Identification of Gifted Students: Assumptions and Perceptions of Secondary School Teachers

Author(s) : Maaz Ahmed Ramey , Tahir Nadeem , & Hafiz Muhammad Ather Khan

Abstract:

Identification of gifted students helps to understand the abilities and potential weaknesses of the students. The school administration may use this information to plan interventions and accommodations to manage the emergent demands of gifted students. The main objective of the study was identification of the students’ characteristics that can be used to identify them as gifted students as well as the factors that determine students’ level of intelligence. This is not only a valuable striving but a legal and human right of the student as well. There is no considerable effort prevailing in the public sector school system in Pakistan to acknowledge the needs of talented and gifted children. For this study, a questionnaire was developed on a 4 point rating scale and distributed among 600 Respondents who were selected through random sampling method. The study was an exploration of the stakeholders’ perspectives about the characteristics of gifted students both in academic achievement and co-curricular activities. The study finds out that Secondary School Teachers (SSTs) use both curricular and co-curricular activities to distinguish gifted students however; teachers also suppose that students’ abilities are associated with their examination marks. Identification of gifted students at the right time may prove beneficial for the economy of a country so it is recommended that special arrangements should be taken in the policy for gifted students so that they keep on their track.

Keywords: Gifted students, Secondary school, Education, Talent