Teachers' standpoints toward working with gifted pupils

Paper

With the introduction of a 9-year primary school and a fast-changing society and inclusion of which intent is to have schools that recognise the importance of inclusiveness and well-being of all the pupils besides the success, we have – in a way – legislated also working with gifted pupils.

Our educational system demands that teachers master different roles; working with the gifted is among others. Progress and development of gifted pupils is every teacher's duty. All children should have an opportunity for optimal development of their potential and to systematically acquire general and unique knowledge that presents them a challenge, it is necessary to establish special education programs; at the same time, things like individual differences in speed and way of development and learning, intellectual challenge and acceptance of everything unique and different, should be considered.
Of great importance is the fact that a potentially gifted pupil should be understood and accepted as a child that needs help from a teacher to be successful.
Gifted pupils are unique because the gifted do not represent a homogeneous group, but they significantly differ from each other. Due to ineffective engagement of the gifted within the educational system, they have – not seldom – demonstrated their boredom and apparent disagreement regarding satisfying their needs in various ways, not seldom making them the most disturbing pupils in a class. Also, due to their uniqueness, I was interested in teachers' standpoint toward the gifted and their behavioural uniqueness.

In the theoretical part, I've first defined being gifted, personal references of the gifted, characteristics of the gifted, differences of the gifted, and the problem of the gifted.

I have conducted empirical research from the sample of 135 primary school teachers in Slovenia that filled out a questionnaire. To reach my goal, I have formed a hypothesis, which – from being accepted or omitted – enabled teachers' standpoints from the chosen sample and their generalisation in regards to the basic set.

Research has shown that despite a positive inclination toward working with the gifted from teachers' perspective, the gifted pupils remain a disturbing element, which can be only a consequence of their boredom during classes. Teachers are prepared to further educate themselves for working with the gifted, and their standpoints remain the same regardless of school, gender, years of service, working position, or work satisfaction.