Understanding institutional approaches to students with exceptional skills and talents-first steps to include them in school

Abstract

Educational policies and academic approaches to exceptional skills and talents in Colombia have changed significantly in the last three decades. These changes have guided the decisions made by educational institutions to deal with that population. In 2015, 1731 Colombian institutions were surveyed. The results were the basis of the Documento de orientaciones técnicas, administrativas y pedagógicas para la atención educativa a estudiantes con capacidades y/o talentos excepcionales en el marco de la educación inclusiva [Technical, administrative, and pedagogical guidelines for the educational care of specially skilled and/or gifted students from an inclusive education perspective], published by the Colombian Ministry of National Education. Some questions in the survey measure institutional understanding of exceptionality, but they had not been addressed so far. In this paper, the authors analyze those questions. The analysis identifies three approaches to exceptionality: performance, potential, and intelligence measurement. Although these approaches coincide with policy and academic documents, they might not lead to current inclusive education policies. It is important to keep tracking the process with the institutions in order to provide them with tools that allow them to recognize and develop exceptional skills and talents, in agreement with current inclusive education policies.