A study of industrial arts teachers\u27 opinions of gifted and talented students in Black Hawk County, Iowa

While the handicapped and disadvantaged have enjoyed the benefit of some unique industrial arts educational programming, relatively little has been done to provide for the special educational needs of gifted and talented students. This may be partially a result of little research completed associating the gifted and talented student with industrial arts. Additionally, legislative support for gifted and talented students has been lacking. It was not until 1978, with the passage of Public Law 95-561, that programs for gifted and talented students have been granted some funding on the federal level. Although this public law can authorize up to $35 million annually for the education of gifted and talented students, in reality only $6.28 million is being appropriated in fiscal years 1980 and 1981. Educational programming for gifted and talented students is normally accomplished through one of two methods: enrichment and acceleration. Enrichment consists of a broadening of experiences at the students\u27 chronological age level. Acceleration, on the other hand, ignores chronological age or grade in school, and allows a student to progress into coursework at a rate faster than the norm. The few special programs which have existed in industrial arts for gifted and talented students have relied primarily on enrichment. The purpose of this study was to describe the opinions which industrial arts teachers in Black Hawk County, Iowa, have of gifted and talented students. Results of this study indicate an appreciation of the diversity gifted and talented students possess or display. Respondents identified such traits as the ability to problem solve, above average mental or physical ability, self-motivation, creativity, and curiosity, as identifiers for gifted and talented students in industrial arts. While industrial arts was seen as relevant to the educational needs of gifted and talented students, the clustered areas such as communications, power and energy, manufacturing, production, and construction were generally reported as being more appropriate than traditional areas such as metals, woods, graphic arts, drafting, electricity, autos/small engines, and photography. The industrial arts teachers also indicated they feel capable of teaching gifted and talented students, and are willing to do so; with most indicating a preference for teaching the gifted and talented in integrated, rather than segregated, classrooms