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This
project began due to my interest in researching and documenting
educational programs and accommodations that have proven to work
well for highly gifted children. I am particularly interested in
the opinions and experiences of parents with highly gifted children,
and my interest in the subject is both personal and professional.
I'm a parent of a gifted child, and a graduate student in the Masters
Degree Program in Gifted and Talented Education at the University
of Connecticut.
To
collect the information for the survey I developed an online questionnaire
form and asked parents with highly gifted children to fill it out
and submit their information. The questionnaire requested information
regarding the suitability and success (or lack of success) that
people have experienced securing an appropriated education for their
highly gifted child(ren) through public schools, private schools,
homeschooling, and supplemental gifted programs, such as: summer
programs and online courses, and college classes. I also asked people
if there was anything in particular that did not work well for educating
their child.
Parents
of 109 highly gifted children, 73 boys and 36 girls, have submitted
information to date. At the time of this survey the youngest child
included is five, and the oldest is twenty-eight. Thirty-seven children
are under ten years old, seventy are between ten and twenty, and
two are over twenty.
Respondents
were widely distributed geographically, with thirty-two states and
two countries in addition to the USA represented in the survey.
My
hope is that the information provided by the parents, who were kind
enough to take the time to fill out the rather lengthy questionnaire,
will help other parents of highly gifted children who are just beginning
the process of finding the right academic situation for their child(ren).
I'd
like to say, once again, to the parents who took part in this survey:
Thank
you very much for taking the time to share your experiences!
Sincerely,
Mary Codd
May 2004
[email protected]
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