Canada, Gifted Education

The Canadian Educational System

Provincially/territorially developed Standards of Practice for the teaching profession are carefully articulated and implemented. These guidelines serve to regulate teachers, support their efforts, encourage their engagement in professional development initiatives, and drive their understandings of what teaching and learning are all about. The emphasis is on such key aspects as commitment to students; roles and responsibilities; personal growth; appreciation of and respect for diversity; and a solid grasp of the knowledge, skills, and values that are necessary for meaningful learning to take place. Although the guiding principles that govern the practice of teaching may vary from province to province, or even school to school, there is an overriding sense of the importance of a caring, supportive approach, and a vision for exemplary practice.

Canada does not have a national gifted-related organization such as the National Association for Gifted Children in the United States, nor is there any kind of nationwide educational thrust such as [Page 114]the No Child Left Behind legislation that is having an impact on gifted education there. The Council for Exceptional Children has affiliations in Canada, and there are some independently functioning groups such as Educators of the Gifted Organization (EDGO, located in Ontario) and Lower Mainland Gifted Contacts (LMGC, located in British Columbia), and other teacher associations that enable members to gather together from time to time to discuss gifted-related matters. Research on gifted and talented students is supported by such federal funding agencies as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council. The Canadian Society for the Study of Education includes members who present research on the psychology and education of gifted learners at their annual national conference. There is a university-affiliated Center for Gifted Education in Calgary, Alberta, that shares resources and research findings throughout Canada and beyond, and the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children has recently established its new headquarters at the University of Winnipeg, in Manitoba. Parent advocacy organizations with chapters spread across Canada have many members who are active in providing widespread resource access, support, and community liaison opportunities. Association for Bright Children (ABC) and Gifted Children's Association of British Columbia (GCABC) are two such organizations.

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