Society & Culture

UGA researchers to assess U.S. Department of Defense schools’ gifted education program

Athens, Ga. – A team of researchers from the University of Georgia College of Education has received a one-year, $360,000 cooperative agreement to assess gifted education programs in U.S. Department of Defense schools around the world.

UGA experts will meet with representatives from Department of Defense Education Activity schools to discuss future goals for providing gifted education services for students in the 181 accredited schools, which are located in 14 districts in 12 foreign countries, seven states, Guam and Puerto Rico. Many of the schools’ 78,000 students are the children of active military personnel.

After an in-depth analysis of procedures used to identify students for gifted services, as well as the diverse gifted education programs and models implemented within the U.S., team members will develop a concise summary of effective strategies in gifted education and present those findings to the Department of Defense Education Activity.

The collaborative project brings together faculty experts from the education college’s Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development, the department of educational psychology, the Program Evaluation Group and military experts from UGA Extension.

The research team includes Bonnie Cramond, professor of educational psychology, Sarah Sumners, interim director of the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development, Karen DeMeester, director of the Program Evaluation Group, and Casey Mull of UGA Extension. Additional faculty members and doctoral students from the Department of Educational Psychology/Gifted Education Program and Georgia College & State University’s Center for Program Evaluation and Development will also assist in the project.

Funding comes from the Gifted Education Program Evaluation program, provided for under a cooperative agreement between the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Defense. It is funded under cooperative agreement number 2014-39584-22640.