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2.9.9 Why Do We Not Have Gifted Education in Schools? Facilitators and Barriers for Implementation in Chile

The Chilean educational system has no existing legislation to secure adequate provisions and services for gifted students, and no attention is paid at the school level to gifted education. This study sought to explore the facilitators and barriers for the implementation of gifted school provisions in Chile. A mixed methodology was used with an initial quantitative giftedness screening of 1,333 students in seven schools and a later qualitative phase focused on 12 interviews and four focus groups with relevant school staff in four schools. The results found enthusiasm and a willingness to learn but also administrative barriers and an excessive focus on disabilities in teachers’ daily work.

Author(s):

María Leonor Conejeros-Solar
leonor.conejeros@pucv.cl
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
Chile

Professor, Psychologist, Doctor in Education at the School of Pedagogy of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. Among her duties, she has served as the Director of the Academically Talented Education Program BETA in the same University. Her main research interests are academically talented students from underprivileged socioeconomic backgrounds, gifted college students, provisions and socio-emotional issues of gifted and twice-exceptional students and gifted homeschooling. She has published several articles and book chapters.

Katia Sandoval-Rodríguez*
katia.sandoval@pucv.cl
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
Chile

Doctor in Education, Special Education Teacher and Master in Curriculum. She has 18 years of teaching experience at the Escuela de Pedagogía from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso and she is the director of the Institute of Cognitive Development of Viña del Mar, Chile. Her main research topics are the identification and characterization of Twice Exceptional students and the characterization and identification of people with Deficit Attention Disorder (ADHD) on different scenarios (school, college, work etc.) using a development model of executive functions.

María Paz Gómez-Arizaga
mpgomez@uandes.cl
Universidad de Los Andes
Chile

Psychologist, Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Arizona. She currently works as a professor at the College of Education, Universidad de los Andes, Chile. She has participated in research projects related to the school experiences of secondary gifted students and twice exceptional learners. Her main research interests and publications are related to traditionally underserved gifted students and their perceptions and experiences as learners in regular classrooms.

Sandra Catalán Henríquez*
sandra.catalan@pucv.cl
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
Chile

Doctor in Education, Psychologist, and Special Education Teacher. She currently works as an associate professor at the Escuela de Pedagogía from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile.

Claudia Nuñez Chaufleur*
claudia.nunez.ch@gmail.com
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
Chile

Primary teacher, specialized on Spanish language, graduated from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. She currently works as a teacher in regular classrooms and as beginner investigator in research projects such as academic reading motivation, socioemotional aspects regarding twice-exceptional students and gifted homeschooled students.