Swedish teachers’ attitudes toward the gifted

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN, 1989), which was adopted into Swedish law in 2020, declares that all children have the right to education and that this education should help the child to reach its full potential. In addition, the Education Act (SFS 2010:800, 3 kap. 2 §) states that pupils who easily meet the knowledge requirements “must be given guidance and stimulation to be able to reach further in their knowledge development". Approximately five percent of students can be considered gifted (Stålnacke, 2015) and may require tailored teaching to get their needs met. If gifted students’ needs aren’t met, they are at greater risk to develop mental health issues or school difficulties. Teachers are essential to gifted education and their attitudes toward giftedness and to adjustments in teaching can impact how well they cater to the needs of gifted students (Laine et al., 2019), making this study on teachers’ attitudes toward the gifted relevant for the symposium. 

Research on teachers' attitudes toward the gifted and their education have shown mixed results. Some studies have indicated that teachers are supportive and mostly positive toward giftedness (Laine, et al., 2019; McCoach & Siegle, 2007). Studies have also shown negative attitudes toward ability grouping but positive attitudes toward differentiation (Laine, et al., 2019), which are considered to be effective strategies for meeting the needs of gifted students. While teachers' attitudes toward the gifted have been studied for several decades internationally, research in the Swedish context is scarce. Allodi Westling and Rydelius (2008) conducted a pilot study on experienced teachers’ attitudes toward giftedness and Ivarsson (2023) has explored principals' attitudes toward the gifted and their education. The authors emphasize that an examination of Swedish teachers' attitudes toward giftedness is needed.

The research question I aim to answer is; What are Swedish teachers’ attitudes toward the gifted and their education? This study adopts a quantitative approach and a questionnaire will be used to gather data from Swedish teachers working in preschools and schools in one region of Sweden. The survey consists of statements about the gifted and their education. The participants will respond on a Likert scale to indicate their level of agreement or disagreement. Additionally, the questionnaire includes queries about the participants educational background, what age-groups they teach and about their experiences in teaching gifted children. To enhance validity, a pilot test will be conducted before data collection. For the pilot test teachers from another Swedish region will be asked to complete the questionnaire twice to also be able to account for potential time sampling errors. Cronbach’s alpha will be employed to assess reliability.

This study is the first part of a doctoral research project and data collection will start in the second half of 2024.

References

Allodi Westling, M., & Rydelius, P.-A. (2008). The needs of gifted children in context: A study of Swedish teachers’ knowledge and attitudes [konferenspresentation]. The European Council for High Ability (ECHA), Prague, Czech Republic.

Ivarsson, L. (2023). Principals’ perceptions of gifted students and their education. Social Sciences and Humanities, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2023.100400 

Laine, S., Hotulainen, R., & Tirri, K. (2019). Finnish Elementary School Teachers’ Attitudes

Toward Gifted Education. Roeper Review, 4(2), 76-87.

https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2019.1592794

McCoach, D. B., & Siegle, D. (2007) What predicts teachers’ attitudes toward the gifted? Gifted Child Quarterly, 51(3), 246-255.  https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986207302719 

SFS 2010:800. Skollag. https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-och-lagar/dokument/svenskforfattningssamling/skollag-2010800_sfs-2010-800/

Stålnacke, J. (2015). Särskilt begåvade elever: 1.2 Särskilt begåvade barn i skolan [Gifted students: 1.2 Gifted children in school]. Skolverket.

United Nations. (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child, November 20, 1989, https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child