Academically gifted abandoned
OVER the years, Manicaland Province has recorded impressive Grade 7 results, with primary schools like Chancellor, Mutare Junior, Baring and John Cowie, among many others, churning out hundreds of six pointers.
Of concern is that not a single student has been identified as an academically gifted child to initiate interventions which promotes Grade skipping.
The last success story of an identified academically gifted pupil in Zimbabwe is that of Maud Chifamba, a Zimbabwean, who became the youngest University student in Africa and studied for an Accounting Degree at the age of 14 in 2012.
She was given a Grade 4 exam paper by mistake whilst she was in Grade 3 and scored 100 percent. The following term during the same year, she requested for a Grade 5 paper and she achieved the highest score.
She proceeded to Grade 7 and attained four units.
Eleven years down the line, no such “mistake” has recurred for the benefit of the students. This calls for informed identification of these academically gifted children to enable them to realise their full potential.
In a randomly selected class, the normal distribution curve dictates that there are three distinct groups of pupils, namely the below average, average and above average.
It is not a secret that the school syllabi are designed with the average performers at heart, where they are pampered with remediation programmes to assist them.
The plight of the below average has been addressed by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education through the establishment of Resource Units and Special Classes.
The intellectually challenged, a group of learners in the below average category, are accessing quality education at Chengetai Special School and many other conventional schools like Zamba and St Werburghs Primary.
The Resource Units for the intellectually challenged were established with a maximum teacher pupil ratio of 1:10. There are 42 special classes in Mutare District alone.
These were established at different conventional schools to cater for pupils who academically lag at the end of Grade 3, with a teacher pupil ratio of 1:19 at maximum.
Achievement tests are administered by Educational Psychologists to identify these pupils for Special Class placement. They then join the class for a year of intense instruction in Maths and English.
A re-assessment is then carried out at the end of the year to ascertain their level of performance. Most of them are then weaned off into a Grade 4 class the following year, while others even skip into higher grades as dictated by their test scores.
Maud’s case signals a skills deficit in identifying the academically gifted in schools.
Academically gifted students are defined as those who demonstrate an advanced ability or potential in one or more specific areas when compared to others of the same age, experience or environment.
These gifted individuals excel in their ability to think, reason and judge, making it necessary for them to receive special educational programmes and support to be able to fully develop their potential. The gifted has an intelligence quotient (IQ) score of more than 130 whilst normal students have 100.
They demonstrate high reasoning ability, creativity, curiosity, a large vocabulary and an excellent memory. The academically gifted pupil masters concepts with a few repetitions.
Acceleration through grade skipping allows gifted students the opportunity to learn at a space that is more suited to their natural rate of learning.
Thus, where the pace of learning does not match the student’s needs, they may display disengagement, school refusal, behaviour problems and or mental health problems.
However, grade skipping also comes with its own problems. Many people believe that grade skipping can lead to social problems as students may be intellectually capable of the work, but lack the physical and social development needed to match their peers at advanced grades.
This theory takes into account the student’s emotional and social maturity as well as their academic abilities.
Similar to what happens to students who change schools due to family relocations, spending less time with former classmates may disrupt some social ties, and there may be a period of stress as the student integrates into their new classes.
Additional social problems may also result from grade skipping, including teasing and being ostracised for being accelerated. Also, grade skipping may create a knowledge gap if the child has not studied alone the material in the grade they are skipping.
While the student is bridging this gap, they will likely find the new material challenging. It may be demoralising for a student to find themselves struggling when they were a top performer.
However, knowledge gaps are smaller in earlier school years. Students almost always successfully catch up to match their peers.
Fortunately, it has been proven that the benefits of acceleration outweigh the negativity.
Where academic, social and emotional maturity is identified, students will actually benefit socially and emotionally from acceleration through grade skipping.
Armed with these few cues, there is need for a holistic approach in leaving no one and no place behind in screening and identifying the academically gifted for early intervention through referral to the Learner Welfare Psychological Services and Special Needs Education Department (LEPs).
That department will conduct the Psycho-Educational assessment and certification for the student. Guardians, parents and teachers should be pro-active in screening and identification of the academically gifted with a view of contributing to Vision 2030 and beyond.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should not bank on “mistakes” in identifying gifted students.
This is why a Toll Free number, 317, has been set up to address students’ educational concerns. This is why District Learner Support Services Resource Centres have also been established countrywide.
Every student is entitled to rigorous, engaging and enriching learning experience across all areas of the curriculum.
◆ Edward Mushangwe is an Assistant Educational Psychologist in the Ministry of Education and Primary Education and a student at the Great Zimbabwe University. He writes in his personal capacity.