Maureen Neihart

This is a competently produced review of the literature reporting the findings of educational and psychological research concerning, as the title says, "The Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Children." The book is written in the dreadfully pedestrian social science style that predominates in so much professional literature in so many social science fields today. I had to strain to stay focused on what, if anything, all those abstract terms meant. If you do not already know that the brightest children are often socially inept or behind their less bright peers in social skills, and that therefore they need special support, then this is the book for you. But not all findings are obvious, and the book should be of value to psychologists and educational researchers. Each chapter follows a template of introduction, major findings, specific findings such as multicultural differences, directions for future research and often a short conclusion. The chapters tend to be brief and to-the-point. A ten page chapter may cite forty or more studies which are listed at the end in two or three pages of bibliography. Most parents will find it hard slogging but readers used to social science research should find this book of considerable value.… (más)

This book was helpful to me as I am a teacher and the parent of a gifted child. Understanding the research in various areas of social and emotional development regarding gifted children helps you understand the difficulties children can encounter being gifted. I really liked how it outlined things so clearly and explained limitations on what is known as well as how that influences your practice with children. A very helpful resource on current research! I recommend to any teacher working with gifted children. As a parent it was a bit much, not as reader friendly for those not in the field. I feel like giving this to my son's teacher because he struggles with social and emotional development as far as being behind his "peers". I poured through this book in a matter of days. Very intriguing.… (más)