Abstract:

In comparison to other European countries, research on gifted education and teaching interventions aimed towards gifted students are still underrepresented in Italy. Instruction on gifted education for teachers is yet to be institutionalized, and there is still no clear, unambiguous and uniform definition of the concept of intellectual giftedness (De Angelis, 2018). However, following the guidelines of Education for All, (UNESCO, 2015) it is essential to not only design proper interventions for gifted individuals, but also to provide teachers with the training to recognize gifted students in the school environment, to create inclusive learning environments in the classroom and to develop suitable school curricula (De Angelis, 2017).

The Renzulli Scales (Renzulli & Hartman, 1971) are a tool to support teachers’ competences in recognizing gifted students. They are currently translated and validated in Italian by the University Roma Tre, in cooperation with the University of Salento and the University of Bologna. As part of this survey, the research unit of Roma Tre has developed a questionnaire to investigate and analyze the opinions and perceptions of teachers who participated in both phases of the project: the preliminary phase of theoretical and practical training, and the experimental phase carried out in the classroom. The participants are secondary school teachers in different disciplines, like Italian and mathematics, and individual support assistants, which are in the Italian school system teachers trained in special education supporting a student with special needs during the regular school activities.

Early results demonstrate a significant lack of basic knowledge on gifted education in the participating school teachers, however, they also communicate a clear interest to improve their knowledge on gifted education and indicate that their main motivation is to be able to recognize giftedness in middle school children. Therefore, there is the urgent need to consider the concept of giftedness – according to the inclusive perspective in the Italian school system – as a S.E.N., special educational need (De Angelis, 2017). The questionnaire targets the opinions of the teachers who participated in the project, and at the same time seeks to highlight educational needs connected to the recognition and empowerment of gifted students. In consequence, the value of this research is to contribute to the development of a gifted education approach suitable for the inclusive Italian school system.

References:
[1] De Angelis, B. (2017). Inclusione e didattica della plusdotazione. Journal of Educational, Cultural and Psychological Studies, 16, 177-206.
[2] De Angelis B. (2018). Raccontare il proprio talento, potenziare il proprio futuro. In: Scuola Democrazia Educazione Formare ad una nuova società della conoscenza e della solidarietà. Ulivieri S. et al. [eds], e-book, Atti Convegno Siped 2018; Lecce: Pensa Multimedia, 355-365.
[3] Renzulli, J., & Hartman, R. (1971). Scale for rating behavioral characteristics of superior students. Exceptional children, 38(3), 243-248.
UNESCO, Europe and North America: Education for All 2015 Regional Review, 2015, cat. no: 232565.

Keywords:

Giftedness, inclusion, Renzulli Scales, gifted education, teacher training.