Teachers' attitudes towards the gifted : the importance of professional development and school culture

Abstract

Given that teachers have one of the most
significant influences on the educational
development of gifted students, reports of
negative attitudes and beliefs in popular myths
about giftedness are cause for concern. It is
important to understand teachers’ attitudes and
beliefs to implement effective training and
educational practices to improve education for
gifted students. This study explored the
attitudes of Australian primary school teachers
(N = 126) towards intellectually gifted children
and their education at eight schools. These
schools could be categorised into four different
classifications in regards to their involvement in
gifted education. Key findings include significant
associations between teachers’ attitudes and
their school classifications (p < .001), and their
participation in gifted and talented education inservice
training (p < .001). Findings from this
study suggest that further teacher training and
school-wide involvement in gifted education may
assist in improving attitudes towards
intellectually gifted children and their
education.