Competitions

A competition is a contest wherein two or more individuals or groups vie for some type of incentive (e.g., prizes, awards, recognition). Contests may be skill oriented, knowledge oriented, or luck oriented. In education, there are knowledge- and skill-based competitions available for students of all ages in academic areas, fine and performing arts, leadership, service learning, and athletics. These may be in a single discipline or multidisciplinary, as part of the school curriculum or extracurricular. There are local, regional, national, and international competitive opportunities for individuals or groups/teams of students. This entry discusses the types of competitions available to gifted students, the ways in which these competitions enhance the education of bright students, and ways to integrate competition into gifted education.