Teacher professional development (PD) is also seen by some authors as a factor in teacher attitudes towards provision for gifted children. Geake and Gross (2008), found that negative attitudes can be reduced significantly through PD programmes, whereas McCoach and Siegle (2007) found no impact on teachers’ attitudes towards the gifted, but interestingly there were positive perceptions by the teachers of themselves as gifted after training. In contrast Bégin and Gagné (1994) found an over 60% positive relationship between attending PD courses and positive teacher attitudes towards
providing for gifted pupils in their studies. Furthermore, McCoach and Siegle (2007) maintain that educators who see family members as gifted, or have prior contact with giftedness, tend to be more proactive towards academically gifted pupils and programme implementation.
Socioeconomic status and contact with giftedness are two demographic predictors of teacher attitudes identified by Gagné and Nadeau (1985; Paule, 2003; Winstanley, 2004) confirming that the higher the socioeconomic status and more contact with giftedness the more positive attitudes flourished. These class divisions and predictors reflect the Neighbourhood Effect discussed by Cox, Reynolds and Rokkan (1974) where people who have regular close contact tend to think and behave in a similar fashion. It is clear that the
consequences of negative teacher attitudes indicate that there could be many gifted children in numerous schools unable to progress in England.
Koshy et al. (2010) report that age and years of teaching experience are not predictors of positive teacher attitudes; however females with postgraduate training and G & T responsibilities were indicators of positive and successful provision for gifted pupils. How much of an impact PD training could have with teachers from more demanding inner-city areas would pose a rewarding and interesting research investigation.
Teacher attitudes researched by Koshy et al. (2010) showed a significant reduction in teacher resistance to labelling children as gifted: from 86% in 1996, down to 62% by 2009, partially explained by the preferred use of the tag
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‘more able’ instead of ‘gifted.’ However some of Koshy’s statistics should be viewed with caution when considering generalising findings:
96% of participants claim to have identified gifted (and talented) pupils
84% of participants had received PD training
90% of schools had produced school policies.
These percentages appear high, which may indicate that the majority of schools that participated were the schools who had already implemented the policy and were not necessarily representative of the area. This could imply that schools who are still in the process of establishing procedures or just setting up systems did not participate in this survey, making generalisations questionable.
Teacher attitudes are also affected by the consequences of ‘inclusion,’ a policy which was produced as a result of the Warnock Report in 1978, which then prompted the Education Act (1981) that set the foundations for the policy of ‘inclusion’ in primary schools in UK. Inclusion is the position where “pupils, no matter what their particular needs or learning disabilities, belong together with their same age in the educational mainstream” (MacBeath, Galton,
Steward, MacBeath and Page, 2006, p.2). The impact of inclusion on teachers in a climate where pupil behaviour was deteriorating in many classrooms was recognised as cause for concern by Humphrey, Bartolo, Callejab, Hofsaess, Janikova, Mol Lous, Vilkiener and Westo (2006 and MacBeath et al. (2006) leaving teachers feeling disempowered and demoralised (Bates and Munday, 2005).
Increasing the range of needs and abilities within the ‘mainstream’
classroom without addressing curriculum, testing and ‘standards’-driven accountability, has had a major impact on the nature and balance of teachers’ work (MacBeath et al., 2006, p.3).
29 An analysis of how teachers perceive their responsibilities would
provide a valuable insight in teacher attitudes and educator prioritisation with high demands on their limited time schedule.
As the G & T policy in the UK is relatively recent in educational terms and the few prior studies in England having indicated that educators tended to be unsympathetic towards centering attention on gifted pupils (Thomas, Casey and Koshy, 1996), the extent of the implementation of the G &T initiative is worthy of close attention. An analysis of individual teacher attitudes and perceptions, and issues of identification and provision, combined with school philosophy towards the education of ‘gifted’ pupils, will provide a most
rewarding and enlightening investigative outcome in this research study. It is important to understand teacher perceptions as they have a direct bearing on achievement for more able children. Eyre and McClure (2001), Morgan (2007), Koshy et al. (2010) assert that little research has focused on how the G & T initiative has been received in primary schools in England, which this study aims to address by answering the following research questions:
1. How do primary school teachers perceive the current position of recognition and provision for gifted and talented children in selected local schools?
2. Since implementation of initiatives for primary school gifted and
talented students in England, what, if any, progress in recognition and provision has been achieved in the schools selected for study?
Summary
This literature review has presented a wide range of theories on the various characteristics of giftedness and numerous approaches to the recognition and provision for gifted pupils in primary school learning environments.
The complexities and challenges for individual schools and educators include:
selecting and grouping pupils for instruction, the implications of labels, the variation in individual development levels, potential effects of social standings and potential influences of the home and the school environment.
30 Teacher attitudes have a significant bearing, not only on whether children are identified, but on underlying perceptions of giftedness that can have a long-term effect on learning for more able pupils. Combating resistance to educating gifted pupils through professional development appears
problematic, with mixed findings. Inclusion combined with other circumstantial factors has imposed a distinct challenge for teachers in accommodating diverse needs in a regular classroom setting.
It is imperative for children to have full teacher support facilitating high quality productive learning opportunities for all gifted students. Therefore, it is
necessary to understand how teachers perceive the current policy and their position on recognising and providing for gifted education in the local area.
Also, since the implementation of the G & T initiative what, if any progress has been achieved in gifted education over the period of 2000-2010? These two questions are the essence of the intended research study as examined in a snapshot sample of five local schools.
The biggest mistake of the past centuries in teaching has been to treat all children as if they were variants of the same individual, and thus to feel justified in teaching them the same subjects in the same ways.
Howard Gardner (Siegle and Shaughnessy 1994, p.566)
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