2.5.8 How an Australian Archdiocese Embedded Gifted Pedagogy within a System of Schools

TITLE How an Australian Catholic Archdiocese Embedded Gifted Pedagogy within a System of Schools

INTRODUCTION After a significant number of public forums in 2011, the Executive Director of the largest Archdiocese of Catholic schools in Sydney, realised parents were highly motivated to find primary and secondary schools in their regions/districts that effectively responded to the needs of their gifted children. It was loud and clear they wanted schools to shift from the traditional, conservative practices to ones that identified, engaged and challenged their gifted children to succeed in school along a Kindergarten to Year 12 pathway.

ISSUE While the exclusivity of selective secondary schools in Australia has been attractive to many parents over the years, more are looking for alternate schooling options, especially given that these schools use one-test-on-one-day to select students who typically display high intellectual ability, neglecting any evidence of other gifted domains or exceptionalities (Marsh & Hau, 2003; Plunkett & Kronborg, 2007) . It was obvious to our Executive Director that our system of Catholic schools required an overhaul in relation to teaching and learning, particularly in the area of gifted pedagogy, hence the initiation of the Newman Selective Gifted Education Program which began as a research and development project and has successfully continued into its eighth year.

SOLUTION With a preliminary ‘entree’ course titled ‘Gifted Education Naturally Embedded’ to begin the Newman journey, schools have volunteered to enter the Newman Selective Gifted Education Program. Under the Service Agreement, schools are generously resourced to cover high quality, ongoing professional learning to build the capacity of leaders and teachers in gifted education so as to engage and challenge gifted students in all domains of ability (Geake & Gross, 2008; Bangel et al, 2010). Teachers can obtain post-graduate qualifications in gifted education via the system’s supported study program or ease into the field by completing our system-designed Gifted Education Online courses. A rigorous and regular accreditation process ensures the quality of the program is sustained at an Advanced Level of the Archdiocesan Gifted Education Standards Framework. This comprehensive process is supported by an expert panel including external specialists in gifted education to maintain the integrity of the program.

CONCLUSION This Catholic system currently has 37 accredited primary and secondary Newman Selective Gifted Education Program schools across the Archdiocese with more to be accredited in 2019. A formal evaluation of the program’s success thus far will be conducted mid 2019.

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