Principals’ perceptions of gifted students and their education

Abstract

This study aimed to identify principals' perceptions of gifted students and their education in the context of Sweden. Gagné and Nadeau's attitude scale “Opinions about the gifted and their education” (OGE; with permission from Gagné) was used. The attitude scale consisted of 34 statements about gifted students and their education for principals to evaluate using a 5-point Likert-scale. The results showed that the 71 participating principals mostly felt positive about gifted students and their education, but the answers gave a picture of uncertainty and lack of knowledge, as many respondents used the middle option, “neutral,” on the Likert scale. While the results are not generalizable, the findings provide insights into respondents' perceptions and demonstrate the importance of bringing research about gifted students and their education into the front line.

Keywords

• Attitude
• Gifted
• Gifted education
• Gifted students
• Perceptions
• Principals