Giving Pause to Giftedness: Where Do We Go From Here?

Linda M. Sabatini

At the dawn of a new millennium, experts and novices in the field of giftedness may be summoned to use this time to review, scrutinize, and ponder various aspects of the field and their roles in advancing it. Giving pause to giftedness allows us to unearth some interesting perspectives and salient insights for the future.

The most distinct observation emerging from this reflective process is that the field of giftedness has yet to balance its function as a unique entity and its role as an interrelated component of existing fields. Metaphorically, the field of giftedness is operating like a young child who engages mostly in parallel play alongside other children. As a relatively new domain of study, much of its activities have focused on exploring basic concepts and establishing fundamental features within its parameters. Just like for young children, progression to the next phase of development occurs when we become more knowledgeable and comfortable with ourselves in our environment, actively exploring the world and others around us. Although the field’s reserved behavior may well have been justified up to this point, in order to establish its identity and a secure a meaningful place in the 21st century, it must engage more interactively with other fields. In considering the next stages of development of the field of giftedness, there are a few considerations worth mentioning. The first three points primarily involve collaboration among members, and the latter three points focus on collaboration with members from other fields.

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