FORMS OF ENRICHMENT

Educational enrichment is the deliberate rounding out of the basic curriculum subjects with ideas and knowledge that enable a pupil to be aware of the wider context of a subject area ­ not a supplementary diet which depends on whether there is enough money for 'extra' material and tuition. Although it is recommended for all pupils, it is a particularly important aspect of education for those who have the potential to go well beyond the elements of any area of study. The point of enrichment for the highly able is to relate learning to other areas and play with ideas so as to come up with new ones. The teacher's task in enrichment is to provide the groundwork, and to guide and encourage pupils to explore further. The wider gains for the child lie in the advantages of improved understanding, encountering and forming new ideas, along with a possibly enhanced self-concept.

In a survey of 8,000 comparative studies of American education for the gifted, Walberg (1995) found that pupils in enriched education did better in school than equally able children without it. But he stressed that motivation was as important as aptitude. He identified the biblical "Matthew effect" ­ to them that hath, more will be given ­ so that the already advanced child is more likely to attract attention and receive extra help and so will improve further. In Israel, special programmes for the gifted (chosen by examinations for general learning ability) serving 12,000 children have been in action for more than 20 years, under the aegis of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. There, in a comparison of 771 children in separate gifted classes in regular schools with 1,008 equally able children who were given a weekly enrichment day, the children in the special classes reported that they were more challenged and did better academically, but also felt isolated from other children (Shahal, 1995). Of those in the enrichment classes, 81% reported problems in making up for the normal work they missed that day, and that this weekly absence caused peer-group problems: most preferred the gifted classes to the general enrichment, as did their parents.

A major problem with enrichment activities for the highly able is that they often lack clear goals. An excellent summary of useful aims for enrichment activities is provided by Hill (in Shore et al, 1991, p. 82). These include:

• increasing ability to analyse and solve problems;

• developing profound, worthwhile interests;

• stimulating originality, initiative and self-direction.

Tempest (1974) investigated the effects of one year's enriched teaching (devised by their class-teacher) on a single class of Southport (UK) children selected by high IQ and advanced learning. Their school achievement was compared at the end of the year with that of matched ability children in normal schools. Tempest concluded that most able children could flourish in their normal classrooms if they were taught in a challenging and interesting way. But the gains for the experimental class were not significant, and the follow-up several years later did not show them to have made outstanding progress beyond their ability peers who had not had that enriched education.

A Schoolwide Enrichment Model has been used for 20 years in Connecticut by its designer, Renzulli (1995) and his colleagues ­ purposely avoiding the label of gifted. This is an interactive model using provision geared to the children's own interests. Renzulli suggested that instead of referring to them as teachers of the gifted, specialists in schools should be called 'enrichment specialists', to assist all teachers of all subjects in the promotion of talent development. The procedure has been found to be particularly helpful to developing the aptitudes of bright children from deprived backgrounds ­ a form of identification through provision. The programme suggests modifications to the regular curriculum which would be supplemented by group counselling, mentorships, the use of other educational resources and agencies, and so on. These are included in the list of suggestions on enrichment below.

Findings from Purdue University, USA, suggest that taking selected pupils out of class for special teaching should not be a voluntary after-school extra, but should be integrated with the normal school curriculum. A pull-out Program for Academic Enrichment was investigated after 10 years (Moon et al, 1994). The 23 youngsters and their families who had been involved for at least three years were questioned in a case-study approach. Although the teachers had been trained for this work, they were given considerable leeway in what they did, which made outcome comparisons difficult. Results indicated that the gifted pass through different stages of talent development, and so any provision is at its most effective if it is in tune with their development. However, this enrichment programme had only moderate long-term effects; the extra progress the children had made mostly settled back to that of their peers who had not had these experiences.

Overall, the research shows that improved adult outcomes, in terms of eminence, resulting from specially enriched childhood education are uncertain. For example, by the ages of 40 to 50, not one of a sample of 210 New York children selected for the Hunter School for the Gifted by their high-IQ scores (mean IQ 157) had reached eminence, in spite of their broad, rich education (Subotnik et al, 1993). The researchers suggested:

Possible reasons why children with an enriched gifted education did not reach eminence

• An exceptionally high IQ is not enough to predict eminence.

• Educating for eminence is not itself a feasible goal.

• A generally enriched education does not appear to be sufficient to enable high-IQ children to reach world-class standards. Instead, their education should have high academic standards and provide opportunities for scholarship in the areas of the children's interests.

• The children did not aim for eminence, either because they had been labelled gifted and so did not need to prove their high ability level, or because they chose to avoid the distress of aiming for the top and settled for relatively happy successful lives.

Some ways of organising enrichment In-service courses and workshops: for teachers to assist enrichment in the normal classroom. Formal teaching can be loosened: with a willingness to alter routine. This could be by restructuring the school timetable to include periods of independent learning, possibly carried out less formally at the instigation of individual teachers. For example, if the geography teacher has noticed that her top few pupils seem to be eager to get on with the subject, she should be able to approach the head and other members of staff to suggest that they be allowed to work (either in the geography room or outside it) on specific projects. She would have to know that they knew the current work well, and that what she set them to do was not simply more of the same, but was rather of a compatible and enriching nature. Contact with professionals: children can benefit through interactions with e.g. artists, performers, agricultural and industrial scientists, scholars, craftspeople and others who are not primarily educators. This could be via assigning pupils to personal mentors (see Freeman, 1998). Extra enrichment material: can be shared by a group of schools, or housed in the school library so that a child can be given permission to go out of the classroom to use it. Enriched curricular materials need not be directly related to the lesson, and are useful for times when children finish assignments early, or simply to provide a challenge. Carefully chosen commercial toys and games can be as helpful as materials specifically designed to increase young children's skills of observation and planning. Enrichment support systems: these will obviously vary with the community. There may be local associations, or clubs and societies which run activities and would welcome school groups, such as those for talented children or young mathematicians. There may be museum and library courses, such as art or poetry sessions for children at weekends, even correspondence courses, and museums, exhibition centres, arts galleries etc. often have dedicated educational staff eager to assist. Competitions: run by private groups, such as newspaper poetry competitions, or international ones such as the Odyssey of the Mind, which are open to all children as competitors. Colleges or other places of higher-level education: may be persuaded to allow bright children to use their facilities, while businesses and places of production may also be willing to help. Modify the regular curriculum: the challenge level of the learning material should be differentiated through, e.g. curriculum compacting and grouping of pupils with similar interests. Increase in-depth learning and the promotion of higher-order skills: especially of real-world problems, increasing social consciousness. Out of school sessions: can be run by specialised teachers and outside experts and for different lengths of time, whether an hour or a day. This part-time system may avoid the side-effect of upsetting the others in the class or affecting the selected ones emotionally, while giving the very able pupils an opportunity to work at their own pace with others of the same ability and interests. The weaknesses of such pull-out activities, though, include fragmentation of learning, disruption of classes, and missed lessons.

High-level creativity

From the sample of evidence presented above, it can be seen that although a pupil may achieve extremely well in school examinations or score very highly on an IQ test, he or she may not take that learning further in terms of creative thinking and discovery, possibly because of the pressure to score highly in examinations. Imagination and creativity are difficult to measure. Imagination is to a large extent the precursor of creativity: the outcome of imagination could be, for example, new conclusions from mentally rearranging what is already known, which often precedes creative scientific advancement (Simonton, 1988). Overviewing research on creativity testing, Cropley (1995) found that predicting future creativity from tests is little better than predicting it from IQ, but it is greatly improved by focusing on particular areas such as music or creative writing. He suggests that such tests are still useful, though, as indicators of potential because it is not normally until adulthood that creative products can be widely acclaimed.

But can high-achieving pupils be taught to be creative, would it benefit their lives, and is enrichment the means to do this? As creative thinking is part of everyday thinking, there is no apparent reason why this approach to learning cannot be taught. In fact, Torrance (1987), who has worked for many years in this area, examined 142 American creativity courses and concluded that there was ample evidence that it can be taught through different kinds of enriched teaching. The best, he found, involved encouraging creative thinking skills and developing the child's motivation to experiment with ideas.

Urban (1995), a German researcher in the area of gifted creativity, concludes that it is difficult to separate intellect and creativity in very young children, but that as social and educational pressures impose order on their "chaotic" thinking processes, the distinction becomes easier. He has constructed a (Compotential) model which does not measure creativity as such, but rather 'image production' and the psychological aspects of creativity. On this basis, he suggests that it is important to help pupils see the value of creative solutions in real life situations, and that the development of a creative approach to all learning and action should be seen as a long-term process incorporating personal involvement. Indeed, creativity in all its forms is described by the American Weisberg (1992) as expertise combined with a high level of motivation.

In line with this, it has been seen that culture and opportunity can make a big difference to creativity. A three-year comparative study on technical creativity with highly able German and Chinese young adolescents (Heller & Hany, 1995) found that initially the Chinese scored more highly than the Germans for scientific knowledge and non-verbal tests, whereas the Germans were better on the practical tasks. For both nationalities girls were less competent at solving scientific and technical problems, particularly the German girls who had tried to compensate for their less good spatial reasoning by using other types of less efficient thinking. The general conclusions were that for both countries, age, intelligence and sex were the main determinants of technical creativity, but in the end it was the individual's belief that they were able to succeed which provided the vital foundation for success.

Most researchers on this subject, such as those mentioned above, are in agreement that the essentials for high-level creativity are:

 

The essentials for creativity Motivation Knowledge Opportunity Creative teaching style Encouragement to be creative Acceptance of one's own personality The courage to be different

Several of these may be in short supply for able high achievers in pressured schooling (Freeman, 1991; Sternberg & Lubart,1995). But precise methods of teaching for creativity, at whatever level and whether general or specific, have yet to be defined precisely and reliably. Some psychologists, such as Eysenck (1995), find that a high IQ score is at the root of all creative genius, but most others believe that creative success cannot be separated from social forces, such as encouragement and motivation. Kaufman (1992), in her follow-up of American Presidential Scholars, found that the only creative way in which those individuals used their vast memory banks was as props for their self-esteem!

The Assisted Places Scheme

The Assisted Places Scheme in Britain was set up in 1981 to pay private school fees for able children, but no more scholars were taken from 1997. Over 75,000 pupils have received such assistance from public funds at a cost of over £150 million per annum, serving 1% of the school population, and those who have started will continue to be funded until they leave school, for up to nine years. Financial assistance is scaled, depending on parental income, but some private schools are still being supported in this way by about 50% of their pupils. Research on pupil uptake (Edwards et al, 1989) found that fewer than 10% of selected children had fathers who were manual workers, compared with 50% in service-class occupations, such as teaching. Although children from single-parent families made up the largest category, other disadvantaged groups, notably the unemployed, and black and Asian families, had poor representation. They also found that two-thirds of those taking up places for the first time at 16 were already fee-paying pupils in the same school.

Pupils who had won Assisted Places were matched on verbal reasoning scores only, and comparisons made between the examination results of those who had taken up the places and those who had not (West & West, 1997). The takers were found to have done significantly better at A level and in more subjects than those who had rejected the offer and taken their A levels in the state sector. Questionnaires were sent to 62 participating schools (response rate 87%), but the comparison groups were small and unbalanced ­ 334 takers and 59 non-takers. There were 34% girls and 66% boys (the same gender proportions as in most studies of able children selected by teachers).

The researchers, moreover, had no direct communication with the pupils or their families, so there was no way of knowing why any child had declined the free private school place, nor did they know which schools had refused to answer or why. They may, for example, have had worse examination results, or taken pupils from different backgrounds. But more importantly, these results are only indicative because, as the researchers explained: "the possibility cannot be ruled out that the advantage for AP pupils arises from factors other than their education in the independent sector (e.g. family background and parental involvement)" (p.287). Indeed, research by Saunders (1996) at Sussex University based on the life progress of 17,000 adults found that private schooling had little or no effect on their eventual job prospects, and concluded that whatever your social class: "in the end, what matters most is whether you are bright and whether you work hard" (p. 72).

A 1997 Mori Poll commissioned by ISIS (Independent Schools Information Service) looked at the "social group, household income and ethnic background of the children" who obtained an Assisted Place. A random selection of 44 schools were asked to fill in a form providing information on their Assisted Places pupils. Forms were received back from 34 schools, a response rate of 77%, yielding information on 3,897 pupils, just over 10% of the total in assisted places. They concluded "While those from the higher socio-economic groups (ABC1) are just as likely to benefit from participating in the Assisted Places Scheme as they were in 1991 [a previous Mori poll], they are more likely to receive financial support (+8 points)". This appears to mean that although the proportion of higher socio-economic groups has not changed, their income has dropped so drastically that they are awarded a much higher level of funding from the scheme. Additionally, although 71% of group A and B parents were aware of the scheme, only 29% of D and E parents knew of it.

There are, however, questions which one might ask about the Mori research, such as which parent's income was used as the criterion? If parents were divorced or the mother was working part-time, using her income could diminish the apparent finance available to the child. If, as Edwards claimed seven years ago, two-thirds of those taking up places for the first time at 16 were already fee-paying pupils in the school for which they won the Assisted Place, these figures are unlikely to be radically changed. How was the pupil paid for and by whom, before they gained an Assisted Place? Although the report claimed that the proportion of ethnic minority pupils had risen to 11%, these were mostly from Asian families, and 15% of the pupils could not be identified. The main point of concern is that as it was usually the maintained schools that had brought these scholars to the point of success in obtaining the Assisted Place, why then were they being removed from the maintained sector?

Vacation courses and out-of-school activities for the very able

By far most of the special provision for gifted children takes place in North America, usually as holiday courses, whether daily or live-in. The numbers of these have grown since they started in the late 1970s to cater for many thousands of bright 12­16 year-olds. The three largest organisations offering these courses are the Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University (a branch is at City University, Dublin), the Talent Identification Programme at Duke University and the Northwestern Center for Talent Development. They each have extensive data comparing the achievements of students on their courses, who were selected by scores on Scholastic Aptitude Tests (American SATs), with those who failed to gain a place. The researches virtually all show the courses to have increased the students' knowledge and enthusiasm for the areas studied.

The German SchulerAkademien (pupil academies run by Bildung und Begabung, a charitable foundation for the gifted) are nationwide high-powered courses and competitions. Since 1988 more than 15,000 highly academic and highly motivated 16-19 year-olds have attended for about 17 days with about 90 participants on each course (Wagner, 1995). An evaluation study of one of these courses revealed the participants' academic profiles: their IQs were 15 points above that of the average gymnasium (grammar school) student, and they enjoyed music most and physical education least (Wagner et al, 1995). At the end of the course, boys and girls equally were better able to control their own learning at both general and specific levels, and they improved on their already strong co-operative learning attitudes.

By chance, it was possible to make a valid comparison with non-attenders at the SchulerAkademien when one of the vacation courses was so oversubscribed that the final criterion of acceptance by identically able teenagers was the luck of the draw. Those who took the intensive learning course were found to have benefited from it academically. However, the organiser, Dr. Harald Wagner, told the writer that by far the greatest benefits to the youngsters were social. This is in accord with the findings of a wide American survey, that although the educational value of provision on courses was very variable, it did consistently provide opportunities for the gifted to interact socially with others like themselves (Cox et al, 1985).

In Israel, the Weizmann Institute runs residential summer programmes using mentors, as well as a 'Maths by Mail' arrangement which teaches up to 2,000 primary schoolchildren annually (Maoz, 1993). Research has shown that the students who enrol are keen to learn, and enjoy science instruction which is different from school and 'real'. The leisure time activities of such students are more varied than those of non-participating peers of equal ability.

Highly able children who take part in special summer and weekend schools often describe their pleasure at meeting and relaxing with others of their own kind. In Britain, several local authorities and a few private organisations (e.g. National Association for Gifted Children, Gift, Children of High Intelligence) run out-of-school activities, but no data has ever been collected on the outcomes. In his overview of international provision for the gifted, Heller (1995) found that valid comparisons between different programmes of special provision on matched-ability highly able children are extremely rare, if they exist at all. However, it is not unreasonable to guess that bright motivated youngsters, under intensive tutoring in an exciting atmosphere of learning, would indeed become more proficient learners.

TEACHER EXPERTISE

Faced with pupils who read voraciously, reason and absorb information rapidly, ask questions, invent problems, provide creative solutions, and cope with concepts and abstract ideas from a young age, some teachers may feel inadequate. But a teacher does not have to be super-knowledgeable to work with highly able children, rather he or she needs to be interested and keen to learn along with the pupils. All teachers can offer support and expertise to their highly able pupils. In America, however, teachers of the gifted must be certified as such in 21 of the 50 states, and a survey found that the trained teachers were more effective (Hansen & Feldhusen, 1994). It could be expected that teachers with a positive attitude to the highly able and the techniques to help them would be more effective, and with training would be even more so.

Differences have been found in Britain between the attitudes and teaching of primary and secondary school teachers (Kerry & Kerry, 1997). Teachers attending training sessions on the education of the very able were questioned about their strategies for differentiated teaching with a checklist they compiled themselves. Although the research was small and focused on already interested teachers (58 responses), it does provide an indication of "thoughtful practice". All the teachers favoured asking open questions, demanding higher targets, encouraging library skills, and conducting one-to-one discussions with pupils. But in addition, primary schools used more demanding resources and more open-ended tasks. Differentiation by tasks was underused in secondary schools.

The academic learning of the very able can be enhanced by a well-planned and executed education system suitable for their needs. Wider support, especially family support, is essential for pupils to reach the highest levels of thought and creativity. Recommendations from the research are presented overleaf.

Teaching the very able in the normal classroom Improving task demand New knowledge should not be presented in isolation as facts to be remembered, but given within the context of a conceptual framework. The teacher should take a problem-posing as well as a problem-solving approach to stimulate thinking about the study area. Teach for clear 'scientific' thinking skills to greater depth than normal. Emphasise abstract as well as basic concepts. Materials should be high in quality, and reading levels should demand complex responses and avoid repetition. Using language The intellectual demands of a lesson can be recognised by the level, speed, and quality of the verbal interactions that go on in it. The talented should also use the appropriate technical language, rather than a simplified version. Encourage play with words, especially proverbs and idioms. Encourage questioning as a part of everyday learning, to stimulate thinking and creative problem-solving Communication E.g. pupils explaining out loud, comparing old and new learning and ideas with ability-peers. Teach research skills so that pupils can expand on material for themselves. Encouragement to excellence Own-time rewards. When children get top marks consistently they can be rewarded with time for their own projects, in accord with a contract which the teacher draws up. For example, the time must be spent on a project which has been agreed, the child may not interrupt the rest of the class, this time may be spent in the library, all own-time work must be looked at by the teacher. Goals should be set to a high, perhaps professional standard. Mentors should be appointed where possible. Make sure that creative abilities are nurtured. See that projects are completed before the next rush of enthusiasm for something new, and that work is checked.

EDUCATIONAL POLICY FOR THE HIGHLY ABLE

From the administrative perspective, social and political attitudes appear to be far more important than the availability of resources in recognising and providing for the special needs of very able pupils. In some rich countries such as Sweden and Denmark it is not acceptable to provide differently for pupils who show evidence of higher-level potential than others (though this is now being reconsidered) (Persson, 1998). In China and the former USSR, high-level achievement has traditionally been viewed as valuable to society rather than the individual. Every year, Americans spend many millions of dollars from government and other sources on research and programmes in gifted education, which is why the vast majority of research findings and theories come from there. Although there is now a steady flow of research and some theory coming from other countries, particularly Germany and Israel, very little research is generated in this area in Britain.

The new National Curriculum

When the debate on the National Curriculum started in the 1970s, the concern was mainly with the need to raise basic standards, and consequently, before the 1994 review, very able children were not specifically mentioned. Now, however, there is the 'Access' statement (below) which appears in the introduction to each of the Subject Orders in the Revised National Curriculum (issued in January 1995 and put into effect August 1995). It is somewhat confusing, though, because in the same statement the suggestion is made that an able pupil can work at key stages which may be different from the rest of the class, and yet he or she should remain within the context of the pupil's age. Teachers are to make the decisions themselves on how to meet their able pupils' needs, drawing on evidence from research to make their judgements.

The access statement

"For the small number of pupils who may need the provision, material may be selected from earlier or later key stages where this is necessary to enable individual pupils to progress and demonstrate achievement. Such material should be presented in contexts suitable to the pupil's age."

In addition, each Attainment Target within each National Curriculum subject has a level description for 'exceptional performance' which "is available for very able pupils and to help teachers differentiate exceptional performance at Key Stage 3". The new slimmer curriculum, in all but the basics of English, maths and science, should also enable schools to better meet the needs of their more able pupils as there is now more space in the timetable to provide necessary learning extensions.

The National Curriculum is supposed to bring advantages for the more able in that it has
"... concentrated attention on the need for differentiation of work for pupils of different abilities, and its procedures for assessment, recording and reporting on pupils' knowledge, skills and understanding have helped to focus more sharply on the achievements and progress of the more able" (DFE, 1993, p.9). However, the National Curriculum is premised on children's regular developmental sequence, which is unlikely to take into account the research findings that many very able children have an unusual style of development.

Recognising the need for differentiation is indeed excellent, but as the research outlined above has shown, using measured achievement as the basic means of recognition would miss much undeveloped potential. Bearing in mind the research described above on teacher identification of the very able: "The Secretary of State proposes to place sole [my emphasis] reliance on teacher assessment for the award of levels to exceptionally able pupils; to discontinue the extension tests accordingly; and to ask SCAA (School Curriculum and Assessment Authority) to investigate how exceptional performance might be recognised" (DfEE, 1996, p.4). For the time being, National Curriculum assessment is to be summate ­ a brief summary of how a child stands in relation to others ­ and formative/diagnostic ­ with future progress in mind. However, the assessment procedures of the National Curriculum are still under review.

In May 1995, the Office for Standards in Education published reviews of primary (first year) and secondary (second year) state school inspection findings for teachers in 12 specific subjects; only a few of them refer to high ability. There is no reference to the very able in history, music, art or physical education, for example. One OFSTED report which does, though, is on mathematics (Askew & Wiliam, 1995). The authors describe how "It is rare for attention to be given to the needs of able pupils other than by placing them in 'top' sets" (p.18). Almost all reference to the highly able is in terms of advanced school achievement, and most notably the possibility of accelerating pupils more quickly through courses, such as by sitting examinations early, and even devising personalised timetables to speed up knowledge acquisition. However, the above evidence shows that there are many other effective ways of helping the very able.

 

Possible benefits for able children from the National Curriculum Affirmation for teachers that their assessments are of equal value to test results, and will be given equal prominence in reports, which enables their sensitivity to be used. Time constraints make it difficult, though, for teachers to make careful diagnoses when test scripts are returned to them in the last three weeks of the summer term. Emphasis on cross-curricular work, which supports the theory of transfer of learning. The new National Curriculum indicates that more research and project-based activity is welcome, although emphasis is heavily knowledge-based.

A policy in every school

Some schools and a handful of LEAs do have a policy for the education of their brightest pupils, even though no specific suggestions or obligations are offered within the National Curriculum. The partnership of parents, teachers, and the children themselves is essential in changing administrative policy and putting such a policy into action (see Freeman, 1995b and Eyre, 1997 for details on a school policy for the highly able). The increasing number of British schools expressing concern for the very able is probably due to:

1. Government guidance, DfEE conferences and free publications

2. OFSTED inspections

3. The NACE/DFE project, 'Supporting the Education of Able Pupils in Maintained Schools'. This was carried out for three years starting in 1993 with the teacher organisation the National Association for Able Children in Education (NACE) in England and Wales. It involved 20,000 teachers in 37 LEAs, and resulted in a measured increase in LEAs with specific policies.

4. Others who have also been active in training teachers of the highly able, such as the (parent based) National Association for Gifted Children, the commercial venture, Gift, and individuals. However, there has never been any evaluation or follow-up of their work.

A school's policy for its brightest pupils is an indication of how it attends to the different educational requirements of all its children. The following two major points summarise practical aspects, arising from the research, of a policy which a school can incorporate for the encouragement of high-level performance in both pupils and teachers:

The commitment of the headteacher. The leadership attitude he or she gives in the education of the school's brightest pupils should provide an immediate incentive for teachers. But to offer more than fine intentions, the headteacher has to make practical support available in the distribution of resources, as well as with e.g. flexibility of timetables, response to noise levels in the classroom, quality and quantity of work that is completed and attitudes to parents. The influence of the head provides encouragement and support for curricular and instructional innovations.

A whole-school approach. All the school staff should be involved in presenting a policy, since if potentially able children spend time with disinterested teachers rather than with those motivated to help them they may not be encouraged to move ahead. Teachers should be aware of their own attitudes to the highly able, and be helped to understand why they may feel that such children can look after themselves. They may need reminding that a school should cater fairly for the needs of all its pupils, and that the potentially gifted need interaction at a higher level of challenge. The school climate has to favour excellence in all its pupils' efforts, extended where possible and frequently acknowledged (such as in exhibitions).

It is useful to have one or more staff members, preferably with some extra status, who can act as co-ordinators for the talented across the whole curriculum. This role may be seen as one component of the school's obligation to its brightest pupils, to monitor and evaluate the education they receive; this should be a position of special responsibility, co-ordinating with heads of departments.

EDUCATIONAL DIRECTIONS FROM THE RESEARCH

The Education Act of 1981 defined pupils with special educational needs as those who require provision beyond that which is normally provided by the school. In Britain, the need for an appropriate education for the very able is becoming recognised, although this is far from evenly spread across education authorities.

It is clear from the research that such education must be supported by suitably trained teachers, informed parents, and the pupils themselves. No single style of programme, though, can be expected to cater for the needs of all very able pupils, and there is also the possibility of the well-known (Hawthorne) effect of raised productivity following any change in education. But the evidence points to the benefits of focusing on particular educational provision for the very able. Neither general enrichment nor simple grade-skipping are adequate as blanket measures.

High-level potential can be developed in schools through these two somewhat overlapping routes:

• differentiation ­ the appropriate match between the curriculum, the content and the characteristics of the pupil;

• individualisation ­ where the pupil has greater responsibility for the content and pace of his or her own educational progress. In this, children would be required to monitor their own learning.

Above all, there can be no appropriate education for the very able without sufficient, if not generous, provision of learning materials and teaching. This is particularly true for pupils who do not have access to such facilities and encouragement outside school. The dominant current concern of research into the education of the very able is the interaction between the child's potential and the provision to develop it. Without that dynamic element, we return to the old ideas of fixed abilities, most notably intelligence. In Britain, most of what is needed to develop every child's potential is already in place. Using the example of school sport - The Sports Approach - less popular subjects, such as chemistry, French, or business studies could be supported with similar generosity. We could then expect to see a great rise in the proportion of pupils we now recognise as very able.