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Glossary-Items: Letter A

Ability

Ability refers to an individual’s intellectual aptitude or performance potential. Abilities can, under the right conditions, evolve into outstanding accomplishments or an abundance of insight and knowledge.

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Ability-Related Fairness

(Fairness in the Recognition and Development of Abilities)[nz]Ability-related fairness describes the educational and societal goal of enabling all people—regardless of their individual or social background, gender, culture, and health status—the opportunity to recognize, develop, and contribute their individual (high) abilities.

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Acceleration

The term acceleration is typically applied in the school context. What this means is that some students will begin topics in the curriculum at an earlier stage, cover the material at a faster pace, or complete topics earlier than other students in the same grade. One reason for this may be their high cognitive ability.

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Achievement

If a child or adolescent is gifted, this means that they have the potential for exceptional achievement, which, although it may be realized, does not necessarily have to be.

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ADHD

This abbreviation is used to refer to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It denotes a neurobiological disorder that is characterized by a dysfunction in attention and concentration, excessive impulsivity and, in some cases, severe agitation (hyperactivity).

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Adultism

Adultism refers to the unequal power dynamics between children and adults and the resulting discrimination. Many adults assume that they possess greater knowledge simply due to their age and often attribute biased traits to children, such as immaturity or a lack of trustworthiness.

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Assessment

Assessment refers to the clarification of a specific question. Various sources of information are used for this.

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Asynchronous development

When the pace of a child‘s development varies from one area of development to another, this is referred to as asynchronous development. Sometimes gifted people progress faster in their cognitive development than in the areas of emotional, physical, or psychomotor development.

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Attachment

Attachment is understood as the basic human need to develop secure relationships with other people who, in turn, are seen as important for the development of gifted and talented students.

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Attribution

Attribution, also referred to as causal attribution, involves identifying the causes behind a situation. It distinguishes whether causes are attributed to the individual (internal) or the environment (external), whether these causes are stable over time or changeable (variable), and how controllable they are.

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Authentic Performance

In the deeper learning framework , the term “authentic performance” refers to a phase of work in which learners (often collaboratively) create tangible products that provide value to others. These products can take many forms, such as community service projects, comics, experiments, dances, documentary films, and more.

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Authentic Self-Reference

In educational contexts, authentic self-reference refers to the ability of individuals to act in alignment with their true selves. Being authentic means remaining genuine and true to one’s values and identity. Maintaining a strong connection to oneself serves as an internal compass, guiding professional actions and decision making.

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Autism

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder. It is characterized by an impairment in social or professional areas of functioning. Symptoms include deficits in social interaction. At the same time, persistent, repetitive patterns of behavior or very unusual, restricted interests are typical of the disorder.

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