Frontpage» Research» Skoleklar

Gifted children

In the Skoleklar project gifted children will be studied in one of the subprojects. There are many differences that distinguish gifted children from other children. Ella Maria Cosmovici Idsøe have worked with these children before, both in practice and in psychological research. We asked her why it is so important to include these children in a study focusing on school readiness.

- To focus on these children at all is new and important in a Norwegian context. To our knowledge this is the first Norwegian research project with a focus on gifted children. Research shows that these children very early develop good strategies for learning, and therefore it is important to include them in the project, emphasizes Cosmovici.

Do we have something to learn from them?
- We want to find out if the learning strategies they use can be shared with other children. Gifted children often have abilities to understand and explain their own learning strategies, and thus it is possible to include these children as informants in qualitative studies.

Why do you think Norway do not have research with particular focus on gifted children?
- Many people are confused and misunderstand the concept of giftedness and believe that these children can manage by themselves and do not need special support. The focus of this project is to highlight the gifted child by looking at the special needs of these children and what they can teach us, says Cosmovici.

Last edited by Hanne Navdal Vatnaland (04.02.2011)

Print

Share on facebook

SKOLEKLAR! A RESEARCH PROJECT FOR A GOOD SCHOOL START

In the Skoleklar research project we study self-regulation, attention, and various types of social skills among Norwegian kindergarten children. The project is particularly interested in how these factors can effect young children's learning and achievement in the early school years. It will be developed a measure that will be tested in kindergartens in order to strengthen these skills.

The project is supported by the Norwegian Research Council through the program UTDANNING2020 – Education 2020.

Download the Skoleklar project proposal.

Skoleklar! is developed by staff at the Centre for Behavioural Research, but additional national and international scientists are included as partners in the project. Project leader Ingunn Størksen can be contacted at (+47) 51 83 29 00 (+47) 918 47157 or ingunn.storksen@uis.no

The Norwegian daycare centers have recently been incorporated into the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. Life-long learning has been introduced as a goal, and daycare centers are going to focus even more on efforts towards preparing young children for school. An intriguing question in this regard is what daycare centers should prioritize when it comes to preparing children for school. What should be the main ingredients in school readiness measures among 5-year-olds?

International research shows that young children's attention, ability to self-regulate, and the ability to develop positive relationships with teachers and peers seem to be important predictors of learning in early school years. In many ways “learning to learn”, focus and relate to others seem to be just as important as, or may be even more important than, cognitive abilities and skills achieved during daycare years.

Many social background factors may pose a risk to young children's opportunities for success in school. In what way can Norwegian daycare centers compensate for such vulnerability
among young children and contribute to social equality?