In the dark: Perspectives of parents of gifted students in Queensland primary schools

Abstract

The foundation of this paper is a qualitative multi-site case study, which sought to examine the current educational provisions in place for intellectually gifted primary school students in Queensland, and to consider the attitudes and perceptions of a range of different stakeholders, including teachers, parents and students. The current paper examines the perspectives of parents about their gifted children's experiences of school. Parents in the current study were predominantly supportive of their children's schools; furthermore, and importantly, no evidence was found to support the existence of the stereotypical 'pushy parent'. While knowledge and awareness of gifted education issues were generally fairly low overall, ability grouping strategies generated largely positive responses, while acceleration was regarded less positively. A lack of communication with schools was the major concern for a majority of participants.