Giftedness in the Primary School in Sweden - Perceptions and Realities

Several researchers in the field of giftedness argue that, due to historical and cultural reasons, being gifted or highly intellectual has been considered undesirable in the Swedish school. They also claim that the authorities, when introducing the democratic school system in the second part of the twentieth century, ignored the needs of gifted children. Furthermore, they suggest that it was not until 1994, when a new curriculum was introduced, that the needs of gifted students began to be acknowledged. This article challenges this often reproduced narrative, and instead argues for the opposite: that the authorities, when introducing the comprehensive school system in the 1960s, took extensive account to the needs of gifted children, and successfully combined goals of equality with possibilities for gifted students to develop to their fullest potential.