ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses gifted professional learning through the lens of the administrator: how the individual administrator learns through self-directed professional learning and how the principal then turns that knowledge into positive change for the school through action research. Administrators facing gifted program challenges may need to acquire new skills and then push their faculty through the process of change so that the needs of gifted learners are being appropriately met. Change is not easy; it is a process that is more akin to a marathon than a sprint. Administrators, especially those without a background in gifted education, may find university partnerships valuable resources for social justice and change in their schools. Self-directed professional learning can be a step embedded in the action research cycle, prior to beginning the action research cycle. In order to start a change process, the school leader needs to review multiple data sources to determine the problem focus and then the root of the problem.
