Purpose
The study investigates how Swedish kindergarten teachers and coordinators understand and relate to the concept of giftedness in the kindergarten context. The researcher sought to identify which factors enable or impede adapted support for gifted children. In addition, the study aimed to highlight challenges related to balancing the individual needs of children with the kindergarten’s group-oriented approach. The research questions are:
- What type of sources have been used in the design of kindergarten teachers’ and coordinators’ perceptions of giftedness?
- How is giftedness perceived and discussed among kindergarten teachers and coordinators?
- How do kindergarten teachers and coordinators describe the opportunities and obstacles in providing support to gifted children?
Result
The study revealed that kindergarten teachers and coordinators have limited formal knowledge about giftedness, and that their perceptions are often based on personal experiences rather than research. Gifted children were often described as children with extraordinary cognitive or creative skills, but also as challenging to support within kindergarten’s group-oriented framework. the respondents expressed the need for more education and organisational support to better facilitate gifted children’s development and learning.
Design
The study used a qualitative approach in which semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 kindergarten teachers and 5 kindergarten coordinators from different geographical areas and types of kindergartens in Sweden. The data were analysed using thematic content analysis. The aim was to uncover participants’ perceptions of giftedness. To ensure a broad representation, the sample of informants was chosen through a combination of random selection and the snowball method.
References
Nordström, M. E. (2022). Swedish preschool teachers and principals’ conceptions of giftedness and gifted education. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 45(3), 271–291.