Teacher Preparation Standards in Gifted and Talented Education
The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) collaborated over three years to develop revised, research-based standards for teacher preparation in gifted education. The National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the professional organization that accredits schools and colleges of teacher education, adopted the revised gifted education standards in the fall of 2006. The new standards, which university gifted education programs may begin using immediately, will bring gifted education more clearly in focus and address the concern that the previous standards did not reflect current thinking in gifted education. The new standards will bring coherence to teacher education programs nationwide as well as help ensure educational quality across school districts and education institutions.
There are two guidebooks to accompany the standards. One book is designed for university professionals to guide them in building a teacher education program that conforms to the standards. The second, for P-12 teachers and administrators, will help guide them in creating professional development programs to ensure that all teachers, not just those newly certified, will be knowledgeable in gifted identification, assessment and education. The books are available via NAGC and CEC. Visit the NAGC online bookstore.
We have included additional information here to help university and P-12 leaders navigate the new standards. We provide the research base in annotated bibliography form as well as an explanation of the issues addressed by the standards. We also provide an analysis of how the new standards differ from the previous standards, which includes a new focus on diversity; a comparison of the new standards to state standards, and finally, we provide samples of the key features of assessments that ensure sound implementation of the standards.
NAGC-CEC Standards for Teacher Knowledge and Skills in Gifted Education (pdf)
Return to Gifted Education Standards Home Page
Council for Exceptional Children