ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the importance of exposing gifted learners to a leadership curriculum, organized around core understandings of what leadership is, how it can be implemented, and tools for assessing effectiveness. The chapter describes the research base on leadership and how it can be applied to a set of curriculum experiences that may be provided to students in K-12 settings. These experiences feature student access to the biographies of great leaders in a variety of fields and a set of challenging activities that encourage engagement with the traits, skills, and habits of mind of these leaders. Students are encouraged to demonstrate their own leadership abilities by comparative analysis of events and situations and an evaluation of their own skill set on the journey to adult leadership. The chapter concludes with suggestions for educators in implementing a leadership curriculum that is organized across elementary, middle, and high school levels.
