Gifted children within the system of early and preschool education

Darovita su djeca ona djeca koja imaju znatno razvijenije sposobnosti i potencijale u odnosu na svoje vršnjake. Djeca koju karakterizira darovitost trebaju razne poticaje kako bi maksimalno iskoristili svoje sposobnosti. Na taj se način, osim ostvarivanja dobrobiti za samo dijete, ostvaruje dobrobit i za cjelokupno društvo. Darovitost je, drugim riječima, sklop osobina, visoko iznadprosječnih, općih ili specifičnih sposobnosti; visok stupanj kreativnosti i motivacije što omogućuje razvijanje posebnih kompetencija i dosljedno postizanje iznadprosječnog postignuća u jednom ili više područja. Ovisno o području djetetove darovitosti, osobine se darovite djece razlikuju. U nastavku rada analiziraju se mitovi i stvarnosti po pitanju potencijalno darovite djece i njihovog kvocijenta inteligencije. Kreativnost, sposobnost i osobina ličnosti splet je triju sastavnica na koje uvjetuje darovitost. No, identificirajući darovitost, nije opravdano tražiti prisutnost sva tri faktora u fazi potencijalne nadarenosti. Razni rani pokazatelji, poput tih da dijete s lakoćom sastavlja slagalice namijenjene starijoj djeci te se sjeća složenijih događaja i opisuje ih nakon duljeg vremena s jasnim detaljima i slično, mogu biti indikatori za potencijalu darovitost djeteta. Iako dijete pokazuje potencijalnu darovitost u određenom području, nije isključeno da će u nekim drugim područjima zaostajati za većinom svojih vršnjaka. Djeca koja pokazuju samo neke od navedenih osobina možemo ubrojiti u „bistru djecu“, od kojih se neki, uz povoljne nasljedne osobine i odgojne utjecaje, mogu razviti u nadarenu djecu. U radu je sastavljen popis koji pomaže odgojiteljima u razlikovanju bistrog djeteta od nadarenog djeteta. Pojam slika o sebi vrlo je važan za svakog pojedinca te tako i za nadarenu osobu, a razna istraživanja dokazuju kako darovitost nije nužno popraćena pozitivnom slikom o sebi. S obzirom na to da darovita djeca imaju posebne osobine, time zahtijevaju i posebne odgojno-obrazovne potrebe. Istaknuto je kako značajnu ulogu u odgoju i obrazovanju darovite djece imaju upravo odgojitelji.Gifted children are the children who have significantly more developed abilities and potentials compared to their peers. Children who are characterized by giftedness need various incentives in order to make the most of their capabilities, so in this way and in addition to achieving well-being for the child itself, prosperity is also gained for the whole society. Giftedness is, in other words, a set of attributes of highly above-average general or specific abilities, a high degree of creativity and motivation that enables the development of special competencies and consistent attainment of high-level accomplishments in one or more areas. Depending on the area of a child’s giftedness, the characteristics of gifted children vary. In the next part of the paper, the myths and the realities considering potentially gifted children and their IQs are being analysed. Creativity, ability and personality trait are a combination of three components, which condition giftedness, yet while identifying this notion, it is not justified to seek the presence of all three factors in the phase of potential giftedness. Various early indicators such as the situation when a child easily puts together puzzles intended for older children and remembers more complex events, describing them with clear details even after a considerable amount of time has passed, and similar examples can be signals of a child's potential giftedness. Although a child may show potential talent in a certain domain, one should not exclude the possibility that in some other areas he or she will lag behind most of their peers. Children who show only some of the features of a potentially gifted child can be referred to as "bright children", some of whom, with favourable hereditary traits and educational influences, may develop into gifted children. A list has been compiled to help educators distinguish a bright child from a gifted child. The concept of oneself is very important for each individual and thus for a gifted person as well, and various studies prove that giftedness is not necessarily accompanied by a positive image of oneself. Given the fact that gifted children possess a special set of characteristics, they therefore require particular educational needs, and it is educators who have a significant role in the upbringing and education of gifted children