Abstract
Today organizations advocating for and supporting gifted children are found at the local, state, and national level. As the field of gifted education has grown so too have the number of organizations and resources serving gifted children. Their prevalence across the United States varies from region to region but organizations for gifted children and their families are available to those who want to be involved. The Internet has exponentially expanded the interconnectivity between researchers, educators, and parents and changed the way in which advocacy occurs, especially with the use of social media including blogs where information can be exchanged in real time. However, in a time where printed journals, newsletters, postal mail, and annual meetings were the main conduits of information, two organizations emerged as leading advocates for gifted children: the American Association for Gifted Children (AAGC) and the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC).
“Gifted education organizations continue to take ‘vigorous interest’ in gifted children, but this level of interest remains out of necessity.”
During the 1940s and 1950s, various organizations were advocating for gifted children. In some publications, local organizations were mentioned, including the Metropolitan Association for the Study of the Gifted (New York), the Ohio Association for Gifted Children, and the Pennsylvania Association for the Study of Mentally Gifted Children and Youth (Davis, 1954; Sumption & Luecking, 1960; Wilson, 1953). However, two national organizations were formed to advocate for gifted children and their education. Although various state organizations are mentioned briefly in the literature of this era, the national organizations became the voice of the field—a cohesive voice that had not existed up until this point.
AAGC
The AAGC was established on September 6, 1946, in New York City for the purpose of “recognizing, appreciating, and stimulating creative work among gifted children” (Williamson, 1948, p. 53). The organization’s leaders decided to form an organization:
to help teachers and others understand and help one group of children who seemed not to be getting the consideration they need—the gifted children. The founders of this new association felt that in a real sense here was minority group that should be identified, understood, and worked with in such a way as to enable them to contribute most effectively to themselves and to our society. (“Editorial: Understanding the Gifted Child,” 1948, p. 33)
The organization was founded by Ruth Strang and Pauline Brooks Williamson, two friends who believed that “the gifted were the most neglected children in our democracy” (AAGC, 1999, para. 1). The association, housed at the University of the State of New York, was the first in the nation to be devoted exclusively to gifted children. Strang served as the organization’s first treasurer, and Williamson volunteered as secretary (Williamson, 1948). Both women were advocates for gifted children, Strang in her capacity as a professor at Teachers College, and Williamson as a school health educator and administrator (AAGC, n.d.).
The first board meeting was held on November 21, 1946, with the following leadership: Charles Coburn, Honorary President; Harold F. Clark, President; W. Carson Ryan, Vice-President; Pauline B. Williamson, Secretary; Ruth Strang, Treasurer; and Joseph H. Collins, Counsel. Lewis M. Terman later became Honorary Vice-President. Applications for membership to the organization had to be approved by the board members, and membership was open to anyone in the book publishing industry, schools, or any other organization that focused on children (Williamson, 1948, 1953). At this meeting, Williamson (1948) noted the group discussed future plans it had in mind, including the development of a yearbook (for scholarship funds and to help fund the organization), writing articles, and organizing a Department for Gifted Children Within the National Education Association.
The first annual meeting of the AAGC was held on November 14, 1947. At this meeting, the members discussed outlets in which articles on gifted children could be published to help them disseminate information about this group of children. In addition, other discussions included identifying gifted children; ways of helping teachers and parents to understand issues surrounding the gifted; the relationship of the association to industries and professional organizations seeking personnel with special talents, to organizations offering scholarships and awards, and to motion pictures and radio; and proposals for publications (Williamson, 1948).
The organization had many supporters, among them Paul Witty (1951b), who noted, “It is hoped that the work of the American Association for Gifted Children and other organizations will lead to more widespread efforts to care for the gifted” (p. 79). The AAGC was responsible for a large number of activities focused on gifted children, such as
developing a widespread understanding of the nature and needs of gifted children,
training more effective teachers to work with this population,
improving relationships between the school staff and parents,
developing more stimulating curricula, and
conducting more research on gifted students (Clark & Williamson, 1951, p. v).
The organization’s leaders worked hard to educate others about gifted children. Pauline Williamson, working in conjunction with the editors of the Journal of Teacher Education, prepared a symposium on the gifted child that was featured in the journal (Strang, 1954). Strang (1954) noted the importance of teachers and indicated that they needed to understand the gifted child. In 1953, Williamson described the reason for the growth of the organization, which indicated how busy the leaders and members were, advocating for the needs of gifted students:
Members of AAGC are responsible for its growth through: Preparation and distribution of literature including bulletins, articles, and the book, The Gifted Child; conferences with local, national and international groups; speeches; informal discussions; seminars; workshops; courses for teachers; administration of special schools; research; cooperation with other professional groups on joint programs; and correspondence with parents, professional, business and governmental leaders, as well as with administrators, teachers, and students in universities, colleges, high schools, and elementary schools. (p. 123)
Perhaps the organization’s most important advocacy contribution was the publication of The Gifted Child in 1951 (Witty, 1951a). Edited by Witty, the book provided an overview of important issues and research in the field of gifted education. In the introduction, Clark (Clark & Williamson, 1951), then-president of the AAGC, expressed the organization’s interest in “enlarging our concept of ability and . . . the discovery of better ways to identify the gifted in many different fields. And it is particularly interested in furthering educational opportunities for gifted children and youth” (p. v).
The AAGC remained in New York City until 1986 when it moved to Wright State University in Ohio, where its mission focused on “minority gifted and health care professionals” (AAGC, 1999, para. 10). Currently, AAGC is housed at Duke University. Although it does not have a standing membership, the organization continues to offer scholarships and resources to the gifted education community (AAGC, 1999).
NAGC
The NAGC was founded as a nonprofit organization in 1954 with three objectives:
the formation of an association,
the publication of a journal, and
the establishment of a fund for [the] gifted with which to sponsor research and aid school systems who wished to embark on programs for their gifted. (Isaacs, 1957, p. 2)
Ann Fabe Isaacs (1968), director of The Personality Development Preschool in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded the organization when, as she described, “teachers and other educators noticed that some children who had been identified as superior in preschool years failed to maintain this level of performance in later school years. They decided to learn the reason for this disappointing behavior” (p. 32). NAGC’s original goals were expanded into four objectives:
to aid schools in providing more effective programs and practices for the gifted; to help parents see the need to give understanding and encouragement to their children and to plan programs designed for their benefit; to reach the gifted themselves and to provide them with insight into their potentialities and the need to use these for the general good; to educate the public to appreciate the gifted and the contributions they are capable of making. (Isaacs, 1968, p. 32)
Isaacs felt the need to establish another advocacy organization in addition to the AAGC and wanted to publish a journal devoted to gifted education. The AAGC had not done so, and this was one way that the two organizations could be distinguished. Isaacs moved quickly, and by February 15, 1955, she had identified a tentative editorial board that consisted of 30 of the gifted education researchers during that period, including Lewis M. Terman, Paul Witty, Robert Havighurst, Walter Barbe, Nicholas Mosely, Norma Cutts, and A. Harry Passow. Terman deemed the list of board members “excellent” and suggested that the publication be titled The Gifted Child or Gifted Children (L. M. Terman, personal communication, February 21, 1955). Terman felt that the journal should be quarterly, at least in the beginning, as he felt there was not enough material to fit a monthly publication (L. M. Terman, personal communication, February 21, 1955). The Gifted Child Newsletter was published in January 1957, the first issue of what later became Gifted Child Quarterly. NAGC planned to publish the newsletter for 1 year and then transition it into a quarterly journal once funds were established. Isaacs remained its editor for 18 years (Isaacs, 1974).
Like the AAGC, NAGC held annual meetings, most often held as a joint meeting with another organization (e.g., a joint meeting with American Association for the Advancement of Science [AAAS] was held in December 26-27, 1956, in New York City). Membership was open to anyone interested in helping gifted and talented students develop their strengths (Isaacs, 1968).
Havighurst suggested that the focus of NAGC be a leadership role for the field (A. F. Isaacs, personal communication, January 31, 1956), and this was the direction the organization took, remaining the field’s largest organization advocating for gifted children more than 50 years later. Today, NAGC has more than 5,000 members and Gifted Child Quarterly is recognized as the premiere journal for published research in gifted education.
Summary
By the mid-1950s, these two organizations had become prominent in the United States and were working to advocate for the nation’s most talented youth. Witty (1954) reminded readers that there had been a resurgence in gifted education in the past 8 years. In 1948, James B. Conant had shared, “I wish some organization identified in the public mind with concern for all American youth would take some dramatic action to demonstrate a vigorous interest in the gifted boy or girl” (p. 52). Not too many years later, Witty (1954) pointed out the AAGC and other organizations would help lead the way.
Gifted education organizations continue to take “vigorous interest” in gifted children, but this level of interest remains out of necessity. Education for gifted children remains a low priority for policy makers requiring parents, educators of the gifted, and researchers to collaborate on behalf of gifted children.
Footnotes
Authors’ Note
Parts of this article appeared in the first author’s dissertation, “An Explanatory History of Gifted Education: 1940-1960” (2010).
Conflict of Interest
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Bios
Jennifer H. Robins, PhD, is Senior Editor at Prufrock Press. She can be reached at Prufrock Press, 5926 Balcones Drive, Ste. 220, Austin, TX 78731;
Jennifer L. Jolly, PhD, is Associate Professor of Gifted Education at Louisiana State University. She is Editor-in-Chief of Parenting for High Potential and Vice President of CEC/TAG. She may be reached at Louisiana State University, School of Education, 223 Peabody Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803;