The Sparkle Project: What Makes Teachers of the Gifted Thrive in Their Jobs?

Preparing teachers requires an understanding of how teachers learn, how they stay motivated for their job, and what they need to hold on to that motivation (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999; Deci & Ryan, 2000; Lunenberg et al., 2014). How teachers perceive their professional experiences affects the broad ecological educational system. In daily practice, teachers have little time to reflect in action. While teaching, most teacher decisions are made in a split second (Korthagen et al., 2001, Loughran, 2002). Research suggests that the influence of educational theories on professional strategies is not as big as is sometimes assumed (Diery, et al, 2020). Teachers’ ideals are suggested to be an important driving force for their motivation (de Ruyter & Kole, 2010). In this session, we will present the results of an empirical study among American and Dutch teachers of the gifted on their motivation and what makes them thrive in their jobs.