Adapted Education for Gifted Students in Norway: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract

In this article, we describe the mixed methods research (i.e., quantitative survey and qualitative interviews) we conducted to investigate adapted education for gifted students in Norway. The survey results showed that the teachers (n = 132) used differentiation strategies and agreed that gifted students need an adapted education that extends beyond the regular curriculum. We identified three themes related to adapted education based on an analysis of the student interview data (n = 17, aged 12–15) and four themes based on an analysis of the teachers’ responses to the open-ended survey question regarding adapted education. We also investigated similarities and differences between teacher and student themes: both groups reported similar enrichment strategies applied within adapted education and similar barriers and systematic challenges to its facilitation.

“It May Be a Luxury, but Not a Problem”: A Mixed Methods Study of Teachers’ Attitudes towards the Educational Needs of Gifted Students in Norway

“…We have found similarities and differences between the school systems in Australia and Norway. Both countries have school systems that value egalitarianism which generates antipathy against elitism and gifted education [1,58]. Egalitarian school systems, out of fear of creating good conditions for elitism, tend not to recognise giftedness among children officially.…”

“…The findings from Australian studies by Mullen and Jung [1] are perhaps relevant not only to the Norwegian context but also to the Scandinavian context due to similarities in values concerning egalitarianism. Several studies in Scandinavian countries have shown that schools prioritise inclusive education for students with disabilities over gifted students [3,[58][59][60][61]. In Finland, Tirri and Kuusisto [61] show that there is a greater need to recognize the social and affective needs of gifted pupils.…”