Five ingredients for success: Two case studies of advocacy at the state level

Advocacy refers to individuals who believe in a particular cause and are willing to support it in multiple ways. This research includes two accounts of advocacy events regarding gifted education. In both cases, the result was legislation for increased funding and services for the gifted. This research describes how people met the challenge of being supporters of gifted education. Both group processes and individual efforts were analyzed. Five ingredients of success represented the key characteristics common to the leaders in each group: passion, preparation, inspiration, perseverance, and the ability to take advantage of serendipity.