ABSTRACT
This book presents readers with a range of perspectives on science education for the gifted. This opening chapter explores the issue of how we can best understand the concept of giftedness in relation to school science education. The chapter highlights some problems with the notion and terminology of giftedness, seeks to link the subfield of giftedness in science education with one of the key perspectives on teaching and learning science (constructivism) and presents a pragmatic notion of giftedness in science that is recommended to the science education community. From this perspective, referred to here as the educative perspective on giftedness, giftedness is a matter that should be a concern for all those with responsibilities for school science provision – whether as policy-makers, curriculum developers or classroom teachers. Giftedness, when understood in these terms, is not an elitist issue, but rather one of educational entitlement, inclusion and equity.
