Political Issues in Gifted Education

In this article, James J. Gallagher proposes that understanding the political issues and the debate surrounding the education of gifted students is based on the recognition that education policy (including rules, regulations, financial allocations, etc.) reflects social policy. Hence, society prioritizes needs so that the most important of these are dealt with first and the most critical needs are addressed before resources are expended. Gallagher adds, though, that even if American society were to place a high priority on support for excellence in education for gifted students, the implementation of actions to create change would suffer because of the current structure of the educational system. That is, the current overall support systems and educational infrastructure at the national, state, and local levels are not sufficiently developed to mobilize resources effectively to utilize them in the best way in serving gifted students. For education of the gifted to be established as a readily available option for all gifted students, educational programming for gifted students needs a support system or infrastructure similar to the one already in existence for children with disabilities. The author offers recommendations of what components this kind of support system would require.