Gifted Girls - In Education, how to recognize

Gifted Girls

Did you know...

Gifted girls receive the least attention from teachers.

Girls who are gifted in math and science are much less likely than boys to pursue scientific careers. Only 29% of girls want to be scientists versus 52% of boys.

Women constitute over 45% of the workforce, but only 7.6% of the engineers.

Some 94.2% of registered nurses are women while only 17.9% are physicians.

Gifted girls initially have equal scores on achievement tests, but by the time they reach high school, they appear to take less challenging courses.

At the kindergarten level 97.8% of teachers are female; at the secondary level, 52.6% and at the university level, 38.7%.

Bright girls who are highly verbal, curious and like to debate, are often seen as aggressive or unfeminine by classroom teachers. The bright boy who manifests these same traits is seen as precocious. In research about schools and stereotyping, Myra and David Sadker (1994) found that boys vocally dominate the classroom.

Girl at sunset

The current logo of the Gifted Education Centre

High School for Gifted Students, Hanoi National Un...

Boys also got more attention and encouragement from teachers.

The bottom line is that gifted girls need to be informed of and recognized for their talent. Educators, parents and society in general need to realize the potential of today's gifted girls. Sexual stereotyping needs to stop and girls need to be introduced to gifted women (personally and through literature) so that they can benefit from these role models.

Finally, a few strategies suggested by Garrison, Stronge and Smith in their article, "Are Gifted Girls Encouraged to Achieve Their Occupational Potential?" (Roeper Review, Nov. 1986, Vol. 9, (2) ) may be of benefit to parents and educators of gifted girls:

Information should be presented which dispels the myth of a forced choice between career and family and the myth of irreversible life planning.

Males as well as females...