The terminological toolkit of comparative pedagogical research of gifted students' education in the United States, Canada and the UK
The article is aimed at revealing the approaches to defining giftedness and gifted in the USA, Canada and the UK. The following research methods were used: terminological analysis with the help of which the essence of the basic concepts is defined; comparative analysis aimed at defining common features and differences in the approaches to defining giftedness and gifted education in the studied countries. It is emphasized that the definition of "giftedness" and "gifted" presented in the official documents of the USA, Canada and the UK, often differ from the definitions formulated by leading researchers of the studied countries. It is found out that in order to define the studied category of children and youth foreign researchers often use two concepts "giftedness" and "talent" It should be noted that the views of the theorists on the relationship of these concepts in the definition of the studied category differ significantly. The requirements to the definition of giftedness, proposed by a well known American theorist of gifted and talented education J. Renzulli are highlighted, namely: 1) the definition should be based on evidence from scientific research that contains the characteristics of gifted individuals; 2) the definition should provide guidance in the identification process in this category of children and youth; 3) the definition should guide and be logically related to existing practice; 4) the definition should synthesize the research that shows its validity On the basis of analysis of the research works of foreign theorists of gifted and talented education and documents of the state education authorities of the USA, Canada and the UK the main types of giftedness are identified, in particular: 1) intellectual giftedness; 2) specific academic aptitude (math, language, etc. 3) technical design talent; 4) musical and performing talent; 5) artistic talent; 6) sports talent; 7) creativity; and 8) leadership. The basic concept of "giftedness" under which in our study we understand natural inclinations and abilities (intellectual, specific academic, technical design, musicalperforming, artistic, sports, creative and leadership) which are manifested in high achievements, and the potential for such achievements, is clarified. The prospects for further research are seen in the revealing the peculiarities of the outlined types of giftedness.