Elitism

Elitism is the belief that a select few are superior to others. Charges of elitism have been made against gifted education since the field's inception, and the history of attitudes, assumptions, policies, and practices suggests that too often the charges have been justified. During the past 25 years, however, there has been a shift in definition, identification, and programming policies, such that the charge of elitism is considerably less valid than it once was. This entry describes traditional views that gifted education is elitist and how those views have changed.

Early work that focused on exceptionally advanced ability assumed that giftedness, creativity, and talent were innate and permanent. It focused on attempts to measure and quantify these attributes in order to identify certain people as gifted, ...