Abstract:

In Lithuania, there is an increasing amount of talk about students' math’s achievement. The results of examinations of gymnasium students have been getting worse almost every year, and the focus is often on those who have done poorly or not at all in the exams. The processes of updating mathematics content and assessment also focus on the underperforming student, while leaving the gifted student in the background. The Law on Education of the Republic of Lithuania (2011) states that "special educational needs are the need for assistance and services in the educational process resulting from a person's exceptional abilities, congenital or acquired disabilities, or unfavourable factors in the environment," and that the education of persons with special needs also includes gifted students. However, the education of gifted students often receives insufficient attention. Researchers all over the world talk about students with particular abilities, but mathematical abilities in particular are not sufficiently researched, and are often limited to general abilities. Mathematical aptitudes are more easily identified at an older age, which is why it is so important to develop them in lower secondary schools.
The aim of the study is to investigate the regulation of the education of mathematically gifted students and the real situation in gymnasiums.
In order to reveal the regulation of the education of mathematically gifted gymnasium students and the real situation, a study of teachers' experience in the gymnasium was conducted. The research sample is non-probability sampling of convenience. A precisely defined sample was not intended, data were collected until they began to repeat themselves and a decrease in their informativeness became evident. In order to achieve the set goal, the documents of ten Lithuanian gymnasiums were analyzed. The study was conducted in October-December 2022.

Methodology:
Before conducting empirical research, scientific pedagogical, psychological, philosophical research methodological literature was analysed. A qualitative research strategy is chosen to achieve the aim of the study. The data were collected using the structured oral interview method.

Results:
The results of the empirical study revealed that that only the combination of objective measures (assessments) and subjective measures (opinions) helps to create a valuable and efficient identification procedure for gifted students, and the possibilities of teaching gifted children include acceleration, enrichment of educational content and differentiation of educational content. It is true that gifted students are not always recognized or their potential in a certain field remains unrevealed. The analysis of Lithuanian gymnasiums’ documents allowed to determine that the concept of a gifted student is not defined in gymnasium documents, only a small number of gymnasiums have confirmed the procedure for recognizing gifted students and the description of the education of gifted students. The analysis of the survey of Lithuanian gymnasiums mathematics teachers revealed that gymnasiums mathematics teachers identify gifted students and apply educational methods based mainly on their pedagogical experience. It has been established that difficulties are often encountered when educating a student with mathematical abilities.

Keywords:

Gifted students, Mathematically gifted students, Opportunities for education, Gymnasium.