocopied and a notation was made on i t regarding the d is t r ic t from which the copy cams. Although the d is tr ic ts remain anonymous, th e ir names were w ritten on the data cards fo r purposes o f elim inating duplicate information i f the d i s t r i c t had correspondence in a l l three groups o f documents. Category groups (variables) o rig in ate with the researcher, although the authors reviewed in Chapter II provided much of the background in ­ formation necessary to make decisions about how the information would be grouped. The categories which evolved on the data cards also o rig in ­ ate with the researcher, although the authors reviewed in Chapter II provided most o f the terms. The research er’s own experience in the f ie ld o f education in Michigan provided an additional source o f frame­ work fo r the categories chosen. The p ilo t study conducted in August provided the fin a l categorization o f the basic data c o llec tio n . C ollection of Data During August, 1979, a p ilo t study o f the correspondence from five d is t r ic ts was conducted. The p ilo t study allowed the v ariables to evolve n a tu ra lly from the communications. At the end of the p ilo t 39 study, 118 categories were established. Space for more categories was s t i l l available on the data cards, and more categories did emerge before the data \tfere completely collected. Selection o f the fiv e school d is tr ic ts fo r the p ilo t survey was accomplished by dividing the data in to fiv e equal p arts and then drawing one d i s t r i c t from each o f the five p a rts. The chosen school d is tr ic ts in the p ilo t survey f e ll into four of the six demographic categories estab lish ed by the Michigan Depart­ ment o f Education (see Appendix A). two City, and one Urban Fringe. One was designated Rural, one Town, One represented the Upper Peninsula, one represented the northeast q u arter o f Lower Michigan, and the others were from the southeast q u arter o f Lower Michigan. The areas of g reatest population were represented most. Information from the fiv e school d is tr ic ts was recorded on data cards (sometimes ca lle d McB cards). Categories of information were then grouped in to eig h t dependent v aria b les: 1. Ultimate Goals 2. Normative Goals (Technical and U tilita r ia n Goals) 3. Methods o f Delivery 4. Talents to be Developed 5. Agents to be Served 6. Subjects to be Taught 7. Underlying Behaviors and S k ills Expected 8. Benefits from the Programs Two categories--agent and audience--were considered indepen­ dent v aria b les. The S tate of Michigan was the agent, and the audience was th e group o f persons in the Michigan Department o f Education who would read the proposals and a c t upon the requests. 40 Exact words were copied on the data cards from the proposals and requests in the archives. During August and September, 1979, the data were co llected from the correspondence from 133 individual d is t r ic ts , groups of d i s t r i c t s , consortiums, and interm ediate school d is t r ic ts . A fter data had been completely co llected from a l l 133 d is t r i c t s , the cards were re-read fo r c la r ity and accuracy. Each phrase was then id e n tifie d and marked by number with the 118 categories e s ta ­ blished in the p ilo t study u n til a l l handwriting was over-marked with a number. Additional categories were added as needed. number of categories was 124. The to ta l They are grouped and defined as follow s: D efinitions o f the Categories 1-26. The school d i s t r i c t was designated by the S tate o f Michigan as the u n it o f re sp o n sib ility which would communicate the needs o f the g ifte d children to th e S tate funding agent. An alpha­ b e tic a l l i s t was used. (A was No.l: B was No.2 . . .) 27-31. An o f f ic ia l Michigan S tate Highway Department map was consulted to determine dividing lin e s . 1116 north-south halves o f lower Michigan were designated as those d is t r ic ts lying prim arily above or below a lin e from Shelby on th e west side to Richmondv ill e on the e a st sid e. D is tric ts such as Shelby and Richmond- v ill e which l i e on th e dividing lin e were considered e ith e r north o r south depending upon whether the m ajority o f the d is ­ t r i c t lay e ith e r n o rth o r south o f th e cen ter o f the town. 41 32-37. The Department of Education determined th a t funding fo r pro­ grams p ilo te d through the S ta te 's auspices would be divided into demographically d iffe re n t d is t r ic ts . These divisions were c learly marked on the m aterials surveyed. (See Appendix A fo r fu ll description o f each d iv id sio n .) 38-47.Eight grade lev el categories were used. K(kindergarten) through grade six can be broken in to early and la te r elementary u n its (K-3 and 3-6). The terms "middle school" and "ju n io r high school" are variously defined by d is t r ic ts . For purposes o f th is study, the terms are used interchangeably to mean "not elementary" and "not secondary" public education. Secondary education is defined as the highest grade levels of the d i s t r i c t , including grade 9 o r not as designated by the d is t r ic t. 48. Ultimate goals may also be c la s s ifie d as highest goals. They a rtic u la te what ought to be in society, o rig in atin g from studies o f philosophers o f curriculum and education, from o f f ic ia l gov­ ernment statem ents, or from lo cal groups o r persons in charge o f programs proposed fo r g ifte d students. Perspectives o f man as a rtic u la te d by philosophers include the given base lin es as follows: (Jencks 1973, p 23) A. Man above a l l preparing fo r an a f t e r l i f e ; h is essen­ t i a l q u a litie s are predetermined but he may have free w ill to use them fo r good o r e v il. -OR- 42 B. Man above a l l preparing to f i t in to the superorganic stru ctu re s of society; h is esse n tia l q u a litie s are predetermined but h is happiness depends upon h is being able to f i t into the stru ctu res o f th is world. -ORC. Man above a l l a contractual p a rtic ip a n t of so c iety --a change agent of society; he is innately so cial with a broad but not unlim ited range o f powers--understanding humanness is e s s e n tia l. -0RD. Man innately so c ial but of unlim ited p o te n tia l and in control of h is destiny in th is universe; fle x ib le so c ie ta l organization is v ita l to the tru e fu lfillm e n t o f man's p o te n tia l. -0RE. Man a being o f unlim ited p o te n tia l but not n ecessarily so cial--in d iv id u al expression is more important than so ciety . The question each d i s t r i c t has to answer deals with the a t t i ­ tude toward Nature. Is Nature something to subjugate? Is i t possible to work in harmony w ith Nature? Does Nature have control of each person? Is Nature defined as a supreme being--the supernatural o r relig io u s foundation o f man? Is Nature defined as the n atu ral world of cause/effect? I t is n o t the task o f th is d is s e rta tio n to argue the m erits o f a given philosophical p o sitio n on the perspectives o f man. I t is the task o f th is d is s e rta tio n to ascerta in whether o r not such philosophical a rtic u la tio n has occurred a t school d i s t r i c t lev el and has been communicated to the S tate. 43 49. U.S. goals fo r education would include any statements made in the form of re p o rts, laws, a c ts , amendments, speeches, or Congressional Record w ritin g s, U.S. Commission on Education re p o rts, and US DHEW reports which a rtic u la te the consensus o f the goals o f U.S. p olicy makers. 50. Michigan goals fo r g ifte d students would be found in the docu­ ment ca lle d Common Goals o f Education or in consensus reports o f various o f f ic ia l S tate educational policy making bodies. 51-52. School d i s t r i c t goals would be found in the contents of a document designated by t i t l e as having to do with policy, or in the form o f o f f ic ia l minutes o f School Board meetings. If those d i s t r i c t goals are not a rtic u la te d , i t is possible th a t the persons in charge of the proposed program w ill a rtic u la te th e ir own form o f u ltim ate goals. I f no goals are s ta te d , i t is possible th a t the persons communicating with the State were aware o f the g o als' existence, but did not deem them important to the request fo r funding. 53. Vocational/economic reasons mentioned in proposed programs fo r g ifte d children would include any statements made regarding the ch ild ren s' fu tu re occupations and/or a b ility to earn money. 54. P o litic a l goals would be lim ited to statem ents promoting know­ ledge and p a rtic ip a tio n in the functions o f government. (See P o litic a l A cceptability below as a separate category, No.61) 55. Social goals would include statem ents o f the need fo r children to learn to communicate and r e la te to o th ers. q u a lita tiv e dimension. These goals have 44 56. M oral/ethical goals would include statements of the need for children to make decisions based on rightness o f behavior for the good o f themselves and society. Moral and e th ic a l values are lik e ly to d if fe r a t le a s t s lig h tly from d i s t r i c t to d is ­ tric t. 57. They are a l t r u i s t i c and q u a lita tiv e . Self-development goal statements would include any plans regarding the c h ild 's own development toward g reatest capacity fo r learning and contributing; i . e . , development o f unique ta le n ts and a b i liti e s , or a ttitu d e toward learning. 58. Equal educational opportunity has been variously defined by educators (See discussion, Chapter I I ) . The researcher counted th is category only i f the words "equal educational opportunity" or "equal education" appeared in the communications to the S tate. 59. Academic effectiveness re fe rs to any method proposed--individual­ ized, tu to r ia l, enrichment, acceleratio n , separate classes, separate schools--to enhance the efficien cy o f the in stru c tio n a l method and/or to promote the g reatest possible development o f the g ifte d ch ild . 60. Adm inistrative p r a c tic a lity would include those processes th a t make the operation o f the d i s t r i c t more e f f ic ie n t (i.e ., bus schedules, building space, lo catio n of m aterials, proximity of student to learning cen ter). 61. P o litic a l a c ce p tab ility would include those statem ents having to do with reasons growing out of p aren t, taxpayer, and govern­ ment consensus th a t sp ecial education fo r g ifte d children is necessary. Further evidence o f p o litic a l a c c e p tab ility would be mention o f a body o f workers outside the o f f ic ia l school 45 s t a f f who have been campaigning fo r programs and/or working with programs fo r g ifte d children. 62. Economic f e a s ib ility would include mention o f monetary reason fo r the program. Phrases about expense, cost savings, s ta te and lo cal fundings estab lish ed for a sp e cific purpose might be included. 63. Research base would mean th a t actual te s ts w ithin the d i s t r i c t or from n atio n al or s ta te or lo cal sources show th a t the sug­ gested program is em pirically ju s tif ie d . 64. Pedagogical sense has to do with statements of reasoned judg­ ment th a t g ifte d children w ill learn b e tte r i f tre a te d in the manner proposed fo r the program. This reasoned judgment might include a research base, or a research base might not be men­ tioned. 65. Individualized in stru c tio n refers to any process or delivery system whereby the individual student has a prescribed program unique to th a t person. The program may be p a rt of the regular classroom, but i t is not lim ited to th a t d e fin itio n . 66. Enrichment re fe rs to any process or delivery system whereby the individual student receives additional educationl experi­ ences a t the same grade lev el as would be normal fo r h is /h e r age. 67. A cceleration re fe rs to any system ldiich allows the g ifte d ch ild to move ahead of the tra d itio n a l age/grade promotion system, e ith e r fo r one subject or fo r more than one su b ject. 46 68. Separate classes fo r g ifte d students include a l l methods o f grouping a given number of g ifte d students in to a single body o r class fo r purposes o f in stru c tio n . 69. Separate schools re fe r to any grouping o f g ifte d children into a sin g le school building with separate s t a f f and curriculum for g ifte d children only. A complete school complex is possible. 70-71. Combinations o f 65 through 69 above might appear. Some pro­ posed programs might not be d ire c tly involved in a sp e cific delivery system and th erefo re would f a l l in an "unspecified" category. 72. A r tis tic giftedness re fe rs to ta le n t in design and use o f m ateri­ a ls and motion, except as sp e c ific a lly designated in musical, physical, o r communication ta le n t. 73. Musical ta le n t re fe rs to exceptional a b ilitie s involving pro­ duction o f sound to communicate by singing voice, by in s tru ­ ments designated "m usical," or by notation designated as music n otation or musical d irec tio n s. 74. Physical ta le n t re fe rs to exceptional neuro-muscular coordina­ tio n , cardio-vascular efficie n cy , k in e sth e tic awareness, body stren g th , speed, a g ility , endurance. A c tiv itie s normally designated as "dance" are included here. 75. Communication ta le n t is designated as expression using the language of words and p ictu res to convey meaning. Poetry and prose, dramatic s c r ip ts , essays, journalism techniques are included here. Dramatic acting except th a t which involves music and dance is included here. Speaking is included here. 47 76-77. Academic ta le n t is lim ited to students having scored above approximately 130 on a standardized IQ t e s t , or designated some other way as academically talen ted by the school d is ­ tric t. I f the ta le n t is l is te d as being in one su b ject, th a t re fe rs to such subjects as mathematics, fo r instance. 78. Creative and productive thinking is measured by te s ts in such areas as lo g ic , problem solving, and a b ility to produce new s tr a te g ie s . 79. Leadership ta le n t is measured by formal observations for sp e cific leadership s k il ls . 80. Combined ta le n ts might be appropriate to the proposed program. For instance, a program in Humanities might be a combination of 72, 73, 74, 75, and possibly 78 and 79 above. This category was also used and la te r so rted fo r unspecified ta le n ts . 81-84. Agents to whom funds are d irected include the ch ild , teacher, adm inistrators and coordinators, and community as a whole. A parent might be a primary agent. "Primary agent" re fe rs to the agent who receives d ire c t b en e fit from the actu al funding. More than one primary agent is possible in a sin g le program. "Benefit to the child" is accepted as a given element of any program. I f the funding prim arily goes to tra in in g the teacher o r adm inistration o f the program, the b en e fit to the ch ild is considered to be a secondary goal, while the primary agent is some person or group other than the ch ild . The teacher is considered a primary agent i f the person doing the in stru c tin g has d ire c t contact w ith g ifte d children in a learning a c tiv ity w hile being funded. 48 The adm inistration or coordination s t a f f is considered to be a primary agent i f the funds are to be used fo r philosoph­ ic a l development, planning, and evaluation o f program rath er than actual in stru c tio n a l contact with g ifte d children. Ad­ m in istrativ e concerns other than pedagogical a c tiv itie s are included here. Community or school or school d i s t r i c t as primary agent would mean th a t, while the children are actu ally being in stru c ­ ted in some form fo r g ifted students, the method of in stru c tio n is fo r the b en e fit of th e functions o f the society. Examples o f th is might include sp e c ific in stru c tio n in p a rtic ip a tio n in government, as w ell as those items lis te d in categories 109 through 116. A fu rth e r example would be i f funds had been introduced to combat poverty o r r a c ia l imbalance. 85. Art (so designated as a class in the course o f study o f the d is tric t). 86. Business and p ra c tic a l a rts (so designated by course o f study such as typing, f ilin g , accounting, o ffic e management, con­ stru c tio n , machine work, home economics). 87. Computer Science is now categorized sep arately from mathematics and science. 88. English (w riting, lite r a tu r e , journalism , speech, dram atics, reading). 89. Mathematics (except accounting). 90. Physical education and dance. 49 91. Science (natural scien ce). 92. Social Studies 93. Unspecified, although ch ild was primary agent, may be appro­ p ria te to the proposal. 94. General study s k il ls include those s k ills such as taking notes, o u tlin in g , and lib ra ry research. 95. P a rtic u la r study s k ills include those s k ills needed for a sp e cific d isc ip lin e such as lig h tin g a Bunson Burner in science c la s s , or operating a calcu lato r. 96. A ttitude toward learning includes increased c u rio sity , more enthusiasm, longer a tte n tio n span, independence, and other sim ilar te rn s. 97. Improved behavior would be mentioned i f a goal of the proposed program were to change some o f the p a rtic u la r behavior p atterns which some g ifte d children manifest due to th e ir giftedness. (Some g ifte d children do not complete th e ir assigned work. Some create noise and d is tra c tio n . Some react to d iffe re n tia te d treatm ent by e ith e r a so c ia l, aggressive, or withdrawn responses. Some need to be train e d to f i l l up th e ir spare time with mean­ ingful a c tiv itie s while the r e s t o f the class is completing the same work in a longer period o f tim e.) 98. Other or unspecified subjects or areas, or combinations th ereo f, may be appropriate to the proposal. 99. A change in a ttitu d e toward giftedness on the p a rt o f the teacher may in d icate th a t the proposed program w ill involve working toward d i s t r i c t consensus or s t a f f consensus. 100. Pedagogical s k il ls are those s k il ls such as id en tify in g the 50 lev els of ab stractio n in cognition, developing b e tte r ways of challenging the thought processes, developing b e tte r v e rtic a l coordination of s k ills to be mastered by the students, giving p o sitiv e feedback. 101. Testing fo r achievement is included here. Efficiency o f the teaching process re fe rs to a c tiv itie s which make teaching the g ifte d children e a sie r, le ss expensive, or fa s te r. 102 103. - Other or unspecified changes may be appropriate fo r the proposed program. 104. A philosophy of programs fo r g ifte d children is developed out of a c tiv itie s designed to answer questions of the ultim ate goals of education and of education o f g ifte d children. These goals may d if f e r from one d i s t r i c t to another. 105. Pedagogical stra te g ie s are a c tiv itie s o f the ac t of teaching and the ac t of learning. 106. An adm inistrative system ex ists outside the pedagogical a c tiv itie s of the school. 107. See d e fin itio n o f No. 60. Increased funding from supplemental sources outside the d is ­ t r i c t may be deemed necessary to a proposed program. 108. Development of a program evaluation system should specify bonified research methods using em pirical data or other recognized so c ia l science research methods. 109. Other children may be the b en e ficia rie s o f programs fo r g ifte d children which cause the normal ch ild to be in terru p ted le s s , pressured le s s , and given more a tte n tio n . Behavior problems 51 in the classroom are sometimes more severe because the disrup­ te r is a g ifte d ch ild with a wide v ariety of methods of d is ­ ruption a t the c h ild 's disposal. Other children appear to be b en eficiaries of programs fo r g ifte d children in three ways: 1) behavior problems are lessened i f the g ifte d student is misbehaving due to the giftedness and is removed from the cla ss; 2) g ifte d students who might be taken out of a classroom tem porarily fo r enrich­ ment are seen as returning to the classroom with ideas and resources not previously enjoyed by the c la ss ; 3) g ifte d students are seen as possible tu to rs fo r le ss able students. 110. E sp rit de Corps is sometimes defined as "school s p i r i t , " or p o sitiv e a ttitu d e toward and w illingness to p a rtic ip a te in the workings of the school. Apathy and aggression are signs o f lack o f e s p rit de corps. 111. Other or unspecified needs may be appropriate to the proposed program. 112. Indicants of increased c iv ic pride might include evidence such as increased population, p a rtic ip a tio n in community a c tiv itie s , more a rtic u la tio n o f p o sitiv e a ttitu d e s toward the community, more a rtic u la tio n o f p o sitiv e a ttitu d e s o f c itiz e n ry toward themselves, and a rtic u la tio n o f consensus o f philosophies, mottoes, or community image. 113-116. Contributions to be made by b e tte r-tra in e d g ifte d children include problem solving, creation of new ideas, additional information generated from research, id e n tific a tio n of 52 problems and issu es, additions to the community o f a r t works, musical works, communication works, physical accomplishments, and responsible leadership. 117. Monetary support from the S tate of Michigan was clearly marked "funded." 118. This number was used to record two types of infoimation which were la te r separated fo r purposes o f data an aly sis. One group of d is t r ic ts was found to be communicating th a t they were too small to be able to furnish the necessary environment to aid g ifte d children in growing to th e ir f u ll p o te n tia l. A second group of d is t r ic ts was discovered th a t had banded together to counteract lim ited resources in th e ir individual d is t r ic ts . They were reporting th a t th e ir g ifte d children were afforded opportunities to in te ra c t with a wider v ariety o f learning resources, including people, and th a t the g ifte d children were able to see each other and challenge each o th e rs' thinking. Interm ediate School D is tric ts were included here i f they planned the same program to serve children as primary agents in several d is t r ic ts a t once. 119. Many d is tr ic ts planned d ire c t parent tra in in g and involvement, esp ecially to promote p o sitiv e parent a ttitu d e and aid fo r th e ir g ifte d children. 120. Screening fo r giftedness was already accomplished i f th is category was marked. This category was la te r abandoned be­ cause the communications from the d is t r ic ts were unclear as 53 to whether o r not a l l the screening had been completed. Screening was included as p a rt of the research base described in item 63 by many d is t r ic ts . 121. C ertain proposals and programs were tit le d - - f o r instance, "Gateway.'* Certain d is t r ic ts also included children on th e ir advisory committees. Both categories came under No.121 and were la te r separated fo r analysis. 122. A group of d is tr ic ts was found who communicated th a t as a goal of the program, they would promote p o sitiv e a ttitu d e toward the program and measure th is a ttitu d e as a measure o f the success o f the program. 123. Several d is t r ic ts s p e c ific a lly omitted psycho-motor s k ills as a ta le n t, and sp e c ific a lly gave the reasons why. 124. Both neglect o f g ifte d children and caution against e litis m were given as reasons fo r the types o f programs promoted. Occasionally, a d i s t r i c t would communicate a sp ecial plan to teach children in a c e rta in way so th a t there would be no p o s s ib ility of promoting an e l i t e group or making the children feel odd. On the other hand, a larg e number of d is tr ic ts expressed re g re t th a t th e ir g ifte d children had been neglected. The above d efin itio n s were the bases o f c r ite r i a fo r categorizing the 124 items on the f i l e cards. 54 V alidity o f the Data Upon completion o f the recording o f the data from the five school d is tr ic ts in the p ilo t survey, seven other educators, in clu ­ ding Margaret W atters, developer o f the goal statement theory o f th is study, were consulted with regard to accuracy of d efin itio n s and completeness o f the categories. Certain questions arose regarding the assignment o f phrases to p a rtic u la r categories. Consultant was sought. At th a t p o in t, advice of the Michigan In each in stan ce, agreement was reached as to the placement of the phrase in a category. For fu rth e r purposes of v a lid ity , the data cards were submitted to another educator who chose ten cards from the group and scru tin ized them fo r erro rs in categorizing. No erro rs were detected. R e lia b ility To answer the question of whether or not another researcher would have seen the same information in the same way, the copies o f the full-page goal statem ents or o th er documents were submitted to another educator who was knowledgeable in goals and philosophies. The copies were not marked as to category p o s s ib ilitie s , but a second copy had been marked fo r purposes o f comparison. Without knowing the research­ e r 's decisions, the second educator marked the copies as to category. No discrepancies were found in the goals th a t were marked by both per­ sons. e r. However, the second person marked fewer phrases than the research­ A fter discussion o f the differences between the two copies as 55 marked by two in dividuals, agreement was reached th a t the co llectio n o f information and the subsequent assignment to categories could be considered re lia b le . Analysis o f Data As the phrases and category nunbers were matched, c e rta in cor­ re la tio n s were noted and recorded. For instance, Numbeis54 and 79 both d ealt with leadership; Numbers 61 and 116 both d ealt with com­ munity acceptance, although in d iffe re n t ways. Twenty-five pos­ s ib le co rrelated categories were recorded fo r la te r comparisons. The f i l e cards were notched a f te r every phrase had been over­ marked with a number. system. Then the cards were sorted by need le-so rt Each category was examined separately. Each phrase o f a sp e c ific number was typed on a working paper fo r comparison of 1) possible e rro r in categorizing, and 2) possible new category. A map seemed appropriate to represent the geographical loca­ tio n s o f the d is tr ic ts in the study as compared to the general population p attern s in the S tate. Comparisons and co rrelatio n s were made by counting actu al to ta ls in each category. Percentages were computed fo r the to ta ls , and also fo r pre- and p o st-Ju ly 1977 correspondence. Graphs were generated from the percentage ta b le s. Further co rrelatio n s were made between sim ila r categ o ries, between re la te d categ o ries, and between d is t r ic ts th a t seemed to be grouped by having a rtic u la te d two o r more o f the same catego­ r ie s . F in ally , inform ation about d is tr ic ts th a t received S tate 56 funding fo r th e ir programs fo r g ifte d children was compared with information about d is tr ic ts th a t did not receive funding. Geographical Locations o f the D istric ts in the Study The locations o f the d is tr ic ts are considered to be a close image of the d istrib u tio n o f the general population in the S tate. This d is trib u tio n of d is tr ic ts was accidental and is believed fo r­ tunate fo r th e study. Figure 3.1 shows the approximate geographical divisions of the Upper Peninsula and each q u arter o f the Lower Peninsula. dot represents a d is t r ic t in the study. Each As divided, the sections o f Lower Michigan fu rth e r represent known t r a f f i c p attern s and general population in te ra ctio n . In d u strial areas, to u r is t areas, u niversity attendance p a tte rn s, and n atu ral geological divisions were taken in to account. Figure 3.2 represents the geographical d istrib u tio n o f the d is ­ t r i c t s in the study, using percentages of th e to ta l nunber of pro­ posals included in the data co llec tio n . in the study was 133. 104 d is t r ic ts . The to ta l nunber o f d is tr ic ts From 1973 to 1977, the correspondence came from From July 1977 to August 1979 when the data were co l­ le cte d , 29 ad ditional d is tr ic ts corresponded with requests fo r a s s is ­ tance. During the month o f Septenber when re-checking fo r r e lia b ili ty purposes was completed, the nunber of new d is tr ic ts requesting a s s is ­ tance had reached 38. However, these additional d is tr ic ts were not included because the data fo r the study had been completed p r io r to the appearance o f the new conmuni c a t ions. Correspondence from 142 school d is tr ic ts showing in te re s t in g ifte d programs was evident. 57 Figure 3.1. Locations o f D is tric ts in the Study 58 Xo.27 - SUTi of Lower Michigan 21% N'o.ZS - .Wj o f Lower Michigan 5% No. 29 - SEL o f Lower Michigan 60% Xo. 50 - XE^ o f Lower Michigan 5% Xo. 31 - Upper Michigan 9% 10% 20% 301 40% 50% 60 Figure 3.2. Geographical Locations o f the D istric ts in the Study 59 Demographic Designations of the D istric ts in the Study For purposes o f funding d is trib u tio n , six divisions were defined by the Michigan Department o f Education. tio n s .) (See Appendix A fo r d e fin i­ Figure 3.3 shows the percentages in each of the divisions. Xo.32 - Metropolitan Core I 6% No.33 - C ities II 11% No. 34 - Towns I II 14% No.35 - Urban Fringe IV 36% No.36 - Rural V 20% No.37 - Intermediate Dist.VI 14% 10% 20% 30% 40% Figure 3.3. Demographic Designations of the D is tric ts in the Study 60 Grade Levels to be Served Although no d is tr ic ts were found to be planning a program fo r children in grades kindergarten through 3, the other nine categories were represented th u s: Table 3.1. Grade Levels to be Served % o f Total D istric ts No. 39 - Grades 3-6 14% No.40 - K-6 19% No. 41 - Middle School 7% No. 42 - K-Middle School 7% No. 43 - Middle School-H.S. 7% No. 44 - High School 2% No. 45 - K-H.S. No. 46 - Single Grade(s) No. 47 -.Ungraded or Unspecified 24% 3% 18% In category 47, the following notes were made: 13 schools ju s t beginning, no report o f grade lev el planned 4 schools, ch ild not primary agent 1 cross-age group tu to rin g and grouping 1 "de-emphasis on grade lev el - one school ungraded elementary" 1 consortium, separate school building fo r g ifte d children 1 "non-graded, n o n -cred it, with u n iv ersity faculty" 3 unspecified, although c h ild was primary agent 1 $ out o f 133 schools 61 Summary The research methods and procedures have been explained in Chapter I I I . The research involved a selectio n o f the correspon­ dence from c e rta in d is t r ic ts in Michigan; the development o f a data co llec tio n instrum ent; the data co llectio n procedures; and the data analysis procedures. Chapter IV includes th e p resentation and analysis o f the data. Chapter V concludes with recommendations fo r continued improvements in programs for g ifte d children. CHAPTER IVPRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA Introduction Information is given which was obtained from w ritten corres­ pondence to the Michigan Department of Education, Programs fo r Gifted Children, a t Lansing, Michigan, from local and interm ediate school d is tr ic ts in the S tate. This correspondence generated information indicatin g the goals and philosophies of Michigan programs for g ifte d children from 1973 to 1979. Because c e rta in S tate in -serv ice programs appeared a f te r 1977, the information has been fu rth e r broken into three segments: 1) the percentage to ta ls o f d i s t r i c t proposals and/or programs th a t a rtic u la te d each goal, and 2) the percentages o f d is t­ r ic ts before and a f te r Ju ly 1977 th a t a rtic u la te d those goals. Chap­ te r IV w ill describe each goal in order, according to the d e fin itio n a l l i s t in Chapter I I I . Graphs are used to demonstrate relatio n sh ip s between goals w ithin v ariab les. Examples o f statem ents from the d is t­ r ic ts are included. Design I up lic a tio n s For purposes o f co n tro l, a l l co llected information was lim ited to the w ritte n words in requests fo r funding and assistan ce from th e S tate o f Michigan. A ll the information was chosen from selected 62 63 f i l e s which contained a large number of documents requesting the same p attern o f responses from a l l d is tr ic ts (see Appendix C). These responses included statements of d is t r ic t goals and program goals. Once the f ile s were chosen, a random sample from fiv e d is tr ic ts served to generate categories o f responses. One hundred eighteen categories re su lte d . Following the random sampling, every available d i s t r i c t proposal or request was analyzed. The number of categories was not lim ited by the co lle c tio n instrument, since th e information was recorded in handwriting on f i l e s o rt cards, and provision could be made fo r more than 120 categories. Six categories were added a f te r the p ilo t study, bringing the to ta l to 124. A fter a l l the information was gathered, each word, phrase, sen­ tence, or paragraph was assigned to one o f the categ o ries. The d is t r ic ts remain anonymous in th is study. However, an alpha­ b e tic a l lis tin g o f th e d is t r ic ts was kept on the data co lle c tio n cards fo r purposes of analysis and to prevent duplications. Graphs, ta b le s , and rep resen tativ e samples of the information appear on the following pages to rep o rt the findings. 64 Ultimate Goals and Philosophies The ultim ate goal, or Summum Bonum, was a rtic u la te d by only 11% of the d is tr ic ts in the study. Examples of d i s t r i c t statements are included here from two d is tr ic ts : The people o f th is n ation, s ta te , and community have t r a ­ d itio n a lly and h is to ric a lly declared th e ir b e lie f in the importance o f the individual and h is fu lfillm e n t. In d iv i­ dual fu lfillm e n t can occur only in a so ciety which is designed to cherish the ind iv id u al, has the strength to p ro tect him, and the richness and d iv e rsity to stim ulate and develop him. As a free man, the American c itiz e n liv es fo r him self and fo r h is so ciety . The goal of the American society is the d ig n ity and fu lfillm e n t of the individual. Recognizing these p rin cip les and th a t a demo­ c ra tic society depends on an educated populace, the people of the n ation, through th e ir individual s ta te s , have established systems of public ed u catio n ... Recognizing the unique ro le of education in the improve­ ment of the individual and the improvement and enrichment o f l i f e in the community, we subscribe to the objectives lis te d below as those e sse n tia l endeavors in meeting the challenge of educating the youth of today's w orld... Goals o f the United States were mentioned by 1 d i s t r i c t . goals were mentioned by 7 d i s t r i c t s , a l l before 1977. Michigan Local d i s t r i c t goals were a rtic u la te d by 34% o f the d is tr ic ts in the study. Because ultim ate goals were o f major concern in th is study, a fu rth e r analysis was made to see i f c e rta in co rrelatio n s with other goals would appear. Following is a breakdown o f c e rta in other categories also mentioned by the 13 d is t r ic ts who s ta te d ultim ate goals and philosophies. (Table 4.1) 65 Table 4.1. Number of D is tric ts Mentioning C ertain Other Categories Along With Ultimate Goals Types o f Giftedness Area of the S tate 9Nk A rtis tic Musical,Phys.,Comm.General Acad. Acad.,1 Subject Creative Thinking Leadership - d is t r ic ts NW% SEj NEs U.P. 2 d is tr ic ts 0 7 2 7 3 Demographic Types Primary Receiver of Funds Metro Core C itie s Towns Urban Fringe Rural Intermediate D ist. - 2 2 2 6 1 Child Teacher Administrators' Community, School - 12 - 5 - 2 - 0 0 Subject Area Proposed Other Ultimate Goals U.S. Goals Michigan Goals Local Goals - 1 - 2 -10 Normative Goals Vocational/Econ. P o litic a l Social M oral/Ethical Self-Development Equal Ed.Opp. G/T Neglected - 5 5 4 5 9 4 5 Art , Business Computer Science English/Speech Mathematics Physical Education Science Social Studies Foreign Lang.,Music, Drama, Unspecified 4 0 0 5 3 0 3 2 4 Behavioral Changes Planned Gen.Study S k ills - 2 P a rtic u la r Study Sk. - 3 - 3 Technical and U tilita r ia n Goals Improved A tt. Improved Behavior - 7 Acad.Effectiveness - 3 Apprec.of Excellence - 1 Adm. P ra c tic a lity - 5 P o litic a l Accep. - 4 Gommunity and School Change Econ.Feas ib i l i t y - 3 Research Base - 4 Well Being Other Children - l G/T Learn D if. - 8 Small Conm, lim ited resources - 1 Parenting S k ills - 3 In d iv .In s tr. - 9 Enrichment - 7 A cceleration - 1 Other d eliv ery - 0 66 Local goals (category No. 51) were mentioned by 41 of 133 school d is tric ts . These goals were requested by the S tate i f the communica­ tion was a bonafide proposal fo r a funded program. In 34% o f the 41 d is t r ic ts , the space which should have contained local goals actually contained a statement th a t i t was " a ll rig h t with the board" fo r the proposal to be requested. Figure 4.1 represents the percentages of ultim ate goals in each of four categories. No.48 - Ultimate Goals 11% No. 49 - U.S. Goals 1% No. 50 - Michigan Goals 6% No. 51 - Local Goals 34% 10% 20% 30% 40% Figure 4.1. Ultimate Goals and Philosophies 67 Other co rrelatio n s were tabulated from the 41 d is t r ic ts th a t a rtic u la te d lo c a l goals: Table 4 .2 . Categories also mentioned w ith lo c al goals Number of D is tric ts 9 99 99 9 999 9 99 9 99 99 99 99 99 9 No.48 No.49 No.50 No.53 No.54 No.55 No.56 No.57 No.60 No.61 No.62 No.63 No.64 No.65 No.66 No.67 No.68 No.81 No. 82 No.83 No.84 No. 96 No.97 No. 98 Ultimate Goals U.S. Goals Michigan Goals Vocational/Economic reasons P o litic a l reasons Social reasons M oral/Ethical reasons Self-Development Adm. P ra c tic a lity P o litic a l A cceptability Economic F e a s ib ility Research Base G/T Learn D ifferen tly Individualized I n s tr . Enrichment A cceleration Separate Classes Child Primary Agent Teacher Primary Agent Administrator Primary Agent School, Community Prim.Agt A ttitu d e Toward Learning Improved Behavior Excellence o f Work 9 0 4 16 13 12 15 29 10 - 10 - 16 - 10 - 26 - 17 - 24 9 1 40 10 7 1 13 21 1 Total Number o f D is tric ts in the Category - - - - 27 22 37 21* 59 38 31 31 29 55 45 66 24 5 - 28 16 .4 23 41 12 ^Thirteen o f th e 21 also mentioned c rea tiv e thinking and s e l f ­ development . 68 Normative Goals Six types of statements th a t pointed out "what ought to be done" were considered to be normative goals. They were defined as goals of vocational, p o litic a l, so c ia l, m o ral/eth ical, self-development, and equal educational opportunity. A special category was added to accomodate the number of s ta te ­ ments regarding the neglect o f the g ifte d . A few statements were recorded which made provision against possible e litism . Category 58 was used for statem ents of equal education opportunity. Category 124 was used fo r statem ents of neglect or i t s opposite, e litism . Among vocational goals would be statements such as the following: "career education program" "exploring possible careers" "career exploration" "vocational in te re s t" "work experience" "provide fo r themselves and th e ir fam ilies" "career planning" "career planning s k ills " Among p o litic a l goals would be statements such as the following: "preserve free in s titu tio n s and personal lib e rty " "citizen sh ip " "responsible citiz e n s in the areas of h e a lth , sa fe ty , le is u re , environment, and respect fo r property" "contributions to American society" "in a democratic society" " f u ll p o te n tia l as c itiz e n s" "w ithin the context of h is own h eritag e and our to ta l society" "p o sitiv e contribution as c itiz e n s" "continuance of democracy by p a rtic ip a tio n " Among m oral/ethical goals would be statem ents such as the following: "id e n tify and c la r ify b e lie fs and values" "moral, e th ic a l, and e s th e tic values" "ethnic and re lig io u s understanding" "create resp ect and appreciation fo r the s a c re d ..." 69 Social values often d ea lt with personal so cial in teractio n between g ifted children and others. Goal statements about so cial values would be those such as the following: "social in teractio n " "act in responsible ways towards others" "inteipersonal relatio n sh ip " "present system d o esn 't allow them to get together" "work in groups e ffectiv ely " "re la tin g to others" "rig h t to both in te lle c tu a l and so cial development" (often sta te d in board policy) "so cial in te ra c tio n p attern s" "group train in g " "social and academic growth" "so cial experiences" "meet the sp ecial so cial needs of the g ifted " To be considered as a separate goal, the words "equal educa­ tio n al opportunity" or "equal education" (though not a requirement of the State) had to appear in the communication. Certain statements were rejected which mentioned "equality" but did not specify equal­ ity of education. Equality was sometimes used in terms of helping g ifte d children ad ju st so c ia lly to an awareness th a t other children with le sse r ta le n t also had equal rig h ts . This study was concerned with whether or not the planned program had the in ten tio n o f correc­ tin g a condition in which g ifte d ch ild ren were not receiving f a ir treatm ent, and so only those statem ents which d ire c tly concerned the equal opportunities fo r g ifte d children were used. Figure4.2 shows the percentages o f d is t r ic ts who conmunicated normative goals. 70 No. 53 - Vocational/Economic 23% No.54 - P o litic a l 184 No.55 - Social 321 No.56 - M oral/Ethical 18% No.57 - Self-Development 49% No.58 - Equal Ed. Opportunity 8% No.124 -G/T Children Neglected 28 10% 20% 30% 40% 50 Figure 4.2. Normative Goals 71 For the area of concern fo r eq u ality , statements such as the following were recorded: "talen ted students are p resen tly the most neglected students in our educational system" - superintendent (three d is tr ic ts ) "adm inistrators agree th a t the academic needs o f the g ifted are not being m et.. "since we have so many children who are d e fic ie n t in reading and mathematics, we must make special e ffo rts to reach the g ifte d who have been l e f t to fend fo r themselves" "the Socratic dictum goes, 'Nothing is more unequal than the equal treatm ent of unequals'." "the children with the unusual ta le n ts and g if ts are s t i l i the ones most lik e ly to be slig h ted in the classroom" " th e ir sp ecial needs have been neglected" " g ifte d children are probably the most overlooked of a ll" "our present delivery system assumes th a t the g ifte d w ill succeed without special a tte n tio n from educators. Current lite r a tu r e syas otherwise" "lo cal tra d itio n tends to see g ifte d education as e l i t i s t grouping once a week" " .. t h a t segment of our student population th a t has been neglected thus fa r due to funds" " in te lle c tu a l and creativ e ta le n t cannot survive educational neglect and apathy and a grave individual and so c ial loss occurs when extraordinary ta le n ts and c a p a b ilitie s are not indent i f ied and matured" "co rrect the comfortable notion th a t a b rig h t mind w ill make i t s own way" "remain members of regular school classes so they w ill not be labeled 'd ifferen t* by classm ates; y et asso ciatio n with other g ifte d children is important" "no in s titu tio n a liz e d oppression of any group" "we must be w illin g to say th a t people, even very young peo­ p le , are unequal, th a t they are d iffe re n t in t a le n t s .." "much has been done fo r the impaired, which is fin e , but probably as many students who are g ifte d or ta len ted need sp ecial atten tio n " "the d i s t r i c t has admired success, but guarded against su p erio rity ; demanded performance, but not i f i t offended equality" "they bother the conscience o f the teacher" "a comprehensive program without producing 'odd ducks' " Eight school d is t r ic ts reported approximately the same idea th a t giftedness should receive as much a tte n tio n as impairment. They 72 made statements such as the following: "Through T itle I , students below grade assistan ce in meeting th e ir diagnosed now feel a re a l need fo r assistance in students meet th e ir diagnosed needs as than to explore and c re a te ." lev el are receiving needs. Our teachers helping our g ifte d w ell as challenge "While di s t r i c t is supplying services fo r students a t the lower 20 p e rc e n tile s, nothing but sporadic programs have been implemented fo r the underachieving students a t the top 20 p e rc e n tile s." "educational discrim ination of the g ifte d student when com­ pared to students in d en tified as "slow" le a rn e rs. . . In our school system special education students are provided 14 fu ll-tim e teachers and approximately $200,000 in funding or about 6.7% of the general fund budget. No special funding or sta ffin g is provided fo r the g if te d .. .in te llig e n t youth have been overlooked." Statements about equality and neglect usually were more than one sentence in length. Technical and U tilita r ia n Goals Statements about "what gives the b est return" and "what is the most e ffic ie n t way" were grouped according to area(s) of ta le n t or g iftedn ess, the subject area, the type of behavioral change expected, and the primary persons who would b en efit from the funding. Academic effectiveness goals would include statements such as the following: "we fear we are teaching children to do the minimal with our tra d itio n a l approach. Our goal is to take these g ifte d out of the textbook approach..." "academically ta len ted students have sp ecial needs which are not fu lly met by the regular academic program" (v ariations appeared in most o f the goals marked 'academic effectiv en e ss1) "these students must be challenged and programs implemented for them" 73 In the area of adm inistrative p r a c tic a lity , the following s ta te ­ ments were recorded: "scheduling to accomodate" "provide for continuing in secondary school" "hold school with g ifte d children as models" (3 d is tr ic ts ) "to id en tify " "haven't done enough to id en tify " (13 d is tr ic ts ) "to implement using the steps suggested by Roger Taylor" "to s e t up a delivery system" "flow chart" "elim inate some of the glaring problems from the p ilo t study" "to define the ro le o f the new support person" In the area o f p o litic a l a c c e p ta b ility , the following statements were recorded: "high p rio rity with the to ta l school community" "parent in stig ated " "Congressman _ helped us" "lo cal d is tr ic ts have expressed in te re s t and concern" (I.S.D .) "sustaining proven programs is something with which the Board feels more a t ease" "a c le a r message conveyed by p aren ts' response" "parents have been working since 1975" "considerable parent in te re s t" "individual members o f the Board spoke warmly o f th e ir support" From one interm ediate school d i s t r i c t : "a group of parents in Michigan and across the nation have in the p ast few years begun to launch a con­ cern th a t schools provide fo r the sp ecial needs of the children who possess a sp ecial g i f t o r ta le n t. They are proceeding in much the same manner as those parents who fought fo r programs in sp ecial education a number o f years ago. To some degree they are producing re su lts in terms o f s ta te and federal funding and are becoming more vocal in th e ir lo cal school d i s t r i c t s . . . " In the area o f economic f e a s ib ility , many statements were recorded which explained the d i s t r i c t s ' needs fo r outside funding. t r i c t s reported program cuts due to declining enrollm ents. Several d is ­ Other d is tr ic ts reported unemployment which deprived g ifte d children o f care. 74 A research base fo r decision making was requested by the S tate i f av ailab le. To explain why they planned the programs as they did , d is tr ic ts made statements such as the following: " i t is evidenced by the t e s t re s u lts fo r college entrance requirements on a nationwide b a s is ." "pre-screening was done in crea tiv e thinking" "careful screening completed" "scores over 130 on the Wechsler" "data already looked a t to find 150 students" "IQ data indicates need" "by survey, interview , observation" "research t e l l s us young people b en e fit from (mentors)" "SRA to id en tify " "basic s k ills measured on C.A.T." "especial need fo r underachievers already id e n tifie d and not responding to present programs" " lite r a tu r e suggests th a t K-3 is the place to id e n tify " "recent needs assessment (for d is t r ic t) shows . . . lack of adequate means to challenge. . . . a major weakness in elemen­ ta ry and ju n io r high" TWenty-five o f the schools who communicated goals marked in category 63 (research base) also communicated goals in category 66. o f those schools also communicated goals in category 97. F ifteen (enrichment and improved behavior) The category about the way g ifte d children learn yielded a long l i s t of reasons why sp ecial programs fo r them are needed, i .e . "career education experience before normal children are ready" "present system doesn’t allow them to meet each other" "they d o n 't lik e the p la in menu" "experience appropriate to every stu d e n t’s lev el o f development" " d iffe r markedly from th e ir age peers" "usually has to work independently fo r f u lle s t development of s k ills and ta le n ts" "they learn f a s te r and remember more, and they tend to think a t a higher le v el with and about what they le a rn , n e c essitatin g sp ecial programs" "whose needs require an ex p ertise not possessed by the classroom teacher" No. 59 - Academic Effectiveness 181 No.60 - Administrative P ra c tic a lity 32% No.61 - P o litic a l A cceptability 26% No.62 - Economic F e a sib ility 27% No.63 - Research Base 25% No.64 - G/T Children Learn D ifferen tly 52% Figure 4.3. Bases fo r Decisions 76 Delivery Systems Methods o f delivery f e l l in to seven categories. Individual­ ized in stru c tio n was usually proposed in conjunction with the regu­ la r classroom work. Enrichment was usually proposed as a p u ll-o u t to the regular classroom. A cceleration was proposed fo r children who were being held back by staying with th e ir age peers the whole day. Separate classes and separate schools were also proposed, as w ell as ce rta in kinds o f ungraded groupings. Individualized in stru c tio n proposals included the following: "individualized in stru c tio n in the classroom" (35 d is tr ic ts ) "individualized p rescrip tio n " (5 d is tr ic ts ) "do what h e ’s ready for" "individually pursue sp ecial in te re sts" (3 d is tr ic ts ) "wants the re sp o n sib ility on regular teacher, not the s p e c ia lis t down the h a ll" "against segregating" "many teachers experience fru s tra tio n in attem pting to meet each c h ild 's needs, esp ecially the need o f the g ifte d and talen ted ch ild on a d aily basis" Enrichment programs proposed a combination o f many a c tiv itie s : f ie ld tr ip s mentors more m aterials parent help tu to rin g , including u n iv ersity c r o s s - d is tric t in te ra c tio n cross-grade in te ra ctio n p u ll-o u t separate classes to challenge exhibitions etc. Some co rrelatio n s were noted with category 66 (enrichment) No.57 No.60 No.61 No.62 No.64 No.76 No.78 No.79 - self-development - 40 d is tr ic ts adm inistrative p r a c tic a lity - 23 d is tr ic ts p o litic a l a c ce p tab ility - 17 d is tr ic ts economic f e a s ib ility - 21 d is tr ic ts G/T learn b e tte r th is way - 25 d is tr ic ts general academic ta le n t - 9 d is tr ic ts creativ e thinking - 43 d is tr ic ts leadership - 15 d is tr ic ts 77 Proposals fo r acceleratio n o f g ifte d children included several v ariatio n s in plans. Some d is tr ic ts were considering allowing the children to spend p a rt of the day in a classroan of a higher grade. Some d is tr ic ts were using a modified ungraded system. Some d is tr ic ts planned to allow children to leave the school fo r p a rt o f the day so th a t they could study with u n iv ersity p rofessors. Advanced high school students often had th is option. Some co rrelatio n s were noted with category 67 (acceleration: No.57 - self-development 14 d is tr ic ts as compared to 40 who were planning enrichment programs No.59 - academic effectiveness 5 d is tr ic ts No.60 - adm inistrative p r a c tic a lity 8 d is tr ic ts No.61 - p o litic a l ac ce p tab ility 8 d is tr ic ts No.62 - economic f e a s ib ility 11 d is tr ic ts No.64 - G/T learn b e tte r th is way - 9 d is tr ic ts No.65 - individualized in stru c tio n 13 d is tr ic ts No.66 - enrichment 18 d is tr ic ts No.76 - general academic ta le n t 9 d is tr ic ts No.78 - creativ e thinking 16 d is tr ic ts No.79 - leadership 4 d is t r ic ts as compared to 15 who were planning enrichment programs No.97 - improved behavior 11 d is t r ic ts as compared to 18 who were planning enrichment programs Separate classes of g ifte d children by themselves were planned by a small number of d i s t r i c t s . Separate schools, which are too co stly fo r most d is t r ic ts to operate, were planned or are p resen tly operating prim arily in consortiums o r outside the public school systems. A large number o f d is t r ic ts planned combinations o f enrichment, acceleratio n , and separate c la sse s. An ungraded approach was also planned by some d is t r ic ts . Percentages in each category o f the delivery system v ariab le are shown in Figure 4.4. 78 No.65 - Individualized In stru ctio n 37% No.66 - Enrichment 55% No.67 - Acceleration 20 % No.68 - Separate Classes 4% No.69 - Separate Schools 2% No.70 - Combinations of 65 - 69 40% No.71 - Unspecified 20% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Figure 4.4. Deliver)'’ Systems 79 Talents to Develop In the v ariab le of types o f giftedness and ta le n ts to be devel­ oped, the l i s t is shown here in the order o f most often to le a s t often reported: No.78 - Creative and Productive Thinking No.76 - General Academic S k ills No.79 - Leadership No.72 - A rtis tic No.73 - Nbsical No.77 - Academic, one subject only No.74 - Physical (psycho-motor) No.75 - Comnunications Percentages o f the d iffe re n t ta le n ts are represented in Figure 4.5. 80 No.80 - Combinations/unspecified Figure 4.5. 28 Talents to Develop In the m atter o f psycho-motor development, one d i s t r i c t said: The psycho-motor area has been elim inated due to the g reater number o f opportunities already av ailab le in th is area. 81 Primary Agent to be Served The d e fin itio n in Chapter I I I o f the categories in the v ariab le o f primary agent explains th a t, idiile the ch ild is always considered to b en e fit from e ffo rts a t program improvement, sometimes the teacher, the adm inistration, o r the community is the agent th a t w ill receive d ire c t b en e fit of the funds. Parents were also found to be d ire c t b en e ficia rie s of the funding in some d is t r ic ts . Table 4.3 represents the percentages planned fo r the f i r s t year o f a given pro­ gram. Eleven schools did not plan d ire c t b en e fit to the children the f i r s t year. Two schools planned to use g ifte d children as models in a basic laboratory school fo r other teachers to v i s i t . Tabl e 4.3. Primary Agent Total D is tric ts No. 81- Child a primary agent 82% No. 82- Teacher a primary agent 23% No. 83- Adm inistrator o r Curr.Person No. 84- Community o r School 3% 13% 82 Subjects to be Taught The actual subject area, i f the ch ild were the primary agent, or a primary agent, is lis te d here in descending order o f importance: No.89 - Mathematics No.88 - English/Speech No.91 - Science No.92 - Social Studies No.85 - Art No.87 - Computer Science No.86 - Business and P ra ctic al Arts No.93 - Music and Foreign Language (equal) Drama No.90 - Physical Education (one against i t ; no programs planned) The category o f "unspecified'was used when phrases were found to be cro ss-d iscip lin ary such as: "expressive a rts " "academic proficiency" - "academic growth" "fin e a rts" "humanities" "creativ e and fin e a rts " "c ro ss-d isc ip lin ary approach to basic su b ject matter" No.86 - Business or P ra ctic al 2% No.87 - Computer Science 71 No.88 - English/Speech 31% No.89 - Mathematics 32% No.90 - Physical Education 0% No.91 - Science 21% No.92 - Social Studies 12% No.93 - Music, Foreign Language 2% Drama Cross-D isciplinary Figure 4.6. 1% 13% Subjects to be Taught 84 Underlying S k ills and Behaviors Changes in behavior were expected in four categories, ranging from the way the children approach a sp ecific learning ta sk to the way they in te ra c t with others in the classroom. In the area of general study s k il ls , the s k ills most o ften men­ tioned were research skills--w ays of finding out independently what the children want to know. D istric ts who planned to enhance general study s k ills made statements such as the following: "study s k ills " "organization s k ills " "data accumulation methods" "produce and disseminate information" "independent planning" "using research techniques" - "research s k ills " "conducting lab and fie ld studies" "creativ e research" "experimental process" "general study s k ills " A comparison between s k ills being planned and grade lev els to be served showed th a t no p a rtic u la r grade lev el could be singled out as co rrelatin g w ith th is category. A ll grade lev els were represented. In the area o f special study s k ills , d is tr ic ts made statements such as the following: "w riting" " s k ill using a ll kinds of science equipment" "co rrect ap p licatio n o f grammatical s k ills " 1'present/dem onstrate'1 "se t up an exhibit" "brush stroke techniques" Inproved behavior in the classroom was planned by 351 of the d i s t r i c t s in the study. This behavior included th e following: 85 "time management" - "judgment of wise use o f time" "maximize h is f u ll learning p o te n tia l" "the ch ild completes h is assignments early. Then what?" " s e t th e ir own goals" "d iscip lin e themselves" "se lf-d ire c te d work" "improved s e lf esteem and lessened negative behavior" "thinking fo r selves" "acceptance o f a l l r a c ia l and ethnic groups" "management o f time and resources" Forty-two d is tr ic ts sp e c ific a lly noted the need fo r coping with the underachieving g ifte d child: "completing work ea rly , may be bored or working below a b ility " "withdrawal, hyperaggressiveness, or underachievement noted" "especial need to work with underachievers already id e n tified " " r e a lis tic and p o sitiv e s e lf concept needed" " fo ste r a p o sitiv e a ttitu d e toward s e lf , school, and others" "larg e number o f academically g ifte d underachieving" "we fear we are teaching children to do the minimal--not challenging them to the maximum--with out tra d itio n a l approach" "to make students aware of th e ir own p o te n tia l" "seminars for underachievers" "to challenge and stim ulate" Higher q u ality o f completed work was a goal o f 10% of the d is ­ tric ts : " c rite rio n o f excellence w ill be established" "feelin g a lack o f purpose and challenge allows some of those youngsters to form poor work habits and develop inproper values re la tiv e to so c ie ty 's norms" "students w ill develop ex cellen t products" " t e l l them o f th e ir ta le n ts and expect excellence" "worth and dignity of the individual and the dignity of a l l e s se n tia l work" "to appreciate excellence" Accomplishing changes in behavior, esp ecially by making the g ifte d aware o f th e ir p o te n tia l and by challenging them through, developing c u rio sity , co rrelated with c e rta in other categories: 86 No.57 No.65 No.66 No.67 No.78 No.94 - self-development, 21 d is tr ic ts individualized in stru c tio n , 15 d is tr ic ts enrichment, 14 d is tr ic ts acceleratio n , 7 d is tr ic ts creativ e thinking, 21 d is tr ic ts general study s k il ls , 12 d is tr ic ts Figure 4.7 represents percentages in each o f the fiv e categories in the v ariab le o f underlying s k ills and behaviors. No.94 - General Study S k ills 281 No.95 - P a rtic u la r Study S k ills 14% No.96 - Improved A ttitude Toward Learning 19% No.97 - Improved Behavior 35% No.98 - Appreciation o f Excellence; Other 10% 10% 20% 30% 40% Figure 4.7. Child S k ills and Behaviors 87 Teachers were to be primary receivers o f funding benefits in the plans o f 251 of the d is t r ic ts . The la rg e s t proportion o f these d is ­ t r i c t s communicated plans to improve actual teaching s h ills , c itin g the need as follows: "develop s t a f f s k ills to help c r i t i c a l thinking" "develop new teaching s k il ls and stra te g ie s " "to inservice in stru c tio n a l s t a f f to id e n tify g ifte d children" "many s ta f f w illin g ly express the fru s tra tio n o f not success­ fu lly working w ith the academically talen ted child" "aid teachers in developing u n its for" S taff understanding and p o sitiv e a ttitu d e toward g ifte d and talen ted children were in the plans o f a group of d i s t r i c t s , as ev i­ denced in statem ents such as these: "we hope to id e n tify the G/T ch ild so th a t the teachers w ill tr e a t them b e tte r" "to create a nurturing environment" "develop in teachers the a ttitu d e s as well as s k i l l s . . . " "help teachers by support o f th e ir e ffo rts " "develop s t a f f understanding" One d i s t r i c t planned to improve the a ttitu d e s o f teachers who were not d ire c tly involved in teaching the g ifte d ch ild ren , but who would nevertheless have an e ffe c t on th e environmental a ttitu d e s . Teacher efficien cy was to be enhanced prim arily by furnishing teacher aid es, and by improving ind iv id u alizatio n techniques. Plans to improve parenting s k il ls and a ttitu d e s toward g ifte d children were noted in 19% o f the d is tr ic ts in the study. Figure 4.8 represents percentages in teacher and parent v a ria ­ b le s. 88 No. 99 - Improved A ttitude No.100 - Improved Pedagogical S k ills No.101 - E fficiency of Teaching No.119 - Parent S k ills aid A ttitudes 10ft Figure 4.8. 20ft 30ft Teacher and Parent Changes A dm inistrative s tra te g ie s toward programs fo r g ifted children were planned by 25ft o f the d is t r ic ts . Eighteen of those th irty -th re e d is t r ic ts planned teacher inservice as w ell. Of the d is t r ic ts th a t planned to work on pedagogical s tr a te g ie s , 100ft of them also planned to develop creativ e thinking s k ills in ch ild ren . One interm ediate d i s t r i c t reported d iffe rin g philosophies toward g ifte d programs among i t s member schools. One d i s t r i c t was working on a statement of philosophy which would peimanently ju s tif y a g ifted program in th a t d i s t r i c t . That same d i s t r i c t also had id e n tifie d a larg e group o f academically talen ted children and was planning a com­ prehensive program evaluation. Measurements o f program effectiveness did n o t show consistency: "as measured by student a ttitu d e questionnaire" "as measured by judges using Excellence Rating Scale (ERS)" "interim evaluation and po st evaluation" (unspecified) " t - t e s t between groups" "attendance w ill improve" "evaluated by improved MAT and CTBS scores" 89 "formative and summative evaluation is planned" (unspecified) "w ill check the ten years of data fo r program progress" "three judges using Creative Process Scale (CPS)" Communication o f plans fo r program evaluation dropped from 29% before July 1977 to 7% a f te r Ju ly 1977. In th a t same time, communications of plans for pedagogical s tra te g ie s rose from 21% to 28%. Figure 4.9 represents percentages o f categories in the variable o f adm inistration changes. No.104 - Develop Philosophy No.105 - Develop Pedagogical S trategies No. 106 - Develop A dm inistrative System No.108 - Develop Program Evaluation Figure 4.9. Administration Changes Benefits to Community and School Planned b en efits were e ith e r expected to be far-reaching (country, world, and future s e lf ) , or they were expected to be f e l t lo c ally . B enefits to the community were usually planned in the form o f some kind of contribution which could be made only by someone w ith ca re fu lly nurtured high q u a lific a tio n s: "small impact on the d i s t r i c t as a whole, but a tremendous impact on the liv e s o f the students involved" " i t is a growth experience, not only fo r th e stu d en ts, but fo r the teachers and th e parents" 90 "g ifte d and talen ted students do not make i t on th e ir own. In fa c t, we have lo s t many p o te n tia l leaders o f our community, s ta te and country because our schools did not find the ta le n t th a t was in each ch ild and tr e a t th a t ta le n t as a special g if t and guide, and encourage i t to grow to i t s f u lle s t." "develop an awareness o f and promote the recognition o f academic excellence in the community" "help us id e n tify and solve the problems and issues in our community" "responsible leadership is needed in the nation" "w ill take the unexplored ideas and create new solutions" " a rt works, musical works, and physical accomplishments must not be lo s t to the nation" "need responsible adults who have the a b ility to research the major issues o f our times and create new solutions" One b en efit to the school, communicated by 24% of the d is t r ic ts , was the sp in -o ff e ffe c t th a t a g ifte d program would have on other children: "help other children by tu to rin g them" - "cross-age tutoring" "student w ill provide a sig n ific a n t contribution to the regular classroom" "by expanding areas o f s e lf in te re s t, group in te re s ts w ill be expanded" "the b en efits w ill s p i l l over to the regular classroom" "can display th e ir p ro jects in other d is tr ic ts " "reinforce p eers' learning processes" "other children w ill b e n e fit because the behavior problems in the classroom w ill be fewer" "the learning center can be used by a l l children" "other students w ill b en e fit because the m aterials and a c tiv itie s w ill be available and in te re stin g " "upgrading e ffe c t on the r e s t o f the curriculum" "other students w ill b en e fit because the teachers w ill be able to id e n tify th e ir strengths and weaknesses more readily" In planning ways to allow the b en e fits to happen, 25% o f the local d is tr ic ts were found to be cooperating with others in jo in t programs. These cooperative e ffo rts were in addition to programs offered by interm ediate d is tr ic ts . A comparison was made with geographical cate­ gories to see i f the proximity to c u ltu ra l resources was a fa c to r. 91 Listed below in order o f prominence, information is given about where the cooperating d is tr ic ts were located: No. 31 - Upper Michigan 33% No.28 -NW*so f Lower Michigan 291 No.27 -SWko f Lower Michigan 26% No.29 -SE%o f Lower Michigan 19% No.30 -NE?sof Lower Michigan 17% One d i s t r i c t summarized th is concept as follows: Since, in our area, school d is tr ic ts are small and generally without funds to support small groups o f students in special p ro jects i t occurred to us th a t a consortium o f likeminded schools might be able to generate enough students to provide a f u ll time job fo r a teacher consultant o f the g ifte d . Because we already have the adm inistrative stru c tu re through a s ix school d i s t r i c t conglomerate, i t appears th a t there is the p o s s ib ility fo r e f f ic ie n t manpower use, estab lish ed lin es of communication and e ffectiv e adm inistrative leadership. Many areas o f Michigan have entered in to the regional concept of sp ecial education programming and therefore other sp ecial education regions w ithin Michigan could re p lic a te th is program model in an e f f ic ie n t and meaningful manner. They are generally ru ra l in nature and are contiguous to a large urban c e n te r ..." The p lig h t of the small community w ith lim ited resources was also communicated by several d is t r ic ts planning th e ir own programs. In one instance, the small community was f e l t to be burdened with negative leadership, and the school wished to expose th e ir g ifte d children to p o sitiv e leadership in surrounding areas. In one instance, the small community reported th a t the burden o f sp ecial services fo r the slower children had made them lose sig h t o f the problems of the q u iet g ifte d children , but th a t the hyperactive children were p u ttin g pressure on 92 the teachers for more v a rie ty o f resources, and the behavior problems could not be ignored. Figure 4,10 represents percentages in each of the categories of b en efits planned. No.109 - h e ll Being of Other Children 23% No.IIP - E sp rit de Corps 2% M o.Ill - Other Benefit to School 1% Xo.112 - Increased Civic Pride 3% No.113 - Contributions to Conmunity 2% Mo.114 - Contributions to Country !%| No.115 - Contributions to Michigan 0% No.116 - Other No.118 - Small Community/Limited Resources, Cooperating with Another D is tric t \----- 1----- h 10% 20% 30% Figure 4.10. School and Community Benefits 93 Programs Funded by the S tate of Michigan Eighteen o f the d i s t r i c t programs funded by the S tate of Michigan between 1973 and 1979 were available fo r comparison with the to ta l number of programs in each variable and each category. A comparison was made between the plans of the funded programs and the o v er-all communications of goals o f g ifte d programs across the S tate to see i f conmonalities were evident. Table 4.4 The re su lts are lis te d below. Funded Programs Compared to the Total Total Geographical Location % o f Funded D istric ts in the Category 27 - SW% o f Lower Michigan 21% 22% 28 - NWJ* of Lower Michigan 5% 1% 29 - SEJj of Lower Michigan 60% 50% 30 - NEk of Lower Michigan 5% 17% 31 - Upper Michigan 9% 1% 6% 11% 33 - C ities II 11% 1% 34 - Towns I I I 14% 28% 36% 33% 36 - Rural V 20% 11% 37 - Intermediate D is tric t VI 14% 11% 39 - 3-6 14% 33% 40 - K-6 19% 28% Demographic Designation 32 - M etropolitan 35 - Urban Fringe CoreI IV Grade Levels to be Served 94 Table 4.4 (co n t'd ). Grade Levels to be Served (can t’) Total Funded 41 - Middle School 7% 11 % 42 - K-Middle School 7% 0% 43 - Middle School - H.S. 7% 1% 44 - High School 2% 0% 24% 22% 3% 1% 18% 11 % 11% 11% 49 - United S tates Goals 2% 0% 50 - Michigan Goals 2% 1% 34% 28% 53 - Vocational/Economic 23% 17% 54 - P o litic a l 18% 1% 55 - Social 32% 67% 56 - M oral/Ethical 18% 17% 57 - Self-Development 49% 72% 8% 0% 28% 0% 59 - Academic E ffectiveness 18% 28% 60 - Adm inistrative P ra c tic a lity 32% 22 % 61 - P o litic a l A cceptability 26% 28% 62 - Economic F e a s ib ility 27% 61% 45 - K - H.S. 46 - Single Grade 47 - Ungraded/Unspecified Ultimate Goals and Philsophies 48 - Ultimate Goals 51 - Local Goals Normative Goals 58 - Equal Educational Opportunity 124 - Gifted Child Neglected Technical and U tilita r ia n Goals 95 Table 4 .4 (c o n t'd ). Technical and U tilita r ia n Goals (co n t') Total Funded 63 - Research Base 25% 33% 64 - G/T Children Learn D ifferen tly 52% 33% 65 - Individualized In stru ctio n 37% 44% 66 - Enrichment 55% 78% 67 - A cceleration 20% 39% 68 - Separate Classes 4% 1% 69 - Separate Schools 2% 1% 70 - Combinations of 65-69 40% 56% Talents to Develop 72 - A rtis tic 14% 11% 73 - Musical 7% 1% 74 - Physical 3% 1% 75 - Communication Arts 2% 0% 38% 39% 5% 0% 78 - Creative/Productive Thinking 51% 72% 79 - Leadership 22% 17% 80 - Combinations o f 72-79 28% 39% 81 - Child 82% 100% 82 - Teacher 23% 28% 3% 1% 13% 1% 76 - General Academic 77 - Academic- one subject Primary Agent to be Served by Funding 83 - Administration 84 - School and Community 96 Table 4 .4 (co n t'd ). Subjects to be Taught Total 85 - Art Funded 13% 17% 86 - Business 2% 1% 87 - Computer 7% 11% 88 - English/Speech 31% 39% 89 - Mathematics 32% 28% 0% 0% 91 - Science 21% 39% 92 - Social Studies 12% 22% 93 - Music, Foreign Language, Drama, Unspecified 23% 39% 94 - General Study S k ills 28% 56% 95 - P a rtic u la r S k ills 14% 17% 96 - A ttitude Toward Learning 19% 33% 97 - Improved Behavior 35% 44% 98 - Appreciation o f Excellence 10% 11% 6% 1% 100 - Pedagogical S k ills 20% 11% 101 - E fficiency of Teaching 12% 17% 103 - Philosophies Developed 2% 1% 104 - Adm. Pedagogical S k ills 22% 17% 105 - Delivery System Changes 7% 1% 23% 22% 90 - Physical Ed (psycho-motor) Behavioral Improvements Expected - Child Behavioral Improvements Expected - Teacher 99 - A ttitude Toward the Gifted Behavioral Improvements - Adm inistrative 108 - Evaluation System Developed 97 Table 4 .4 (co n t'd ). Benefits from the Programs Total 109 - Well-Being of Other Children Funded 24% 50% 110 - E sp rit de Corps 2% 0% 112 - Civic Pride 3% 1% 113 - Contributions to Community 2% 11% 116 - Other Benefits (m inorities, e tc .) 16% 11% 118 - Small Community Cooperating 25% 11% 119 - Parenting S k ills 19% 17% Notes on the Data C ollection Categories not reported sep arately have been incorporated in to other variables or categ o ries. Percentages w ill not usually add up to 100%, since each category was considered sep arately , and plans in several areas do overlap. A group o f six d is t r ic ts was found in which a major goal was to promote a good a ttitu d e toward the program i t s e l f . This goal is reported here, but with q u a lific a tio n s th a t what was meant might be d iffe re n t from what was w ritte n . I f the words are taken l i t e r a l l y , the goal would be one of making the program acceptable to the persons involved in i t , no m atter whether the program is successful or not. I f the goal is not taken l i t e r a l l y , then i t could mean "to improve a ttitu d e toward the process of learning" as i t is happening in the program. 98 Summary The major research questions o f th is d escrip tiv e study were answered from th e data made available by the Michigan Consultant fo r G ifted and Talented Programs. The questions were: 1. What goals are evident in the w ritte n communications between school d is tr ic ts and th e S tate o f Michigan? 2. Into what categories do the goals f a ll? 3. How often do the same goals appear from d i s t r i c t to d is tr ic t? 4. Which goals appear most often? 5. Is there a d ifference between the to ta l percentages in each category and the to ta l percentages in each category in the programs funded by the State? 6. Is there a d ifference between the goals appearing most often before and a f te r Ju ly 1977 when c e rta in changes in the Michigan program were made? Goals were evident as follows: A. Ultimate Goals B. Normative Goals C. Technical and U tilita r ia n Goals 1. Methods o f Delivery 2. Talents to be Developed 3. Agents to be Served 4. Subjects to be Taught 5. Underlying Behaviors and S k ills Expected 6. Benefits from th e Programs From d i s t r i c t to d i s t r i c t , th e same goals appeared from 1% to 92% of the time. In each o f the three groups o f goals, separate v ariables and categories were enumerated. The to ta l number o f categories was 124. 99 Graphs and tab les in Chapter IV show the v ariatio n s in percentages of appearance of the 124 categories. Charts in Appendix F also show the re s u lts o f comparisons of plans communicated before and a f te r July 1, 1977. F in ally , comparisons were made between funded propo­ sals and other proposals. (Total N*133, N=104 before July 1, 1977, N=29 a f te r July 1977, N=18 S tate funded programs out of a possible 30) In descending order o f appearance, the categories appeared as follows, from the to ta l percentages in the d is tr ic ts in the study: Table 4.5 Frequency of Communicated Goals Child w ill be primary agent of funding 82% Enrichment planned 55% Gifted children learn differently/program s needed 52% Creative/Productive Thinking to be developed 51% Self-Development is important 49% Combinations o f enrichm ent/acceleration/individualization 40% General Academic S k ills w ill be developed 38% Individualized In stru ctio n planned 37% Improved Behavior necessary, esp in underachieving g ifte d 35% Local Goals used 34% Social Goals must be met 32% Administrative P ra c tic a lity makes program necessary 32% Mathematics w ill be taught 32% English/Communication S k ills w ill be taught 31% General Study S k ills w ill be taught 28% Gifted Children have been neglected 28% 100 Table 4. 5 (co n t'd ). Combinations o f Talents w ill be developed 281 Economic F e a s ib ility makes program necessary 27% P o litic a l A cceptability ju s tif ie s program 26% Small Community/Limited Resources needs aid 25% Decisions based upon a form o f research 25% Well-Being o f Other Children a sp in -o ff 24% Kindergarten - High School lev els w ill be served 24% Teacher w ill be a primary agent of funding 23% Vocational/Economic need must be met 23% Evaluation System w ill be developed 23% Leadership w ill be developed 22% Administrator Pedagogical S k ills w ill be developed 22% Science w ill be taught 21% Pedagogical S k ills o f teachers w ill be developed 20% A cceleration is planned 20% A ttitude toward learning must be improved 19% K-6 w ill be served 19% Ungraded delivery is planned 18% P o litic a l goals must be met 18% M oral/Ethical goals must be met 18% Academic E ffectiveness makes program necessary 18% Community w ill b e n e fit from nurtured ta le n ts 16% Grades 3-6 w ill be served 14% A rtis tic Talents w ill be developed 14% P a rtic u la r Study S k ills w ill be developed 14% School and Community w ill be primary agents o f funding 13% 101 Table 4 .5 (c o n t'd ). Art w ill be taught 131 Efficiency of teaching w ill be developed 12% Social Studies w ill be taught 12% Ultimate Goals are communicated 11% Appreciation of ex cellen t work must be developed 10% Equal Educational Opportunity ju s t if i e s program 8% Musical ta le n t w ill be developed 7% Middle School - H.S. w ill be served 7% Computer w ill be taught 7% Administrative system w ill be developed 7% Middle School w ill be the lev el served 7% K-Middle School w ill be the le v els served 7% Teacher a ttitu d e toward giftedness w ill be improved 6% Academic ta le n ts in one subject w ill be developed 5% Separate classes fo r G/T w ill be used 4% Administrators/Curriculum persons w ill be primary agents 3% Physical ta le n ts w ill be developed 3% Civic Pride w ill be a r e s u lt 3% Business w ill be taught 2% Music w ill be taught 2% Foreign Language w ill be taught 2% Communication Arts w ill be taught 2% Separate Schools fo r G/T w ill be used 2% Contributions to Community w ill re s u lt 2% Administrators w ill develop a philosophy 2% E sp rit de Corps w ill r e s u lt 2% Drama w ill be taught 1% 102 Certain differences are evident between the percentages o f individual categories which appear in goals communicated before July 1, 1977, and those same goals a f te r July 1, 1977. These differences may be a ttrib u te d in p a rt to the differences in numbers of d is t r ic ts in each group. (N=104; n=29 respectively) I t is pos­ sib le th a t i f the group a f te r July 1977 were la rg e r, the percen­ tages would come nearer to matching those before July 1977. Graphs in Appendix F may be used fo r comparisons. In most cases, the number o f d is tr ic ts communicating a p a rtic u la r goal is fewer a f te r July 1977. Notable exceptions in programs a f te r July 1977 are: 1. Programs encompass the f u l l range of grade lev els more often. 2. P articip atio n as a c itiz e n appears more often. 3. S o cializatio n of the g ifte d ch ild appears more often. 4. Academic effectiveness appears more o ften . 5. Adm inistrative p r a c tic a lity and stra te g ie s appear more often. 6. Excellence in work appears as a goal more often. 7. Child as a primary agent of funding appears less often. Differences in percentages between the to ta l number o f proposals in the study and those proposals which were funded by the S tate may be p a r tia lly accounted fo r by the to ta l numbers in the two groups. (N=133; N=18 respectively) Compared to the to ta l in each category, funded programs show the following notable d ifferen ces: 103 1. Lower grade lev els are stressed more. 2. Social and self-development are stressed more. 3. Academic effectiveness is stressed more. 4. Enrichment and acceleration are stressed more; separate classes and separate schools appear less often. 5. Creative and productive thinking are stressed more. 6. General study s k ills are stressed more. 7. Coping with problems o f behavior is mentioned more often. 8. Well-being o f other children is mentioned more often. 9. C itizenship was absent as a goal in a l l but one funded pro­ gram included in th is study, but the number o f so c ial studies programs increased. 10. Improved a ttitu d e toward learning is stressed more. In Chapter IV, each variable and each category has been reported upon. The data have been presented and analyzed. Percen­ tages have been presented in tab les and graphs according to groups of categories in sp e c ific v ariab les. In Chapter V, conclusions are drawn, and recommendataions are made fo r fu rth e r continued improvements in programs fo r g ifte d c h il­ dren. CHAPTER V SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS In th is chapter a summary o f the information found in th is research is presented. o f the findings. I t is followed by the au th o r's discussion Conclusions are drawn, and recommendations fo r fu rth e r research and fu rth e r policy making stra te g ie s are given. Summary Purpose o f the Study The purpose o f th is study was to describe the curriculum p h ilo ­ sophies and goals o f the school d is tr ic ts th a t were o fferin g or plan­ ning educational programs esp ecially designed fo r g ifte d children. The study was lim ited to the S tate o f Michigan, but many o f the findings would apply i f sim ila r stu d ies were to be conducted in other s ta te s , or nationwide, or in other areas o f education. Information was made available fo r the research by the Michigan Consultant, Programs fo r th e G ifted and Talented, Michigan Department o f Education, Lansing, Michigan. W ritten communications which a l l followed the same p attern o f a complete request fo r funding were surveyed. The complete population o f documents was used from 133 d is tric ts . 104 105 Information from the documents was handwritten on f i l e cards fo r each school d i s t r i c t . Included on the cards were the exact words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs in which the d is t r ic t expressed i t s goals and philosophies. I t was hoped th a t the findings from th is information would aid policy makers and program planners in th e ir work in designing successful tra in in g systems for g ifted children. Limitations of the Study Only the d is tr ic ts th a t had communicated with the Michigan Consul­ ta n t’s o ffic e were included in the study. A few other d is tr ic ts are known to be o fferin g programs fo r g ifte d children in Michigan. Only the w ritten words to the S tate o f Michigan from the school d is tr ic ts were considered. This study did not concern i t s e l f with v e rific a tio n o f in te n t o f the lo cal d is tr ic ts by talk in g d ire c tly to persons in the d is tr ic ts o r by observing the actual behaviors in the programs which were in operation. I t was f e l t th a t the study must be lim ited to the w ritten words in order to control the study. To some ex ten t, the suggested proposal format may have influenced the way th a t d is tr ic ts responded. This influence could have affected the ultim ate and normative goal statem ents more than the other s ta te ­ ments. Eight v ariab les were inv estig ated in th is research. each v aria b le contained a number o f categ o ries. In addition, There is no assurance th a t the number o f variables in v estig ated and the number o f categories found is complete, because th e v ariab les were generated by the research­ er from the d ata. However, the v ariab les were not generated u n til they could be id e n tifie d d ire c tly from the communications from the d is t r ic ts . 106 llie v a lid ity o f th is study is dependent to a large degree upon the completeness o f categorization and the assignments to those categories by the researcher. The study was not undertaken to cast unfavorable judgments upon any p a rtic u la r philosophy, goal, delivery system, or d i s t r i c t . the commonalities in programs were sought. mous. Rather, The d is tr ic ts remain anony­ In most cases, the information included in th is rep o rt of the findings would be very d if f ic u lt to trac e to a p a rtic u la r d is t r ic t. Reports o f low percentages-- 0% to 10% perhaps--do not indicate weaknesses in th a t theory or plan. Low percentages may indicate th a t the information was not available in the communications which were surveyed. Conclusions drawn in th is chapter in p a rt r e f le c t the research er's own knowledge and experience in the f ie ld o f g ifte d education in Michi­ gan and in other s ta te s . Conclusions in th is chapter also r e f le c t the information included in the review o f relevant lite r a tu r e in Chapter II. Review o f the L iteratu re L iteratu re o f the theories o f curriculum goals was sought and studied to give d ire c tio n fo r the answers to the questions o f the research. In choosing the p a rtic u la r stu d ie s, a tte n tio n was given to the following problems: 1) How do d iffe re n t curriculum philosophers view the f ie ld today? 2) What models or designs have been used in the p ast to analyze educational goal statements? 3) What goals might be reasonably expected to appear in the statem ents from Michigan 107 d is tr ic ts ? 4) What terminology could r e la te to th is research? 5) What is a reasonable way o f looking a t the educators' proposals for new g ifte d programs in Michigan? 6) How is equal educational opportunity defined, and how does i t re la te to sp ecial programs for g ifted and talen ted children? 7) What is the h isto ry of a tte n tio n paid to g ifte d children? Design of the Study I t was f i r s t necessary to id e n tify a body o f information th a t could be considered re la tiv e ly uniform over a large number o f d is ­ tric ts . Accordingly, the Michigan Consultant fo r Gifted and Talented Programs was contacted fo r advice. She made available three groups of correspondence from d is tr ic ts throughout the S tate. One group consisted of grant proposals fo r g ifte d programs th a t had received funding from the S tate. Another group o f documents consisted of grant proposals fo r g ifte d programs which had not received funding. The th ird group was a mixture o f documents about present programs and on-going plans. All three groups were used, and a l l documents from each d i s t r i c t were used. A to ta l o f 133 d iffe re n t d is t r ic ts from a l l parts o f Michigan were represented in the documents. Data were gathered by using a separate n eed le-so rt f i l e card for each d i s t r i c t . ments were read. Information was handwritten on the cards as th e docu­ I f a sp e cia l paragraph of g reat length, or a page, was deemed important enough fo r la te r review, the paragraph o r page was copied and a n otation made on i t regarding the d i s t r i c t from which the copy came. 108 While the d i s t r i c t s remain anonymous, th e ir names were w ritten on the data cards fo r purposes of elim inating duplicate information. The categories which evolved on the data cards were generated from a p ilo t study, from the review o f lite r a tu r e , and from the a u th o r's tra in in g and experience in the f ie ld o f education. The p ilo t study allowed the v ariab les to evolve n a tu ra lly from the com­ munications in the documents. Space fo r more categories was provided so th a t no lim it was placed on the number of kinds of inform ation th a t might come from the docunents. The categories of information were broadly grouped in to eig h t variab les including 1) ultim ate goals, 2) normative goals, and the following technical and u t i l i t a r i a n goals: 3) methods of d eliv ery , 4) ta le n ts to be developed, 5) agents to be served, 6) subjects to be taught, 7) underlying behaviors and s k i l l s , 3) b e n e fits from the programs. The s ta te of Michigan was th e agent, and the audience was the group of person in the Michigan Department of Education who would read the proposals and a c t upon th e requests. A fter the data had been completely co llected from the 133 lo c al d i s t r i c t s , groups of d i s t r i c t s , consortiums, and interm ediate school d i s t r i c t s , each f i l e card was re-read fo r c la r ity and accuracy. Each phrase was then id e n tifie d and marked by number w ith the 124 categories estab lish ed , u n til a l l handwriting was over-marked w ith a number. These categories are defined in Chapter I I I . C ertain questions arose regarding the assignment of phrases to p a rtic u la r categ o ries. At th a t p o in t, advice o f the S tate Consultant was sought, and agreement reached as to the in te n t o f th e statem ent. Advice was also sought o f Margaret W atters, author o f one o f the 109 theories reviewed in Chapter I I , while she was v is itin g the United S ta te s. For fu rth e r purposes of v a lid ity and r e lia b ili ty , the data cards were submitted to another educator who chose ten cards a t random from the group and sc ru tin ized them fo r e rro rs. No erro rs were detected. In ad d itio n , copies o f whole pages of unmarked communications were submitted to another educator fo r re p lic atio n o f the data co llectio n system. Without knowing the research er's decisions, the second edu­ cator marked the copies as to category. No discrepancies were found in the goals which were marked by both persons. However, the second person marked fewer phrases than the researcher. A fter discussion of the differences between the two copies as marked by two in d iv i­ duals, agreement was reached th a t the co llectio n of information and the subsequent assignment to categories could be considered re lia b le . The analysis o f data was accomplished using the f i l e cards as sorted by n eed le-so rt system. Each category was examined separately. Each phrase o f a sp e c ific category was typed onto a working paper for comparison with the others o f the same category fo r 1) possible erro rs in categorizing, and 2) possible new category. By request of Michigan's Consultant, comparisons were made between communications w ritte n before and a f te r July 1, 1977, to help h er assess c e rta in S tate in serv ice a c tiv itie s . Comparisons and co rrelatio n s were made by counting actual to ta ls in each category. Percentages were computed fo r the to ta ls , and also for pre- and post-July 1977 correspondence. Graphs and tab les were generated. Further co rrelatio n s were made between sim ilar categ o ries, between d i s t r i c t s , and between programs th a t were funded and programs th a t were not funded. Findings Ultimate goals and philosophies were reported by 11% o f the d is t r ic ts . None o f those d is tr ic ts were from northeastern Lower Michigan or from Upper Michigan. were Intermediate D is tric ts . None of those d is tr ic ts Only three of those d is tr ic ts th a t reported ultim ate goals also reported planned b enefits to the school and community. Sixty percent of those d is tr ic ts reporting ultim ate goals also planned to develop leadership and creativ e thinking. goals. Sixty-nine percent also reported normative Sixty-nine percent also reported plans fo r individualized in stru c tio n , compared to 54% th a t planned enrichment, and 8% th a t planned acceleration. F ifty -fo u r percent also planned to make improvements in the g ifte d ch ild ren 's behavior. Although the primary purpose fo r the communications was to obtain funding from the Michigan Department o f Education, only seven d i s t r i c t s - - a l l before 1977--mentioned ultim ate goals of the S ta te . once. Ultimate goals o f the United S tates were mentioned only (Although citizen sh ip as an American was mentioned several times) Local d i s t r i c t goals were communicated by 34% of the d is ­ t r i c t s in the study. Board p o lic ie s were used in place of board goals by 11 d is t r i c t s . Normative goals--what ought to be done fo r the ch ild ren -- were divided in to six areas. That children ought to be aided to develop to each p erson's p o te n tia l was communicated by 49% o f the d is tr ic ts in the study. The re s u lts in th e other normative goals were: Social development 32%, Vocational/Economic tra in in g 23%, P o litic a l p a rtic ip a tio n 18%, M oral/Ethical values 18%, and equal Ill educational opportunity 8%, w ith another 28% indicating th a t g ifted children had been the most neglected group in th e ir schools and th a t th is problem needed iiunediate solutions. 4. Technical and u t i l i t a r i a n goals --what is the most e ffic ie n t way, and what gives the b est return--weiegrouped in to four areas. The fa c t th a t g ifte d children learn d iffe re n tly from the normal ch ild who makes s a tisfa c to ry progress in the "regular" classroom was c ite d by 52% o f the d is t r ic ts . Another 32% of the d is tr ic ts were planning programs fo r the adm inistrative p r a c tic a lity of the arrangement. Economic f e a s ib ility was given as a reason fo r a p a rtic u la r program in 27% o f the d is t r ic ts , followed closely by the fa c t th a t a group of people outside the school s t a f f (parents usually) were active and th a t sp ecial programs fo r g ifte d children had become a p o litic a lly acceptable method o f using school resources. A research base was considered to be present i f the d i s t r i c t used any q u an tita tiv e information o r any bonified measuring sys­ tem to estab lish need fo r the program. TWenty-five percent of the d is tr ic ts reported using some s o rt o f d ata, but the data were ra re ly comprehensive w ithin a d i s t r i c t , and ra re ly consis­ te n t across Intermediate D is tric t boundaries. The e ffe c t of the planned program on the academic achieve­ ments o f the children was communicated by 18% o f the d is t r i c t s . Methods o f delivery f e l l into seven categories. In d iv i­ dualized in stru c tio n (37% o f the d is tr ic ts ) was usually pro­ posed in conjunction with the regular classroom. Enrichment (55% of the d is tr ic ts ) was proposed fo r additional experiences beyond the regular classroom. Acceleration (20%) was d ire c tly re la te d to the fa c t th a t g ifte d children were being held back by staying with th e ir age peers the whole day. Separate classes (4%) and separate schools (2%) were usually too expen­ sive fo r a single d is t r i c t unless the d i s t r i c t was very larg e. Combinations of delivery systems were planned by 40% o f the schools. Another 20% planned programs without specifying the delivery system. Talents to be developed included creative/productive th in k­ ing (51%), general academic s k ills (38%), Leadership (22%), a r t i s t i c s k ills (14%), musical s k ills (7%), academic s k ills in one subject (5%), psycho-motor s k ills (3%), and communications s k ills (2%). In ad d itio n , combinations of the ta le n ts lis te d were to be developed in 28% o f the d is t r ic ts . D irect b en efits to the ch ild as primary agent by the funding were planned in 82% of the d is t r ic ts . The teacher would receive d ire c t b en e fit fo r tra in in g in 23% o f the d is t r ic ts . Ihe admin­ is tr a tiv e s t a f f would receive d ire c t b en e fit in 3% of the d is ­ t r i c t s , and the b en e fit to school o r community was mentioned in 13% of the plans. Subject areas to be taught were led by Mathematics and English (32% and 31%). They were usually planned in conjunction w ith each 113 other in the elementary school. Other subjects lis te d were a r t (13%, business o r p ra c tic a l a rts (2%), computer science (7%), foreign language (2%), drama (1%), music (2%), science (21%), and so cial studies (12%). Unspecified subjects (13%) included such communicated plans as "to develop s k ills in creativ e and fin e a rts " , or "academic pro ficien cy ." 8. Behavior changes received much a tte n tio n in the planned programs. In general study s k ills (28% o f the d is t r i c t s ) , the a b ility to do independent research was lis te d most. P articu ­ la r s k ills fo r a given subject were mentioned in 14% of the proposals. Improved a ttitu d e toward learning was planned by 19% of the schools. Improved behavior was needed in 35% of the d is tr ic ts in the study. An ad ditional 10% mentioned the need fo r g ifte d children to appreciate and develop standards o f excellence in th e ir work. In th is group e sp ecially , the changes th a t were planned were of a special nature ju s t fo r g ifte d children. E ither the s k ills were more advanced than normal, o r the behavior p attern s were caused by a face t o f the gifted n ess. Forty- two d is tr ic ts s p e c ific a lly noted the need fo r coping with the underachieving g ifte d ch ild . I f teachers were p a rt o f the planned train in g in the pro­ gram, the plans included development o f new teaching s k ills to cope with the unique c h a ra c te ris tic s of the g ifte d (20% of the d is tric ts ). Teaching efficien cy was to be upgraded in 12% o f the d is t r ic ts . Teacher a ttitu d e was to be improved in 6%. 114 Parent s k ills and a ttitu d e s were p a rt o f the plans o f 19% of the d is tr ic ts . Among adm inistrative s tra te g ie s to be developed,a f u ll 100% of those d is tr ic ts who wished to develop pedagogical s k ills were also planning to develop the creativ e thinking s k ills in children (22% o f the d is tr ic ts in the study). Plans for working on development of a philosophy toward giftedness were mentioned by 2% of the d is t r ic ts . Administrative systems other than pedagogical were planned by 7% o f the d is tric ts . Program evaluation was mentioned by 23% o f the d is tr ic ts in the study, but the plans did not show any consistency. There appeared to be no consensus about how to evaluate, what time to evaluate, or what methods to use. 9. Benefits to school and community included contributions to nation (1%), contributions to Michigan (0%), contributions to lo cal community (2%), increased c iv ic pride (3%), e s p rit de corps (2%), aiding m inorities and the under-privileged g ifte d (13%), and w ell-being o f other children (23%). The sp in -o ff e ffe c t to other children was thought to be possible through 1) removing the g ifte d behavior problems, 2) allowing g ifte d children to bring back resources to th e c la s s ­ room, and 3) allowing g ifte d children to tu to r others. Jo in t programs between d is t r ic ts o th er than Interm ediate D is tric ts were found to be operating in 25% of the d i s t r i c t s ' communications. They had joined together because the number o f g ifte d children in each school allowed lim ited resources to served more students. Also, the g ifte d enjoyed each other. 115 10 • Programs proposed a f te r July 1, 1977. show a few differences from those proposed before, although the differences in numbers of d is t r ic ts could account fo r some of the differences in p er­ centages. study) (N=104 before July 1977; N=29 a f te r July 1977 in the The l a t e r programs show the f u ll range of K-12 le v e ls, p a rtic ip a tio n as a c itiz e n , so c ia liz a tio n of the ch ild , academic effectiv en ess, adm inistrative p r a c tic a lity and s tra te g ie s , and excellence in work more often. The ch ild as primary agent appears le ss often. 11. Programs th a t received funding also show a few differences from the programs which did not receive funding, but the differences may be due in p a rt to the differences in numbers o f d is tr ic ts in each group (N=133 to ta l; N=18 funded programs th a t were av ailab le fo r research out of a to ta l of 30). The funded programs seem to show these differences: Creative thinking, general study s k i l l s , coping with problems of behavior, w ell-being o f other ch ild ren , improved a ttitu d e toward learning, enrichment and acceleratio n , academic effectiv en ess, so cial and self-development, and lower grade lev els appear to be stre sse d more than the to ta l percentages of the d is tr ic ts in the study. Separate classes and separate schools appear much less often. 12. One d i s t r i c t reported th a t i t had been supporting a program fo r g ifte d children since 1964. only in the la s t three years. Most d is t r ic ts reported programs A few had been involved since 1971. 116 13. The d istrib u tio n o f d is tr ic ts is considered to be a close image o f the d istrib u tio n o f the general population in the S tate . Sixty percent o f the communications were from the southeast q u arter o f the S tate ; 211 from the southwest q u arter of the S ta te , 9% from Upper Michigan, 3 from the northwest quarter of Lower Michigan, and 5% from the northeast q u arter o f Lower Michigan. 14. D istric ts designated Urban Fringe IV were represented most in the documents (401) ; followed by Rural V (22%) , Intermediate D is tric t VI (15%) , Towns I II (13%) , C ities II (12%) , and Metrop o lita 15. Core I (7.1) , in th a t order. Plans fo r the grade lev els to be served ranged from kinder­ garten to grade 12, but the two la rg e st groups were K-12 (24%), and K-6 (19% o f the d is tric ts ) » followed by 5-6 (14%) , middle school, K-middle school, and high school separately (2%) . Ungraded programs were planned in 18%of the d i s t r i c t s . 117 Discussion Giftedness needs nurturing. The message is c le a r, because i t is coming from four d irectio n s as reported by the d is tr ic ts in th is study. F irs t, the g ifte d children themselves are presenting problems in the classrooms because they are being asked to liv e in the p a tte rn o f the less ab le--th e m ajo rity --fo r which the ty p ic al classroom is designed and teachers are tra d itio n a lly train ed . Second, some com­ munities are voicing open concern fo r the q u ality of th e ir schools. Third, teachers and adm inistrators are recognizing th e ir inadequacies in dealing with exceptional ch ild ren , probably because of the massive e ffo rts to improve education fo r the disabled and slow. Fourth, the nation i t s e l f is beginning to fe e l the need fo r solutions th a t require a b e tte r q u ality of decision making and leadership than i t has been using in recent years. As th is research is being w ritten , the news rep o rts are of national and in tern atio n al leaders who are fa ilin g to a c t to resolve the growing c ris e s in energy and economy. The ”Toynbee C risis” may be upon the nation ( i.e . those in power f a il to understand the situ a tio n and, by making the wrong decisions, worsen the problems). The Urgency to Move Some curriculum th e o ris ts fe e l th a t giftedness is only noticed during times o f c rise s in a n atio n . C ertainly, the nation and the world are facing some mommental prob 1ems- - energy resources being one. The urgency comes from re a liz a tio n th a t the s h if t from ag ric u ltu re to industry took several generations, but the s h if t from the in d u s tria l era to the communications era i s taking place in one generation: 118 We liv e on an interconnected planet where actions in one com er o f the globe a ffe c t immediately, and o ften d ire c tly , the liv e s of people in other countries. We have created a worldwide communications web th a t deluges us w ith messages from a l l p arts o f the world and requires th a t we rethink our re la tio n sh ip , not only w ith other countries, but also w ith our neighbors. (Theobald 1976, p. 5) Creative Problem Solving The p o te n tia l fo r a whole new range o f problem solving techniques is available today. F ir s t, a large p a rt of the population has more free time than ever before and therefore can think about the fu tu re. Second, communications are av ailab le fo r immediate tra n sfe r of ideas. Third, more is known today than before about how people communicate. Some P ositive Reassurances Some pleasant discoveries were made in th is study. Most remark­ able was the number o f d is t r ic ts th a t had joined forces to expand the environment and the money av ailab le fo r the g ifte d . described were child-centered. The programs as The children were in te ra c tin g in a v a rie ty of ways with other g ifte d children across d i s t r i c t lin e s . Other p o sitiv e a c tiv itie s include involving children in the advisory committees, tra in in g p aren ts, emphasizing leadership and creativ e thinking, and developing independent study s k ills and s e lf esteem. Teachers and parents seem to be cooperating more than is usual. Administrators seem to be sincere in th e ir e ffo rts to make long-term commitments to th is sp ecial group o f children. The new communications era is evident in the growing number o f d is t r ic ts th a t are seeking ideas from each other and from th e S tate . The S tate has begun operating an information center fo r resources fo r g ifte d children. 119 The time appears rig h t fo r programs and/or in -class stra te g ie s for g ifte d children to emerge in the important mainstream o f education. Parent groups and other in te re ste d individuals were reported operating in 26% o f the d is t r ic ts in th is study. appear important to educators. Individual differences of students Also, educators are re-examining th e ir motives fo r the special programs they operate. One such school reported the following observations about th e ir g ifte d students: We see th e ir fru stra tio n s m anifesting themselves in several ways. Some o f these students become "turned o ff" to school. In la te r years th e ir academic achievement drops as the focus o f th e ir minds turns to other in te re s ts . At times they may come in to serious confron­ ta tio n with the school bureaucracy because they become fru stra te d in try in g to cope with what is to them a boring pasttim e. Other students are able to sublimate th e ir concerns and perform successfully in the school program finding th e ir release in a c tiv itie s outside the school se ttin g . Very ra re ly do we find these students actu ally dropping out of formal education because we work very hard to prevent i t , but we cannot prevent th e ir psycho­ lo g ical withdrawal from the normal school curriculum. Some students do not seem to be able to develop normal, frien d ly relatio n sh ip s with members of th e ir peer groups. C onflict with parents and other adults sometimes ensues. With other stu d en ts, a l l seems to be q u ite noimal and they function q u ite competently w ithin the parameters of th e ir world. No formal study of th is problem has been made in the School D is tr ic t, but a l l o f the individuals involved in developing th is proposal can c ite examples o f students who reacted as described above. I f schools have been preparing people to accept so ciety as i t is (Feinberg 1975), then th e hidden curriculum may be the reason why so many d is t r ic ts in the study reported th a t improvements in self-esteem and a t t i ­ tude toward learning are high p r io rity goals. Self-development, a major objective o f programs fo r the g ifte d , is perhaps a re fle c tio n o f schools who pronounce b e lie f in th e individual but produce uniform ity of a good 120 end product. Hie noticeable absence of programs fo r g ifted high school students may be an in d icatio n th a t by the time they have been in school nine y ears, the g ifte d have already learned to blend in , and do average work, o r they have dropped out. As one school put i t : Many talen ted children underachieve, performing f a r le s s than th e ir in te lle c tu a l p o te n tia l might suggest. We are increas­ ingly being strip p ed of the notion th at a b rig h t mind w ill make it s own way. On th e contrary, in te lle c tu a l and creativ e ta le n t cannot survive educational neglect and apathy. The Gifted Unnoticed - Some Reflections From whence came the neglect? F ir s t, there has been a period in the recent p ast when th e curriculum vogue was th e "production model." Although the theories o f Bobbitt and Tyler and others lik e them brought order out o f curriculum chaos, the emphasis in the schools sh ifte d to conformity ra th e r than d iv e rsity . Reconceptualists recognize th a t current cu rricu la r a c tiv ity re fle c ts almost completely a technical value system--a s e t o f statements in psychological and sociological language th a t is designed to produce a kind of q u a lity co n tro l. The end product is being measured in behavioral terms in d icatin g th a t a large mass of children has achieved minimum requirements (sim ilar to an auto in d u stry ’s f in a l stamp carrying an estim ate of gasoline mileage, although there w ill be individual differences depending upon the environ­ ment in which the ca r o r ch ild is required to o p e ra te ). A second facto r causing neglect o f the g ifte d has to do with chang­ ing l i f e sty le s w ithin communities. The m ajority o f people who are decision-makers in th e schools grew up in an era when youth were ra re ly out o f sig h t o f someone who knew them or th e ir p aren ts. Neighbors, mem­ bers o f the re lig io u s community o f th e family, frie n d s, and re la tiv e s 121 kept a surveillance on and in te re s t in the youth o f the whole neighbor­ hood. The neighborhood contained diverse employment opportunities and people. The youth, in turn, communicated th e ir needs to a v arie ty of people. Today, however, in some Michigan communities as many as 48% o f the mothers work. day. Home and the neighborhood closes down during the The neighborhood is lik e ly to contain whole groups o f people who work in the same industry. away. The church is lik e ly to be several miles Clubs and a c tiv itie s in which the children p a rtic ip a te w ill probably contain only children whose parents have lik e backgrounds, socio-economic s ta tu s , race, re lig io n , and values. The in te ra c tio n between a v arie ty o f people and ideas is no longer the ru le in many communities. The world of work is nearly closed to youth; the years of education have been extended. Many young people spend more hours in fro n t o f te le v isio n than in school. Televised fa re , aimed a t the average and the commercial buyer, o ffers l i t t l e fo r the g ifte d . o ffe r l i t t l e stim ulation fo r the g ifte d . Many comnunities Advances in technology, espe­ c ia lly in electro n ic conmunications, are d if f i c u lt fo r parents to under­ stand but esse n tia l fo r th e young person to know about. The home computer is a r e a lity . A th ird fa c to r causing the neglect of the g ifte d to be noticed has to do with advances in pedagogical techniques through emphasis on train in g the slow and handicapped. These advances have made educators aware o f th e ir shortcomings in dealing with the way the g ifte d mind operates. U ntil re c e n tly , teachers were ra re ly train e d to id e n tify th e exceptional c h ild 's problems and to ad ju st the learning a c tiv itie s accordingly. 122 A fourth fa c to r involving the g ifte d child is an a ttitu d e toward special ta le n ts . Many people s t i l l think th a t development of musical, a r t i s t i c , and physical ta le n ts is the re sp o n sib ility of the parents. Most children s t i l l go to schools where program cuts occur in the a r t i s ­ t i c subjects f i r s t . Budget and enrollment reductions cause serious problems when a ch ild has an exceptional ta le n t but train in g is discon­ tinued a t the very moment when th a t ta le n t requires careful nurturing. Given the reconceptualization of curriculum, the re fle c tio n on changes in lif e - s ty le s affectin g g ifte d c h ild re n ,' and the advances in pedagogical techniques, educators need only be informed th a t th e ir u l t i ­ mate and normative decisions can be made lo c a lly . Awareness of the theories of P inar, Habermas, and Watters should enable lo cal educators to make p r io r ity decisions which include g ifte d children r e a lis tic a lly in th e ir goals. Michigan has made g reat s trid e s in technical decision making. Unlike Pinar, th is researcher does n o t fe e l th a t the technical and u t i l ­ ita ria n concepts should be emphasized le ss than the normative. Like Habermas and W atters, th is researcher strongly urges a so lid base of normative and u ltim ate goals in co-existence w ith so lid technical and u t i l i t a r i a n goals. Once the so c ial decisions are made, the technical decisions can be implemented and evaluated. The Pattern-Makers In stru ctu rin g communications and decisions, responses to questions can be p atterned. In the case of grant proposals fo r programs in Michigan schools, the p a tte rn s have been p a r tia lly created 1) by authors, 2) by 123 the national government's d efin itio n s o f giftedness and also i t s ed icts about equal opportunity, 3) by n atio n al proposal forms, and 4) by the MDE's suggested format and the samples offered as models (see Appendix C for the suggested format used u n til re c e n tly ). The MDE asked fo r "broad" goals, and a sample was included (see Appendix C). The "broad" goals described by the MDE were not the same goals as the "ultim ate" or "normative" goals categorized in th is study, nor were they uniformly "technical" o r " u tilita r ia n " per se as they appeared in the retu rn communications to the S tate . School d is tr ic ts in the study did include ultim ate goals--and some school d is tr ic ts communicated a rtic u la te , com­ p le te sets of u ltim ate, normative, tech n ical, and u t i l i t a r i a n goals. Other d is t r ic ts did not f i l l in the section a t the top o f the proposal form where the S ta te ’s "Program goals" sectio n was located. The pattern-makers included two authors o f note, both n ationally known advocates of g ifte d programs. The samples o f objectives w ritten by Joseph Renzulli (or a t le a s t cred ited to him) were present in many o f the proposals. The suggested plan o u tlin es o f Roger Taylor (id e n ti­ fied as T aylor's by the d is tr ic ts ) appeared in several d i s t r i c t propo­ s a ls . D irections from the S tate began by asking fo r a l e t t e r from the superintendent indicating the degree o f support fo r the program. The second request was fo r the Board-adopted policy concerning g ifte d and ta len ted students in the d i s t r i c t , including "any background m aterial leading to th e Board's adoption of the statem ents" (see Appendix C). Most o f the goals defined in th is study as "ultim ate" and "normative" were found in th e background m aterial. 124 Appendix D contains a copy of a philosophy (the ultim ate and normative goals) o f a school d i s t r i c t in the study. I t begins with a statem ent th a t "The people of th is nation, s ta te , and community have tra d itio n a lly and h is to ric a lly declared th e ir b e lie f in the importance o f the individual and his fu lfillm e n t." I t includes a statement o f the "inherent d ig n ity and uniqueness of every stu d en t." The n atu ral p attern fo r th a t school d i s t r i c t would have been to emphasize the self-development o f the individual in i t s program fo r g ifted children. An investig atio n showed th is to be tru e. citiz en sh ip . But there was also an emphasis The d is t r i c t was perpetuating the strengths o f th is nation by educating i t s c itiz e n s in a way to promote the n a tio n ’s continuance. Other d is tr ic ts th a t used only technical and u til ita r ia n goals were found more lik e ly to make statements of unspecified subject area, un­ c lear id e n tific a tio n procedures, and unclear methods o f program evalua­ tio n . Conclusion of the Discussion The urgent need fo r nurturing giftedness was evident in the goal statements of the 133 Michigan d is t r ic ts in th is study. a c tiv itie s are going on, and more are being planned. Some p o sitiv e The S tate has been able to aid a small fra c tio n of th e d is tr ic ts who have id e n tifie d th e ir need fo r programs fo r th e ir g ifte d children. The expertise is not read ily av ailab le lo c a lly fo r planning and implementing the special kinds of services required to meet the needs o f th e g ifte d . D is tric t educators w ill need more tra in in g in goal formation in order fo r th e ir programs to be evaluated. 125 t The most knowledgeable decision makers carry the re sp o n sib ility fo r creating p attern s o f response from the d is t r ic ts th a t include both ultim ate and normative goals without slig h tin g the advances made in Michigan in technical and u t i l i t a r i a n goals. A ll three types of goals--normative, expeditious, and u tilita ria n --n e e d to be emphasized equally. The ultim ate goal needs to be discussed and communicated between the decision makers in the d is t r ic ts . Pattern-makers for g ifte d programs need to consider how to allow and encourage each d is ­ t r i c t to incorporate its own ultim ate and normative goals into th e ir programs so th a t each d i s t r i c t has a d ire c tio n and purpose beyond technical delivery and te stin g . Recommendat i ons C ertain p ractice s already occurring in the schools need to be encouraged. Certain areas of research are needed. Leadership from the State is needed to coordinate the lo cal and Interm ediate D is tr ic ts ' e f f o r ts . Present P ractices Need Encouragement More p ilo t programs supported by the S tate of Michigan are needed, p ro jects in Creative Thinking, Leadership, and Aid fo r the Underachieving Gifted appear to be important areas fo r consideration. A p i l o t program is needed th a t develops a system to handle a small number of highly g ifte d children in diverse kinds o f g iftedness. Very o ften , the impetus of a sin g le in d iv id u al's sp ecial needs and th e involvement of strong parent support is the force behind a b en e ficia l program fo r a much la ig e r c irc le o f students. 126 Id e n tific a tio n and Evaluation Needed Compared to the massive funding given to sp ecial educational programs for the children on the other end of the spectrum, the small amounts pro­ vided by the State of Michigan and the U.S. O ffice o f Education fo r g ifted programs seems minute. Before the present programs g et too fa r along in development, the S tate needs to provide much more leadership and funding to assure th a t the programs are successful and so lid . There is always a danger th at a new program w ill be seen only as an experiment promoted by one or two en th u siastic people. Urgently needed are two kinds o f information: th e b est methods of identifying g ifte d chldren, and the b est methods of evaluating programs. Both kinds of information are v ita l i f the treatm ent o f g ifte d children is to be v a lid and long-lasting. D is tric ts need information to answer the following questions: 1. Based on the goals fo r our program, how do we measure i t s success? 2. How many students do we have whose g if ts and ta le n ts are not being developed properly? 3. What kinds o f g if ts and ta le n ts are represented in th is d is tr ic t? 4. How do we measure the g ifte d students' present achievement lev els in th e ir sp ecial g if ts and ta len ts? 5. How do we evaluate th e ir growth w hile taking in to account the fa c t th a t they w ill make more than the normal amount o f growth i f properly trained? 6. Which te s ts can be given by the classroom teachers? 127 7. What te stin g procedures and presently recognized te s ts may be used fo r each kind o f giftedness? 8. What facto rs lim it the use o f c e rta in te s ts , i . e . co st, time, d iffic u ltin g o f in terp retatio n ? 9. How does the d i s t r i c t go about making a p ro file o f the whole d i s t r i c t without te stin g every child? Information about te s tin g is not widely disseminated. Educators in the f ie ld have shown in th is study th a t they re a lly do not have a good source o f information unless someone in th e ir d i s t r i c t is sp ecially train ed in working with g ifte d children. Program evaluation su ffers from the same lack of information. Educators in the f ie ld have shown in th is study th a t they lack in fo r­ mation in the whole area of program evaluation. i t s e l f , evaluation would seem e s se n tia l. A re la tiv e ly new fie ld Yet the present p ractices in Michigan schools are known to be the same as elsewhere: programs are implemented based upon the promises o f commercial companies and upon the successes in other d is t r ic ts . a ttitu d e s , not achievements. The successes are usually measured in A cen tral source o f information is urgently needed w ith regard to planning the program's evaluation before i t begins. Research Base Needed A cen tral source o f information is needed in the S ta te regarding the research th a t has already been done on g ifte d children. The d is tr ic ts in the study showed th a t they were relying prim arily on a few books and a few seminars, but th e ir sources o f information about research on g ifte d children were secondary and usually q u a lita tiv e . 128 Cost per Child Requires Creative 111inking The preoccupation with try in g to make lim ited funds s tre tc h to meet minimum standards leaves programs fo r g ifte d children in d ire s t r a i t s . Joining forces with other d is t r ic ts , as i t appears to be p ossible in more than a quarter o f the d is tr ic ts in the study, is but one method o f meeting the g ifte d c h ild ’s needs. The b est minds available need to cooperate in some tru e c re a tiv ity to broaden the p o s s ib ilitie s fo r aiding g ifte d children. End Goals Must be Pursued The n atu ral reactio n of le g isla to rs and other decision makers to answer the pressure groups and the loudest voices must not be the sole c r ite r ia fo r offering programs fo r the g ifte d . The backlash caused by the re a liz a tio n th a t massive amounts of funds have gone in to programs fo r the handicapped and slow must be but a small p a rt o f the reason why programs fo r g ifted children are o ffered . The tru e concerns lis te d in the goal statements of school d is tr ic ts and the S tate of Michigan should be the bases fo r permanent e ffo rts to help each ch ild grow to f u ll p o te n tia l. I t remains fo r each d i s t r i c t to study i t s own goals and to evaluate i f i t s hidden curriculum is in fa c t d iffe re n t from what i t says i t does. What is tru e fo r each lo c a l d i s t r i c t should also be tru e fo r the Interm ediate D istric ts and the S tate. Teacher and Administrator Education Needed Since most of th e present adm inistrators received the bulk o f th e ir education during th e height o f the "production model" era, tra in in g 129 seminars fo r th e p racticin g adm inistrators need to include methods fo r understanding and pursuing ultim ate and normative goals w ithout slig h tin g the technical and u t i l i t a r i a n goals already known about. Both educators and adm inistrators need carefu l study o f the pedagogy of g ifte d programs. D is tric ts in th is study indicated th a t pedagogical s k ills to deal with giftedness were lacking. Democratic Principles Need A pplication and Experimentation The statem ent th a t "school is a democratic d ictato rsh ip " is common with regard to self-government by students. From such experiments as Summerhill and from the problems b u ilt in to c e rta in student government organizations, adm inistrators are re lu c ta n t to allow inexperienced c h il­ dren to make decisions regarding th e ir own fu tu res. Some d is tr ic ts have been found th a t include children on th e ir advisory councils fo r g ifte d programs. The question is raised as to the effectiveness o f such stu ­ dent p a rtic ip a tio n . How does student p a rtic ip a tio n work? A study needs to be done in th is area. Parenting S k ills - How E ffective? Is there an e ffic ie n t and productive system fo r involving parents in the g ifte d programs? Research needs to be done in th is area. How much involvement of parents in school programs is effectiv e? Community Involvement Needed Is there a good program method fo r involving the g ifte d children in th e world outside the classroom? How does i t a ffe c t th e ir growth? 130 Psycho-Motor S k ills Need D efinition The c o n flic t in values raised by Principal Palcuzzi (See Chapter II) and also by the changes in the national d e fin itio n o f giftedness in 1978 (see Appendix E) need to be resolved. The psychomotor d e fin i­ tio n used in th is study came d ire c tly from a physical educator a t the u n iv ersity le v e l. The sim p lified d e fin itio n covered by a phrase lik e "sports train in g " o r "physical education" w ill not s u ffic e . Schools who purport to develop the whole ch ild would do w ell to consider th is area carefu lly . Creative Thinking and Leadership Needed Among g ifted ch ild ren , th ere is a nationwide program to develop creativ e thinking s k il ls . I t is com petitive, and th is researcher would highly recommend the program w ith two q u a lific a tio n s. C ertainly, the creative thinking processes are b e st developed in c r o s s - d is tr ic t kinds of exposures, and the excitement o f in te ra ctio n with other g ifte d c h il­ dren w ill be a tremendous plus fo r the program now being estab lish ed in Michigan. However, two dangers l i e in the nature o f the competition and in the nature o f creativ e thinking. Some kinds o f competition can be devastating to the lo s e r. esp ecially tru e among g ifte d children. This is Some kinds o f competition with s e lf , such as the competition found in long-distance cross country running, are found to be very b e n e fic ia l. This researcher has had considerable experience with com petitive and c r o s s - d is tr ic t in teractio n s and coopera­ tio n in th e areas o f debate, trac k and f ie ld , soccer, dram atics, and music, and has found th a t g ifte d children tend to place g reat demands 131 fo r high performance upon themselves. The b en efits o f the creative thinking p ro ject could be o ffs e t i f the emphasis is placed upon winlose competition ra th e r than competition with one's own previous performance. One fu rth er note o f warning: n atio n ally , some o f the answers in the creativ e thinking contests held so fa r have shocked the judges because the answers given were inhumane. This study would seem to indicate th a t unless atten tio n is paid to a l l areas of normative goals, self-development could tend to be aso cial. M oral/ethical values i f not taught do not e x is t. Final Statement A wide range o f reasons why school d is tr ic ts in Michigan develop educational programs esp ecially designed fo r g ifte d children has been lis te d in th is study. The goal statements were prim arily technical and u til ita r ia n , but some evidence was present th a t educators do speak to the question of ultim ate and normative goals. Gifted children do require sp ecial kinds of tra in in g in order to have an opportunity to develop to th e ir p o te n tia l. have acknowledged these requirements. Michigan educators The re sp o n sib ility fo r aiding Michigan educators to develop s tra te g ie s fo r meeting these requirements lie s in the hands o f the p attern makers and the u n iv ersity s p e c ia lis ts . Local d i s t r i c t adm inistrators and teachers have c a lle d fo r aid through th e ir requests fo r funding. encouragement. The present in te re s t in giftedness needs 132 In Michigan, the g re a te st c u rric u la r improvements w ill probably occur as a response to the requests reported in th is study. Areas of g reatest need seem to be in program evaluation, pupil id e n tific a tio n , information about the presently available research, information about how goals should be p rio ritiz e d , and methods o f economic delivery. Consideration could be made fo r parent and community involvement in new, creativ e ways. Active p a rtic ip a tio n by the g ifte d themselves in the decision making process needs encouragement. A careful balance of individual and so c ie ta l goals seems to be a t issu e. Now th a t the curriculum goals o f Michigan educators of the g ifted have been considered, perhaps a next step would be to see i f the same goals are present in other s ta te s , in the nation as a whole, and in other d isc ip lin es. APPENDICES APPENDIX A Demographic D efinitions 133 DEFINITIONS OF MICHIGAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS BY MAJOR COMMUNITY TYPE Six major community types are used to c la ssify the community th a t the school d is tr ic ts in Michigan serve. These conmunity types are defined below. 1. M etropolitan Core C ities ( I ) : Communities are c la s s ifie d as M etropolitan Core C ities i f they meet a t le a s t one o f the following c r ite r ia : (a) the community is the cen tral c ity of a Michigan Standard M etropolitan S ta tis tic a l Area; or (b) the community is an enclave w ithin the ce n tral c ity o f a Michigan Standard Metropolitan S ta tis tic a l Area; (c) the community was previously c la s s ifie d as a M etropolitan Core City. Note: The U.S. Census Bureau defines the c e n tral c ity o f a Standard M etropolitan S ta tis tic a l Area as those c itie s named in the t i t l e s o f the Standard M etropolitan S ta tis tic a l Area. U.S. Department of Commerce, S ta tis tic a l A bstract o f the United States (Washington: Bureau of Census, 1968), p. 2.) 2. C itie s ( I I ) : Communities are c la s s ifie d as C ities i f they have a population of 10,000 or more and have not been c la s s ifie d as a M etropolitan Core City o r Urban Fringe. 3. Towns ( I I I ) : Communities are c la s s ifie d as Towns i f they have a population of 2,500 to 9,999. Rural communities impacted by large m ilita ry in s ta lla tio n s nearby are also c la s s ifie d as Towns. 4. Urban Fringe (IV): Communities are c la s s ifie d as Urban Fringe, regardless o f th e ir s iz e , i f they meet a t le a s t one o f the following c r ite r ia : (a) the mailing address of the community is a M etropolitan Core City or a City unless i t is on an RFD Route; or (b) the community is w ithin ten miles o f the center o f a M etropolitan Core City, or City, (c) the community is w ithin fiv e miles o f the center o f a 5. Rural (V): Communities are c la s s ifie d as Rural i f they have a population o f le ss than 2,500, o r i f th e ir address is an RFD Route of a Town, 134 City, Urban Fringe, or M etropolitan Core, and they li e outside the perim eter defined above under Urban Fringe. Note: No communities in Wayne County are c la s s ifie d ru ra l. 6. Intermediate D is tric t - - a county or group of counties These d efin itio n s o f community types were established in the F all of 1971. They have been developed to make the c la s s ific a tio n as objective and consistent as possible without a lte rin g the basic p rin ­ cip les of c la s s ific a tio n . All c la ssific a tio n s were made using 1970 census data and the most recent address available fo r each d i s t r i c t . APPENDIX B FILE CARD EXAMPLE 12 3 4 9 6 7 8 tt 10 11 12 18 14 IS 16 17 16 19 20 21 22 28 24 29 26 27 28 28 SO 81 82 88 84 89 c7 4 2 1 7 4 2 1 7 4 2 1 7 1 4 4 2 . ,1 7 4 2 1 7 4 2 1 7 4 2 1 7 4 2 1 6 C h ^ h ’ ■ ff M ^ * S 8 9* § •* I- & 'i 8 M 8 ?O 8— » 3 S 3 s 102 1 _ j o « u \ 8 , - 8 - x <* «■ - 8 & 8 8 o 3 u B ► V»» ' e HHN p i * m INRTON. VERMONT 1965 T Z * L (WWW (I N SI tl I Z eg a » ii L n I ei RESEARCH DECK Z si » u L si i z si rL r l Si tt l T. V L t—?—f—r U 01 IS M i s n si is i z * z n (9 19 09 i z ►z N K 1! 91 APPENDIX C Patterns o f Communication 136 M ichigan Department o f E ducation PROCEDURES 70R IMPLEMENTATION Of SECTION 47 Of th e 1977-78 STATE AID ACT A. In form ation co n cern in g S e c tio n 47 1. S e c tio n 47 o f th e 1 9 7 7-78 S ta t e Aid A ct read s a s f o llo w s : " S ec. 4 7 . From th e amount a p p ro p ria ted In s e c t io n 1 1 , th e r e i s a llo c a t e d n o t to exceed $ 2 5 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 f o r 1977-78 to a p p lic a n t d i s t r i c t s and in te r m e d ia te d i s t r i c t s fo r th e purpose o f exp erim en tin g w it h , e v a lu a t in g , and r e p o r tin g upon programs o f s p e c ia l I n s tr u c t io n fo r p u p ils who a re a ca d em ic a lly ta le n te d o r g i f t e d in term s o f u n iq u e ly h ig h i n t e l l i g e n c e o r s p e c ia l a b i l i t y to such a d egree th a t th e p u p ils ' academ ic p o t e n t ia l m ight n o t b e r e a lis e d in a norm al s e t t i n g . A d i s t r i c t o r In term ed ia te d i s t r i c t r e c e iv in g funds under t h i s s e c t io n o r under th e s p e c ia l community r e so u r c e s pro­ gram in s e c t io n 1 o f Act No. 218 o f th e P u b lic A cts o f 1 97 6 , s h a l l co n tin u e to r e c e iv e funds under t h i s s e c t io n f o r 2 a d d it io n a l f i s c a l y e a r s o n ly ." 2. The $ 2 5 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 s p e c i f i e d in S e c tio n 47 s h a l l b e used both to i n i t i a t e new programs and to support th e e x i s t i n g programs o p e r a tin g in 1 977 -7 8 f o r th e f i r s t y e a r under s t a t e su p p o rt. Of t h is amount $ 1 3 3 ,0 0 0 .0 0 s h a l l be ap portion ed among no l e s s than s i x a p p lic a n t s c h o o l d i s t r i c t s th a t have n o t a s y e t re ce iv e d funds under t h i s s e c t i o n , w h ile $ 1 1 7 ,0 0 0 .0 0 s h a l l b e used to su pp ort th e e x i s t i n g programs i n th e l a t t e r ca teg o ry above. Each a p p lic a n t s c h o o l d i s t r i c t s h a l l p rep are a p ro p o sa l fo r the use o f th e re q u este d funds (p r o p o sa l form at d e sc r ib e d b e lo w ), and funds w i l l be d is t r ib u t e d to th e d i s t r i c t s on a c o m p etitiv e b a s is . 3. No more than $ 2 5 ,0 0 0 .0 0 s h a l l be a p p ortion ed to any one a p p lic a n t d is tr ic t. 4. "A p plican t d i s t r i c t s " s h a l l be in te r p r e te d to r e f e r to lo c a l sc h o o l d i s t r i c t s , in te r m e d ia te s c h o o l d i s t r i c t s , o r a con sortiu m o f sc h o o l d is tr ic ts . 5. P ro p o sa ls a re to be su b m itted by a s p e c i f i c d a te . The S ta te Board o f E ducation s h a l l make f i n a l p ro p o sa l a p p r o v a ls. A p p lic a tio n s s h a l l be made in accordance w ith p rocedu res e s t a b lis h e d by th e Department o f E ducation. 6. The programs funded w i l l , in s o f a r as th e q u a lity o f th e p ro p o sa ls a llo w , r e p r e s e n t a v a r ie t y o f e d u c a tio n a l approaches th a t may be f e a s i b l e in terms o f th e n eed s o f th e g i f t e d an d /o r a ca d em ica lly t a le n t e d . In a d d it io n , the d i s t r i c t s s e le c t e d fa r funding S h a ll, 137 I n s o fa r as p o s s ib le , r e p r e s e n t a v a r ie t y o f community ty p e s ; i . e . , m e tr o p o lita n co r e c i t y d i s t r i c t s , c i t i e s , towns, urban f r in g e a r e a s , r u r a l d i s t r i c t s , and in te r m e d ia te d i s t r i c t s . B. 7. Funds s h a l l b e used to supplem ent c u r r e n t programs o r d ev elo p new programs fo r th e t a r g e t p o p u la tio n r a th e r than su p p la n t them. A p p lic a n t d i s t r i c t s th a t a lr ea d y have s p e c i a l programs f o r g if t e d s tu d e n ts may u se r e q u este d funds to i n i t i a t e new program com ponents. 8. Funds may b e u sed fo r e i t h e r elem en ta ry o r secondary program s. 9. D i s t r i c t s r e c e iv in g r e q u este d funds s h a l l have a b oard -ad opted p o lic y sta te m e n t con cern in g g i f t e d s t u d e n ts . 10. D i s t r i c t s r e c e iv in g funds s h a l l a p p o in t an a d v iso ry com m ittee, com­ p r is e d o f b oth p r o f e s s io n a l ed u ca to rs and la y p e r s o n s , to a s s i s t in d e v e lo p in g and m o n ito rin g th e im plem en tation of- th e proposed program. P ro p o sa l Format 1. Cover l e t t e r — The cover l e t t e r from th e su p e r in te n d e n t o f th e d i s t r i c t sh ou ld in d ic a t e th e d eg ree o f the s u p e r in te n d e n t's su p p ort o f th e program. 2. Board Adopted P o lic y — The board adopted .p o lic y co n cern in g g i f t e d and t a le n te d stu d e n ts i n th e d i s t r i c t sh ou ld In c lu d e n o t o n ly th e sta te m e n t i t s e l f , b u t any background m a te r ia l le a d in g t o th e board’ s a d o p tio n o f th e sta te m e n t. 3. Program A b str a ct— T his sh ou ld b e no lo n g e r than one page and g iv e an o v e r a l l d e s c r ip tio n o f th e e n t ir e program. 4. G eneral In tr o d u c tio n — In t h i s s e c t io n a d e s c r ip t io n o f th e community and any r e le v a n t background d ata and in fo r m a tio n sh o u ld be in c lu d e d . 5. Program D e sc r ip tio n — The program d e s c r ip tio n sh o u ld g iv e , In n a r r a tiv e form , a d e t a ile d d e s c r ip tio n o f th e t o t a l program, in c lu d in g . a d e s c r ip tio n o f th e s t r u c t u r e o f th e program; i . e . , w here th e program i s to be p h y s ic a lly lo c a t e d , how th e s tu d e n ts a re to b e p la ce d in th e f a c i l i t y and f o r what p erio d s o f tim e , th e s t a f f p eo p le th a t w i l l b e in v o lv e d , th e g en er a l mode o f in s t r u c ­ t i o n , and any o th e r in fo r m a tio n r e le v a n t to th e program. -2- 138 6. Program R e p lic a tio n — T h is s e c t io n sh o u ld d e s c rib e th e f e a s i b i l i t y o f o th e r d i s t r i c t s a d o p tin g o r a d a p tin g th e p i l o t m odel. 7. Program C o n tin u a tio n — T h is s e c t i o n sh o u ld p r e s e n t in fo rm a tio n t h a t would s u g g e s t t h a t th e d i s t r i c t w i l l c o n tin u e th e program a t th e te rm in a tio n o f s t a t e fu n d s . Assuming th e c o n tin u a tio n o f th e p r e s e n t lan g u ag e, l o c a l d i s t r i c t s r e c e iv in g S e c tio n 47 funds w i l l r e c e iv e them f o r a t o t a l o f th r e e y e a r s . 8. A d v iso ry C ouncil— D isc u ss th e r o le and f u n c tio n o f th e A dvisory C ouncil and how i t h a s been in v o lv e d in th e developm ent o f th e p ro p o s a l o r w i l l be in v o lv e d i f th e program i s i n i t i a t e d . 9. D e f in itio n o f G ifte d n e ss o r T a le n t— The s t a t e d e f i n i t i o n o f g if te d n e s s , as w e ll as th e f e d e r a l d e f i n i t i o n , i s a b ro ad one w hich in c lu d e s th e fo llo w in g s i x are a s: a. b; c. d. f. G en eral i n t e l l e c t u a l a b i l i t y S p e c if ic academ ic a p ti tu d e C r e a tiv e o r p ro d u c tiv e th in k in g L e ad e rsh ip a b i l i t y V is u a l and p erfo rm in g a r t s Psychom otor a b i l i t y I n d e v e lo p in g a p r o p o s a l, th e program d e v e lo p e rs w i l l need to d e c id e w hich view o f g if te d n e s s th e y mean to u se a s a b a s is f o r th e program . I t would a ls o b e im p o rta n t to ta k e i n t o c o n s id e ra ­ t i o n th e e x te n t o f g if te d n e s s to be u se d ; i . e . , 2-3% o f a g iv en p o p u la tio n ? 5%? 10%? 10. Id e n tific a tio n — The i d e n t i f i c a t i o n p ro c e d u re s d e s c rib e d in th e p ro p o s a l sh o u ld be in a c c o rd a n c e w ith th e d e f i n i t i o n o f g if te d n e s s to be used as a b a s i s f o r th e program . 11. Needs A ssessm ent— T h is s e c t io n sh o u ld p r e s e n t any d a ta t h a t in d i c a t e s th e e d u c a tio n a l n eed s o f th e s tu d e n ts i d e n t i f i e d f o r th e program , e s p e c i a l l y i n term s o f th e s t a t e d program g o a ls and o b j e c t i v e s . 139 C. P ro p o sa l E v a lu a tio n P ro p o s a ls s h a l l be e v a lu a te d on th e b a s is o f c e r t a i n p r i o r i t y c r i t e r i a . These in c lu d e th e fo llo w in g : 1. P ro p o s a ls t h a t a r e soundly b ased on th e A c c o u n ta b ility Model d e fin e d by th e D epartm ent o f E d u c atio n . (C le a rly d e fin e d g o a ls and o b j e c t i v e s , a n eed s assessm en t conducted in term s o f th e o b j e c t i v e s , d e liv e r y system d e s c rib e d i n term s o f th e o b j e c t i v e s , and a p p r o p r ia te e v a lu a tio n te c h n iq u e s .) 2. P ro p o s a ls t h a t d e fin e c l e a r l y th e s tu d e n t p o p u la tio n to be in ­ c lu d ed i n th e program . High p r i o r i t y s h a l l a ls o b e p la c e d on i d e n t i f i c a t i o n p ro c e d u re s . Mbst s a t i s f a c t o r y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n p ro c e d u re s a r e u s u a lly th o s e th a t employ more th an one means of id e n tific a tio n . 3. P ro p o sa ls t h a t in c lu d e th e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f s tu d e n ts from ec o n o m ically d e p riv e d en v iro n m en ts. 4. P ro p o s a ls t h a t can s e rv e as a model f o r o th e r d i s t r i c t s a n d /o r may be r e p l i c a t e d e lse w h e re . 5. P ro p o s a ls t h a t i n d i c a te i n d e s ig n t h a t th e program m axim izes th e f e a s i b i l i t y o f b e in g c o n tin u e d i f s u c c e s s f u l. 6. P ro p o s a ls t h a t d e s c rib e an a p p r o p r ia te means o f p ro v id in g s p e c ia l i n s t r u c t i o n f o r s tu d e n ts who a r e a c a d e m ic a lly t a le n te d o r g if te d in term s o f u n iq u e ly h ig h i n t e l l i g e n c e o r s p e c i a l a b i l i t y . 140 STATE O F M IC H IG A N DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ITAT* N M D OD D U CATION lanalng, Michigan 44902 MARILYN JIA N RALLY D L OORTON R1STHMILLRA Wm rm Umu ■DMUND P. VAMMTTB November 1 0 , 1976 Bmmmt AMHRTTA MtUSR b a h a a a a . d u m o u c h f i .i t D A PAUL P. HENRY BARBARA*. ROPE ATS NORMAN O ITO 3T0CKMEYBR. H OOV. WILLIAM O. MtLLKRN Dear S u p erin ten d en t: M jhOtttcie A s you may know, th e 1976-77 S ta t e A id A ct a g a in in c lu d e s a s e c t io n (S e c tio n 47) t h a t r e l a t e s t o t h e n eed s o f th e g i f t e d and a ca d em ic a lly t a le n t e d s tu d e n ts —t h a t i s , t o t h e n eed s o f c h ild r e n and you th who have a cq u ired th e b a s ic s k i l l s and a r e in need o f s p e c ia l p ro g ra m in g t h a t g o e s beyond t h e s e b a s ic s k i l l s a r e a s . T h is y e a r 's a p p r o p r ia tio n amounts t o $ 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 , $ 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 o f w hich i s t o b e used t o i n i t i a t e new programs , w h ile th e rem aining $ 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 w i l l b e u sed t o c o n tin u e t o su p p ort s i x o f th e e x i s t i n g p i l o t program s. Ws a r e i n v i t i n g a l l l o c a l and in te r m e d ia te d i s t r i c t s t o s u b n it p r o p o sa ls; and in accordance w ith th e g u id e lin e s , a t l e a s t fo u r new p r o j e c t s w i l l b e approved f o r fu n d in g t h i s y e a r . He a r e e n c lo s in g a s e t o f th e G u id e lin e s t h a t you undoubtedly w i l l want t o exam ine c a r e f u lly i n d e v e lo p in g a p rop osed . A ls o e n c lo se d i s a s e t o f a p p lic a t io n farm s. The a p p lic a t io n form s a re t o be retu rn ed no l a t e r th an February 1 , 1977, t o : R obert L. T r e z is e G eneral E d ucation S e r v ic e s M ichigan Department o f E ducation Box 30008 L a n sin g , M ichigan 48909 I f you have any q u e s tio n s reg a rd in g t h e a p p lic a t io n o r t h e Guide­ l i n e s , I would s u g g e s t t h a t you w r it e o r c a l l Dr. T r e z is e . H is te le p h o n e number i s 5 1 7 /3 7 3 -8 7 9 3 . W. P o r te r <& } x MICHIGAN Tha G n at Laka Slat* 141 G E-4560 M ichigan Department of E ducation 10/70 FO F ID E USE ONLY GENERAL EDUCATION SERVICES DATE ACTION • o x 30008. L onsing, H ichican 48909 I8T6—77 APPLICATION FOR THE ACADEMICALLY TALENTED AND GIFTED PR06RAM (SECTION ATS Legal Name of A dm inistering D istric t D istric t Coda Number A ddress City T e le p h o n e /A rse (!oadoptad policy statam an t eoncarning g iftad s tu d en ts. C. Program D escription (A bstract) D. D escription of Community E. Background Data P. S ta ts how you think th is program c a n se rv e a s a modal far other d is tric ts a n d /o r may ba ra p llc a ta d eleaw h ara. G. B riefly d is c u s s how th e program d e sig n m a il m ixes tha fe a s ib ility of b eing continued If s u c c e ss fu l. H. B riefly d is c u s s tha rota and function o f th a adviaory com m ittee w hich h a s b aan (w ill bo) appointed. I. S ta ts your working d a fin itio n o f " G ifte d n e s s ." J . D escrib e th a approaches you w ill u se to Identify academ ically ta le n te d and g ifted stu d e n ts. K. A s s e s s th e im pact o f th e d is tr ic t's p re s e n t d elivery system on th a acad em ically ta le n te d and g iftad stu d e n ts. L. In term s of K, a a p la in tha d is tr ic t’s n e ed fa r th e proposed d e livery sy stem . CERTIFICATION: 1 c ertify th a t th a inform ation subm itted o n th is a p p lic atio n la tru e and co rre c t to th a b e s t of my know ledge. Neme o f Superintendent or _ A uthorised O ffic ia l (P le a s e Type) S ignature o f Superintendent or A uthorised O fficial C ontact P a rso n (T ype nanw ) T elephone A raa C o d a/L o cal No. 142 GE-4560 ( P a g . 5> Part 4* DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM AND EVALUATION The length of th is s e c tio n of th e a p p licatio n will depend upon the number of p roject g o a ls w hich a LEA has for Its program. E ach statem en t of a goal is to be accom panied by: (I) perform ance o b jective(s) (product a n d 'e r process*}: <2) • descrip tio n of th a t portion (component) of th e program w hich Is d e signed to m eet the perform ance o b je c tiv e :a n d (3) a descrip tio n of (a) the d a ta c o lle ctio n sch e d u le , (b) th e d a ta a n a ly sis plan, and (c) any com parison gro u p (s) which may be used. For eaeh p erfo rm an ce objective* you m ust com plete one page e n title d . "D ESCRIPTIO N OF PROGRAM AND EVALUATION.*' (See sam ple on p ag e 7.) A product perform ance o b jectiv e h as s is elem en ts. They are: 1. A d e sc rip tio n o f the la a rn e r(s ) who w ill perform, 2. A d e sc rip tio n o f the behavior th a t they w ill perform. 3. 4. 5. A d e sc rip tio n of the o b je c t of th a t behavior. A d e sc rip tio n of th e tim e during which th e behavior w ill b e performed. A d e sc rip tio n of the m easurem ent m ethodology th a t will be used to m easure th e behavior, and 6. A d e sc rip tio n of th e c rite rio n of s u c c e s s which would in d icate w hether or not the o b je c tiv e has been m et. A p ro c e ss perform ance o b jectiv e h as s is e le m en ts. They are: I. 7. A d e sc rip tio n o f the in structional staff, ad m in istrativ e s ta ff, or others, who w ill perform, A d e sc rip tio n o f th e behavior th a t they w ill perform, 3. A d e sc rip tio n o f th a o b je c t of th a t behavior, 4. A d e sc rip tio n o f the tim e during which th e behavior w ill be performed, 5. 6. A d e sc rip tio n o f the m easurem ent m ethodology th a t w ill be used to m easure the behavior, and A d e sc rip tio n o f the c rite rio n of s u c c e s s of im plem entation th a t w ill indicate w hether or not the planned program h as b e en implemented. * For pur p o s t , o f program e v alu atio n , a product parform anca o b jective ia a atatam ont concerning daalrad laarnar behavior. A proceaa parform anca o b jectiv e la a etatam ent concerning tnatructional and adm iniatrativa a ta ff behavior which i , intended to bring about th e d e sire d learn er behavior. 143 SAMPLE tE>4SM (P al* 1 ) DESCRIPTION O F 'T O G R A H AND EVALUATION (D uplicate th ia paga t e report a d d ..io n a l g o e le a n d porfonnanco o b ja c tlv a i I Program Coal To d ev elo p th e thouqht p r o c e s s e s o f s tu PRODUCT PERFORMANCE O EJEC TIV E NUMBER • 1 DELIVERY SYSTEM 1. Individualla) Hiah School mtudenta in th e " g ifted " program 1. Behavior A p p lic a tio n 1. O b ject o f U ehavier C r it ic a l th in k in g tec h n iq u es 4. Tim a By th e end o f U n it I 5. M easurement ABC C r it ic a l Thinkina Inventory* (A p p lica tio n item s) 4. C rite rio n far Sue c a se I n c r e a se o f 1 .0 on th e C r it ic a l Thinking S c a le • F ic titio u s T ent u ts EVALUATION DESIGN D ate C o llectio n Schedule The ABC C r it ic a l Thinking U n it I w i l l c o n s is t o f u sin g th e In v e n to r y * w ill be adm inis­ XYZ*creative and c r i t i c a l pro­ blem s o lv in g tec h n iq u e , th e ABC* te r e d in January 1977 and June 1977. approach t o co n cep t developm ent and in t e r p r e t a t io n o f d a ta , and th e AAA* s e r i e s on u se s o f c r i t i c a l th in k in g m eth o d o lo g ies in th e h igh sc h o o l cla ssro o m . Each u n it w i l l c o n s is t o f s i x s u b - u n it s , each o f which must be m astered b e fo r e su bseguent s u b -u n its can be a ttem p ted . A ctu al p ro b lem -so lv in q s i t u a ­ t io n s r e q u ir in g c r i t i c a l th in k ­ in g w i l l be em ployed, in c lu d in g f i e l d t r ip s t o th e B rain -T ru st L a b o r a to r ie s, Inc.*, where th e l a t e s t te c h n iq u e s w i l l be d isc u sse d and o b serv ed . D ate A nalyala Those stu d e n ts a c h ie v in g a t l e a s t 1 .0 o r h ig h e r on th e ABC*Xnventory w i l l be con­ sid e r e d t o have a ch iev ed th e o b j e c t iv e . S tu d en ts sc o r in g below 1 .0 w i l l be g iv e n supplem entary in s t r u c t io n in c r i t i c a l th in k in g s k i l l s and r e ­ e v a lu a ted and must a ch ie v e th e o b j e c t iv e p r io r to b eq in n in g U n it I I . If a c o m p a n io n (roup la uaod, p la a a a Identity p a rtic lp a n te . No com parison group planned 144 / ' '4 :** i / ' •' OM \ D E SC R IP T IO N O F PRO G R A M AND E V A L U A T IO N + . ' ., ( i i i p l i u t t I h l i p i | « to n p « f ( ad d ! ' 9m I |o » U u t f p « rr« riM ric i c b j i t t l v i i , , • v. " • ** • ihe stu d e n t w i l l d ev elo p t h e . a b i l i t y to I d e n t if y an d'understand th e r e la t io n s h ip b etw een th e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f a' t in e p e r io d in h is t o r y anil i t s a r t forms in v e s t I s a t in g g r e a t lit e r a t u r e , ‘o f . th e R en a issa n ce and Romantic p e r io d s . .. • '.ODUCT P E R F O R M A N C E O B JE C T IV E N U M BER a 3 D E L IV E R Y s y s t e m D a tt C o lle c tio n S c h e d u l* In O iv id v a lla ) Ten t o , f i f t e e n s tu d e n ts i d e n t i f i e d as g i f t e d in th e 9th grade in d iv id u a liz e d E n g lish program . . . . DehfcviOf w i l l d em on strate improved l i t e r a r y a n a l y s i s , r e se a r c h and w r it in g s k i l l s I mm' ci e f B *H **ior ’iy impi i'vinp re a d in g .• nhennfon, w r it in g and i i u r n r y a n a ly s is s k i l l s t •.* *-.y .'ii'jt , 1978 ■■ *. .*§. .i-nt •a? lu g in'onr.nl te a r h e r t e s t in str u m e n ts, -■-■I (.!)'■ I.irm la tiv o T e st o f ■i s i . f l . i l U (f|TBR) ro.nlin;: ■••npruin.usinn s c o r e s ■T i n t e d 1 . S tu d e n ts w i l l meet d a ily in t h e ir in d iv id u a liz e d E n g lis h c l a s s e s and work on th e s p e c ia lly , d e s ig n e d th em a tic u n it p a c k e ts under th e d o s e d ir e c t io n o f th e s u p e r v is in g te a c h e r . A th e m a tic u n it i s a s e r i e s o f r e a d in g , w r it in g and v a r io u s c r e a t iv e a c t i v i t i e s w hich r e v o lv e a rou n d .on e c e n t r a l them e. 2. S tu d e n ts w i l l work in d iv id ­ u a lly and in groups i n v e s t i g a t ­ in g a r e a s o f re se a rch in a r t , h is t o r y and l i t e r a t u r e . 3. S tu d e n ts w i l l com p lote form al and in form al w r itin g ’ a ssig n m en ts in d o in g t h e ir re se a r c h and d e v e lo p in g a f . , i a l p r o j e c t .- The te a c h e r c r e a te d t e s t w i l l be a d m in iste r e d i n Septem ber,- 1977 and th e p o st t e s t g iv e n in J u n e, 1978.. The CTBS w i l l b e g iv e n in Septem ber, 1 9 7 7 , and th e fo llo w -u p t e s t in S ep tem b er, 1978. The p r o j e c t e v a lu a t io n s w i l l be com pleted i n J u n e , 1978. D ata A n a l y i l i T*re and p o s t t e s t s c o r e s w i l '. be compared to d eter m in e i f th ey meet th e c r i t e r i o n fo r s u c c e s s . The p r o j e c t g ra d es w i l l be exam ined t o d eterm in e i f they m eet tin* c r i t e r i o n fo r s u c c e s s . 4 . S tu d e n ts w i l l tak e a mininun o f f i v e f i e l d t r i p s to c u ltu v .it r e n t e r s i n v e s t ig a t in g t h e ir r e se a r c h p r o j e c t t o p ic s . 5 . S tu d e n ts w i l l d ev elo p an­ a l y t i c a l s k i l l s in drawing c o n c lu s io n s through v a rio u s oral nnd w r it t e n a c t i v i t i e s . ' " »r.c r * * S 6. S tu d e n ts w i l l take1 p u rl in p c r iu d ti workshops d esig n ed to d ev elo p d is c u s s Ion s k i l l s and sh a re re se a rch w ith o th e r ■ undents. S tu d e n ts w i l l u se media and o r a l p reu en ration -i o f p r o j ic r s a s part •>I' w orkshops. •if I he s t u d e n t s w i l l .i • a b o v e t h e 9 3 l h p e r ­ m i t l i e un t h e OTBS, 9 0 7 o f / . r o o st w rit c m and p o e t s w ill he in v ite d to ih -llv c i p r e s e n ta t ­ ion s to L lie grou p . rlio .itu den*s w i l l Ri-urc .Jiovl- 9(i/. on tin- t n r o r n . i t acu.r t e s t c r e a t e d by th e EV A L U A T IO N D E S IG N 1 v. -it rm :L or, 901 o f Ihn s t u d e n t s »■' ,••■■ •' -r-id.. r.n fh.'* f ' l n l pn.-l'-o t ! II a to ir p w i a a n f-o u p to u w i , p lo * » o i d e n t i t y f .irtlc ip o n to . No cor.parisriii group tried. 145 what e xtent do the program objectives s ta te In a c le a r art? potentially measurably way whet the outcomes of the prcgrer: ere to be? •■To o -3___________ c / u ', .....' Unclearly s ta te d • • objectives A. 9 * i2 . •*'' rc fj Clearly s ta te d objectives * 10. ,.0o you consider the objectives stated In the proposal t o bo appropriate *•' • .•,te> the population to be served? ' f\) c f. " H £] roprlate Very appro,' ^‘ Inappropriate ...I£. To what e x te n t r r e the elements of tha delivery system (the program I t s e l f i appropriate t o the defined objectives? , ' < 20. v. 0 Not cTesrly rela te d 3_________6_____________ • 9 , To whet e x te n t ere the various elements of the d e l i v e r y sy'tem covered bythe objectives listed? (In other words, has the applicant Included tho key elements of tha oroarjm t o bo used If the objectives?) i_________ 2__________ s • •( o ._______ To I PHTe extent 21. 12 r jT Very clearly related , •• * 4 To wha-*- e x te n t have the proposal w ritars worked out a workable end fecsil c c ' l ' un+io,i drsi ;i'-v ^ • ,_________ 5________ _^2 works' i. i . - . a t t r which these i d 'r s are cl ear l y worked owl in The proposal, would you consider t h i s *~j he a worthv project If. fund? 0 ________4______ Il-.t v.jK'n, r f be ire ' ■•nJad W h y ? ___________________________ Over- - 1 i C 1—'■entc ___________ ” h___________ •'''t? *" _____ 'ar.l-. o l p v ie If n 'v .T .sa ry ) _________ In /J 3 ? ’ Vory ..erthy ____________ APPENDIX D Example o f D is tric t Philosophy 146 PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION FOR THE ___________ SCHOOL DISTRICT The p e o p le o f t h i s n a tio n , s t a t e , and community have t r a d i t i o n a l l y and h i s t o r i c a l l y d e c la re d t h e i r b e l i e f in th e im portance o f th e in d iv id u a l and h i s f u l f i l l m e n t . In d iv id u a l f u lf ill m e n t can occur only in a s o c ie ty which i s d esig n ed to c h e ris h th e in d iv id u a l, has th e s tr e n g th to p r o te c t him , and th e ric h n e s s and d i v e r s i t y to s tim u la te and develop him. As a f r e e man, th e American c i t i z e n l i v e s b o th f o r h im se lf and f o r h is s o c i­ e ty . The g o al o f th e American s o c ie ty i s th e d ig n ity and f u lf illm e n t o f th e in d iv id u a l. R ecognizing th e s e p r in c ip le s and t h a t a dem ocratic so­ c i e t y depends on an ed u cated p o p u lace, th e peo p le o f th e n a tio n , through t h e i r in d iv id u a l s t a t e s , have e s ta b lis h e d system s o f p u b lic e d u c a tio n . By s t a t e c o n s t i t u t i o n , th e system o f p u b lic e d u c a tio n i n M ichigan i s th e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f th e S ta te . The lo c a l sch o o l b o ard , as a d e le g a te d agency o f th e S ta te , has th e r e s p o n s i b il i t y o f p ro v id in g fo r th e educa­ t i o n a l needs o f th e s tu d e n ts in i t s d i s t r i c t . A fundam ental p urpose o f th e _______ sch o o l system s h a l l be to s u s ta in and n o u ris h o u r f r e e s o c ie ty through tra n s m is s io n o f ou r c u l t u r a l and p o l i t i c a l h e r i ta g e to c h ild r e n and y o u th . R ecognizing th a t th e f r e e s o c ie ty i s s t i l l th e e x c e p tio n a l s o c ie ty , th e sch o o l system s h a l l en­ deavor to develop in s tu d e n ts th e c r e a tiv e t a l e n t and th e i n t e l l e c t u a l v ig o r n e c e s sa ry to a dynamic s o c ie ty . The sch o o l system re c o g n iz e s as th e e s s e n t i a l elem en ts o f p o l i t i c a l and c u l t u r a l c o n tin u ity th e b e l i e f in and d e v o tio n to th e fo llo w in g co n c e p ts: 1. Thein h e r e n t d ig n ity and uniqueness o f every s tu d e n t. 2. The developm ent in each s tu d e n t o f a sen se o f duty and c iv ic r e s p o n s i b i l i t y th a t he s h a l l as a c i t i z e n c o n tr ib u te to th e p ro g re s s and enhancement o f h is community, s t a t e and n a tio n . 3#** The need to p ro v id e e d u c a tio n a l o p p o r tu n itie s fo r a l l s tu d e n ts to f u l f i l l t h e i r p o t e n t i a l i t i e s . Based on th e se c o n c e p ts , th e ______ sch o o l system re c o g n iz e s i t s resp o n ­ s i b i l i t y f o r th e e s ta b lis h m e n t and developm ent o f e d u c a tio n o p p o r tu n itie s f o r e d u c a tio n as a l i f e l o n g p ro c e s s . F u r th e r , th e sch o o l system w i l l c o o p e ra te w ith th e home, w ith th e ch u rch , a n d /o r o th e r o r g a n iz a tio n s i n h e lp in g th e s e i n s t i t u t i o n s to f u l f i l l t h e i r r e s p e c tiv e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s i n th e developm ent o f in d iv id u a ls f o r a re s p o n s ib le and ed u cated p o p u lace. The ______ sch o o l system s h a l l f u l f i l l i t s f u n c tio n by perform ance, dem­ o n s tr a t i n g to th e community and to each s tu d e n t i t s f a i t h in th e a b i l i t y o f s tu d e n ts to l e a r n . T his fundam ental p h ilo s o p h ic a l p o s itio n s h a l l p ro v id e th e g u id e lin e s f o r th e i n s t r u c t i o n a l , o p e r a tio n , and a d m in is tr a tiv e d e c is io n s and a c t i v i t i e s o f th e ______ School D i s t r i c t . ***Adopted 1973 APPENDIX E U.S. D efinition of Giftedness 1978 147 PUBLIC LAW 95-561—NOV. 1,1978 92 STAT. 2292 ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS AUTHORIZED Skc. 802. The Art is amended by adding after title XIII, as added by section 801, the following new til le: “TITLE IX—ADDITIONAL PIvOGJvAMS R ifled and Talented Children’s Education Act of 1978. 20 USC 3311. “ P a r t A — G ifte d a n d T a le n te d C h ild re n “ 6IIORT t i t l e ; PURPOSE “Sec. 901. la) This pnrt may be cited as the ‘Gifted and Talented Children’s Education Act of 1978’. “(b) The Congress hereby finds nnd declares that— “(1) the Nation’s greatest resource for solving critical national problems in areas of national concern is its gifted and talented children, “ (2) unless the special abilities of gifted and tnlcntcd children are developed during their elementary and secondary school years, their special potentials for assisting the Nation may be lost, nnd “ (3) gifted and talented children from economically disad­ vantaged families and areas often arc not afforded the oppor­ tunity to fulfill their special and valuable potentials, due to inadequate or inappropriate educational services. “(c) It is the purpose of this pnrt to provide financial assistance to State and local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, and other public and private agencies and organizations, to assist such agencies, institutions and organizations to plan, develop, operate, nnd improve programs designed to meet the special cducntionnl needs of gifted ana talented children. “ d e f in it io n 20 U5C 3312. “S ec. 902. For the purposes o f this part, the term ‘gifted and talented children’ means children and, whenever applicable, youth, 'who are identified at the preschool, elementary, or secondary level as ossessing demonstrated or potential abilities that give evidence of igh performance capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, specific academic, or leadership ability, or in the performing nnd visual arts, and who by reason thereof, require sericcs or activities not ordinarily provided by the school. J “ AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS ; APPORTIONMENT OF APPROPRIATIONS 20 USC 3313. “S ec. 903. (a) For the purpose o f carrying out this pnrt there arc authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1079, $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1980, $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1931, $40,000,000 for fiscal year 19S2, nnd $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1933. “(b)(1) From the amounts appropriated under subsection (a) for each fiscal year, the Commissioner shall reserve 25 per centum or $5,000,000, whichever is less, for carrying out the provisions of sec­ tion 905. relating to discretionary programs. “(2) The remainder of the sums appropriated under subsection (a) for each fiscal year shall be available to carry out the provisions of section 904, relating to State programs. APPENDIX F Comparisons of Pre and Post July 1977 Goals 148 Geographical Locations Total Pre-July 77 Post No.27 - SW% o f Lower Michigan 21% 20% 24% No. 28 - NW?* of Lower Michigan 5% 6% 4% No. 29 - SE% of Lower Michigan 60% 59% 62% No. 30 - NE% o f Lower Michigan 5% 4% 7% No. 31 - Upper Michigan 9% 11% 4% Grade Levels to be Served Total P re-July 77 Post No. 39 - Grades 3-6 14% 15% 17% No. 40 - K-6 19% 22% 21% No.41 - Middle School 7% 9% 4% No.42 - K-Middle School 7% 8% 7% No. 43 - Middle School-H.S. 7% 11% 0% No. 44 - High School 2% 4% 0% 24% 36% 35% 3% 4% 4% 18% 21% 21% No.45 - K-H.S. No. 46 - Single Grade(s) No.47 - Ungraded or Unspec. 149 Normative Goals Total Pre-July 77 Post No.53 - Vocational/Economic 23% 24% 21% No.54 - P o litic a l 18% 16% 28% No.55 - Social 32% 44% 0% No.56 - M oral/Ethical 18% 21% 21% No.57 - Self-Development 49% 55% 41% 8% 9% 4% 28% 32% 14% No.58 - Equal Educational Opportunity No.124 - G/T Children Neglected Bases fo r Decisions Total Pre-July 77 Post No. 59 - Academic E ffectiveness 18% 16% 28% No. 60 - Adm inistrative P ra c tic a lity 32% 31% 41% No. 61 - P o litic a l A cceptability 26% 33% 10% No. 62 - Economic F e a s ib ility 27% 30% 21% No. 63 - Research Base 25% 28% 21% No.64 - G/T Children Learn D ifferen tly 52% 49% 36% ISO Delivery Systems Pre-July 77 Post 77 42% 21% CM \0 Total 41% No.65 - Individualized In stru ctio n 371 No. 66 - Enrichment 55% No. 67 - A cceleration 20% 21% 21% No. 68 - Separate Classes 4% 6% 0% No.69 - Separate Schools 2% 4% 0% No.70 - Combinations o f 65 - 69 40% 43% 31% No. 71 - Unspecified 20% 14% 41% Talents to Develop Total No. 72 - A rtis tic Pre-July 77 Post 77 14% 19% 4% No. 73 - Musical 7% 8% 4% No. 74 - Physical 3% 2% 4% No. 75 - Communications 2% 2% 0% 38% 49% 14% 5% 7% 0% No. 78 - Creative/Productive Thinking 51% 58% 38% No. 79 - Leadership 22% 26% 14% No. 80 - Combinations of 72 - 79 28% 28% 35% 18% 22% 45% No. 76 - General Academic No.77 - Academic, one subject Unspecified 151 Primary Agent Total Pre-July 77 Post 77 No. 81 - Child a primary agent 82% 92% 79% No. 82 - Teacher a primary agent 23% <*<» 00 14% 3% 2% 7% 13% 14% 10% No. 83 - Administrator or Curr.Pers. No. 84 - Community or School Subjects to be Taught Total Pre-July 77 Post 77 13% 14% 10% No. 86 - Business or P ra ctic al 2% 1% 4% No. 87 - Computer Science 7% 8% 4% No. 88 - English/Speech 31% 43% 24% No. 89 - Mathematics 32% 14% 17% 0% 0% 0% No. 91 - Science 21% 23% 17% No. 92 - Social Studies 12% 11% 17% 2% 21 0% Music 2% 2% 0% Drama 1% 1% 0% 13% 17% 15% No. 85 - Art No. 90 - Physical Education No. 93 - Foreign Language Unspecified 152 Child S k ills and Behaviors Total Pre-July 77 Pbst 77 No.94 - General Study S k ills 28% 33% 17% No.95 - P a rtic u la r Study S k ills 14% 17% 7% No.96 - Improved A ttitude Toward Learning 19% 22% 14% No.97 - Improved Behavior 35% 40% 28% No.98 - Appreciation o f Excellence;other 10% 9% 14% Teacher and Parent Changes Total No.99 - Inproved A ttitude Pre-July 77 Post 77 6% 81 0% No.100- Inproved Pedagogical S k ills 20% 23% 14% No.101- Efficiency o f Teaching 12% 15% 4% No.119- Parent S k ills and A ttitudes 19% 27% 0% 153 Administration Changes Total No.104 - Develop Philosophy No.105 - Develop Pedagogical S trateg ies No.106 - Develop Adm. Systems No.108 - Develop Program Evaluation Pre-July 77 Post 77 2% 2% 0% 22% 26% 28% 71 9% 0% 23% 29% 7% School and Community Benefits Total Pre-July 77 Post ' 23% 29% 7% No.110 - E sp rit de Corps 2% 2% 0% N o.Ill - Other Benefit to School 1% 1% 1% No.112 - Increased Civic Pride 3% 4% 0% No.113 - Contributions to Conmunity 2% 2% 0% No.114 - Contributions to Country 1% 1% 0% No.115 - Contributions to Michigan 0% 0% 0% 13% 19% 0% No.118 - Small Coninunity/Limited Resources25% 52% 21% No.109 - Well Being o f Other Children No.116 - Other (identifying m inority g ifte d , socio-economically deprived g ifte d , fo r instance) SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 154 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Bernstein, R.J. (1976). The R estructuring o f Social and P o litic a l Theory. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, I n r. Bobbitt, Franklin (1918). The Curriculum. Boston: Houghton M ifflin. Boyd, Kenneth A. (1976). MA Discussion of G ifted Education Programs fo r Charles County (Maryland)." Mimeographed. Charles County, Maryland. Broudy, Harry S. (1972). The Real World of the Public Schools. York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Inc. Bruner, Jerome (1961). The Process of Education. Harvard U niversity Press. Council fo r Exceptional Children (1972). New York:CEC. New Cambridge, Mass: Selected Convention Papers. D etro it Free Press (1978). "P rincipal Palcuzzi Speaks." D etroit Free P ress, In c ., March 25. D etroit: Edmonds, Ronald R. (1978). "A lternative Patterns fo r the D istrib u tion o f Social S ervices," in Feinberg, W alter, ed. Equality and Social Policy. Chicago: U niversity o f I llin o is Press. Feinberg, Walter (1975). Reason a id Rhetoric: The In te lle c tu a l Founda­ tio n s o f 20th Century L iberal Educational Policy! New York: John Wiley § Sons, Inc. Feinberg, Walter (1978). "Equality and Social P olicy." and Social P olicy, edited by Walter Feinberg. v e rsity o f I llin o is P ress, In Equality Chicago: Uni­ Frankema, William R. (1966). "A Model fo r Analyzing a Philosophy of Education." High School Journal 2:14-17. Gamson, Zelda F. (1978). "Mass and E lite Education in China: Notes from a T rip, November 1978." Innovator 10:1-18. Gold, Marvin (1969). "D iffe re n tia l Education." in The Proceedings o f the Sessions on G ifted and Talented C hildren, ed ited by Cornelia Tongue* C harlotte, North Carolina: Special Education Conf. Goodlad, John, and R ichter, Maurice (1966). "The Development o f a Con­ ceptual System fo r Dealing w ith Problems of Curriculum and Construction." Washington, D.C.: US DHEW. 155 Habermas, Jurgen (1971). Toward a Rational Society: Student P ro test, Science, and P o litic s . Translated by Jeremy J . Shapiro. Bos to n : Beacon P ress. Herndon, James (1968). Schuster. The Way I t Spozed To Be. Heubner, Dwayne (1968). Mimeographed. New York: Simon 8 "The Tasks of the Curriculum T heorist." New York: Teachers College, Columbia U niversity. H irst, Paul H. (1974). Knowledge and the Curriculum: A Collection o f Philosophical Papers. Boston: Routledge 8 Kegan Paul. I llic h , Ivan (1970). Deschooling Society. New York: Harper 8 Row. Jackson, Ray (1976). "Appraising Individual Talents in Schools and Colleges." Vocational Aspects of Education 28:97-103. Kliebard, Herbert (1970). " P e rsiste n t Curriculum Issues in Perspective." In A Search fo r Valid Content fo r Curriculun Courses, edited by Edmund Short. Toledo, Ohio: The U niversity o f Toledo, 1970. Kurtz, Albert K. (1977). "A cceleration Versus Enrichment--The Tenth Rule o f Three Cubed." In Educational A cceleration of In te lle c tu a lly Talented Youths: Prolonged Discussion by a Varied Group o f P ro fessio n als., ed ited by Stanley, e t a l . Winter Park. Florida m u c ------------------ Longstreet, Wilma S. (1973). Beyond Jencks: The Myth o f Equal Schooling. Washington, D.C.: ASCD. Michigan S tate Board o f Education (1978). The Common Goals o f Michigan Education, 2nd e d ., rev. Lansing, Michigan: Michigan Department o f Education. Pinar, William F. (1978) "Notes on the Curriculum F ield 1978." Educational Research 7:5-12. Pinar, William F. (1975). Curriculum Theorizing: The Reconceptualists. Berkley, C alif: McCutchan Pub. Renzulli, Joseph S. (1968). "The R elationship o f Educational Theories and Program E valuation." New York City: AERA. R enzulli, Joseph S. (1976). "Enrichment Triad Model: A Guide fo r Develop­ ing Defensible Programs fo r the G ifted and T alented." G ifted Child Q uarterly 20:303-26, F a ll. Schwab, Joseph J . (1970). The P ra c tic a l: A Language fo r Curriculum. Wash­ ington, D.C.: National Education A ssociation. 156 Taylor, Calvin (1976). "G ifted Children in the Schools: Can you Really T ell a Gifted Child When You Meet One?" P arts 2 and 5. A tra n sc rip t o f National Public Radio's Options in Education, presented by DHEV7, Washington, D.C. Terman, Lewis M. (1975). "The Discovery and Encouragement of Exceptional T alent." in Psychology and Education of the G ifted and Talented, edited by Walter B. Barbe and Joseph S. Renzulli. New York: Irvington Publishers. Terman, L.M. (1926). Mental and Physical T ra its of a Thousand G ifted Children: Genetic Studies o f Genius (vol. l ) . Stanford, C a lif: Stanford U niversity Press. Theobald, Robert (1976). Beyond Despair: D irections for America's Third Century. Washington, D.C.: The New Republic Book Co., Inc. Torrance, E .P ., and A lio tti, N.C.(1969). "Sex Differences in Levels of Performance and te s t- r e te s t r e lia b ili ty on the Torrance Tests o f Creative Thinking A b ility ." In The Journal o f Creative Behavior 3:52-56. Trezise, Robert L. (1976). "The Gifted Child: Back in the Lim elight." In Phi Delta Kappan 58:241-3, November. Tyler, Ralph (1949). Basic P rinciples of Curriculum and In stru c tio n . Chicago: U niversity of Chicago P ress. U.S. Commissioner o f Education (1971). Washington, D.C.: US DHEW. Guidelines fo r G ifted Programs. U.S. Congress (1964). T itle IV o f C ivil Rights Act o f 1964. Washington, D.C.: US GFO. Ward, V irg il S. (1968). "T heoretical P rinciples in D iffe re n tia l Education." In Council fo r Exceptional Children Selected Convention Papers. ^ YorkV' CEC'. W atters, Margaret (1979). R atio n ality and Social Decision Making. Mimeo­ graphed. Melbourne, A u stralia: Rusden S tate College.