ABSTRACT
It is a common, and easily understandable, belief that gifted students are a homogeneous population; however, thoughtful reflection will quickly lead to a very different perspective. While the screening and identification of gifted students does somewhat reduce the degree to which the resulting group varies, variability is not entirely erased. Like all students, identified gifted students still exist along continua of aptitudes and achievement (albeit within a smaller range) in areas of interest and passion, in preferred learning modes, and in the area of social and emotional adjustment. Individual differences among gifted learners and the means of responding appropriately to those differences have been addressed in chapters on definition, identification, service delivery options, and curriculum. However, there are additional important group characteristics, dimensions of beliefs and behavior, and potentially overlooked issues which need attention when planning educational programs for subgroups of gifted students.
