Gifted Child Quarterly

The Gifted Child Quarterly (GCQ) is the research journal of the National Association for Gifted [Page 380]Children (NAGC). Since it was first published in 1954 as The Gifted Child Newsletter, GCQ has evolved into one of the most respected journals in the field of gifted education. In 2007, the journal had more than 6,500 subscribers in the United States and abroad. It publishes primarily empirical research and theoretical articles on a wide variety of topics affecting gifted students. It has also served as an outlet for the publication of NAGC position papers and other official documents of the organization. This entry describes the history, the major topics, and the policies of Gifted Child Quarterly.

During the past decade, GCQ articles have focused heavily on educational practice and identification, with an emphasis on multicultural students with gifts and talents. In its long history, the journal has published articles primarily concerned with educational programs, although the single topic with the most articles published (191 articles) was creativity. This was due, at least in part, to the numerous contributions of E. Paul Torrance, who published 65 articles from 1961 to 1984, sometimes having multiple articles in a single issue. The number of articles on creativity published in GCQ has seen a downswing since its peak in the 1970s. During the 1980s, it was common for only a single article on creativity to appear in an entire volume of four issues. This dramatic change is largely because new journals focusing on creativity emerged at that time.

There have been trends over the years in the subjects of interest to GCQ readers and editors. Parenting was of the greatest interest in the early years of the journal, peaking in the 1970s. Few articles on parenting gifted children have appeared in recent years, again perhaps because of the influx of new parenting publications in the field. Identification has received significant attention in the journal since the early 1980s. More articles have been published on education and programming combined than on any other topic. Teaching has also been the focus of numerous articles throughout the life of the journal.

Manuscripts are submitted to the editor, generally online via electronic mail. Once they are received, the editor reviews the article to determine its appropriateness for the journal's mission. If the article appears to be a good fit, it is sent to three or more members of the editorial review board, researchers and educators who are knowledgeable about the topic or who have a specific expertise in the research methodology chosen. These reviewers carefully consider the content and quality of the research and its presentation in the manuscript. For the past 10 years, there have been three possible outcomes of the review process of those manuscripts deemed appropriate for the journal and of a quality that warranted being reviewed: reject, accept with revision, or revise and resubmit. An accepted article is published with minor revisions from the author. Authors with rejected manuscripts are not encouraged to resubmit. Authors who receive a revise and resubmit designation are typically given considerable feedback and direction to guide their resubmissions. The GCQ Article of the Year Award is given each year at the NAGC convention. The editor empanels a group, often made up of former authors who have been given the same award, to screen nominated papers. The most highly rated paper receives the award.

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