Rural Gifted Education: A Comprehensive Literature Review

This review of literature about gifted rural education reveals not only important information but the need for further work. The concepts presented have applicability that is not exclusively rural, but they derive from studies done with rural students and take rural culture, history, and circumstances into account. Understanding the context of gifted rural students is essential if educators are to identify and teach them effectively. The author notes that doing so is critical for the sustainability of rural communities. These communities need gifted and talented students who understand and love them to invest their own lives in caring for such places. The author groups the studies reviewed into sections about rural values and culture, being gifted, identifying gifted rural students, options for educating gifted rural students, and teaching teachers to teach gifted rural children.