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3.4.6 Teachers’ perceptions of their preparedness to meet the needs of gifted and twice-exceptional learners

Teachers need to feel prepared to support, engage and build rapport with their students to enable student development and optimal educational outcomes. However, relatively little is known about how well-prepared early career teachers believe themselves to be for their role in teaching gifted and twice-exceptional students. Presented are 971 early career teachers’ perceptions of their preparedness to teach students with diverse learning needs, including gifted and twice-exceptional students. The results focus specifically on where beginning teachers felt least prepared: teaching diverse abilities, supporting students with disability, and communicating sensitively with parents. Implications and recommendations are discussed.

Author(s):

Geraldine Townend
g.townend@griffith.edu.au
Griffith Institute of Educational Research
Australia

Geraldine Townend has over a decade of experience in the field of gifted education with special interest and expertise in the area of twice exceptionality. She publishes on this subject and has refereed international publications. Geraldine completed her PhD at Griffith University and is now a research fellow at the Griffith Institute of Educational Research. Her research interests focus on supporting gifted and twice-exceptional students to aspire to their potential in education, which includes the development of positive academic self-concept. Her research findings indicate that there are several sociological and psychological influences on academic self-concept including social comparison theory.