Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to examine teachers' attitudes towards the use of special programs, methods and forms of work with gifted and talented students. Gifted students need gifted education programs which require different goals, i.e., expected performance, content, and methods of learning and teaching need to be adapted to individual ability levels and personality characteristics (National Framework Curriculum, 2011). In a school setting, gifted and talented students are individuals with above-average achievement in the following areas: general, intellectual, creative and artistic ability, leadership, and psychomotor skills. For the purpose of this research, one factor of the questionnaire developed by Nikčević-Milković et al. (2016) was used to examine teachers' attitudes toward specific programs, methods, and forms of working with gifted and talented students. The questionnaire was completed by 446 teachers from across the Republic of Croatia, from all types of schools, with different years of experience, and teaching profiles. The research revealed that there are no statistically significant differences in the implementation of special programs, methods and forms of work depending on gender, years of experience, regional affiliation and teacher profile. Differences exist between elementary school teacher and vocational school teachers and between teachers who have received formal training in working with gifted students compared to teachers who have received neither formal nor non-formal training in working with gifted students.

Keywords:

Gifted and talented students, methods and forms of work.