Through the Dabrowski lens: Synergies between Sternberg’s ACCEL model for identifying the gifted and the Theory of Positive Disintegration

Sternberg’s ACCEL (Active, Concerned, Citizenship, and Ethical Leadership) model has been proposed as a new means for identifying gifted individuals. He also suggests the goal of gifted education should be to produce the leaders of the future. Is the human race simply a group of ‘cave-dwellers in three-piece suits’ or is there truly hope for the development of creative capacities and ethical wisdom as suggested by Ambrose & Sternberg? Initially the ACCEL model presents a brave new world for consideration within the gifted education community. But does it? Are not the capacities for creative thinking, ethical wisdom, and transformational leadership qualities that may manifest in some individuals through Kazimierz Dąbrowski’s process of positive disintegration?

This presentation will identify synergies and differences between the Theory of Positive Disintegration and Sternberg’s ACCEL model and consider the broader implications and applicability of these findings for gifted education and the community at large.