Teachers of Preschool and Early School Education Facing the Challenge of Working With Talented Young Learners – a Study Based on Qualitative and Quantitative Research
Abstract
Research objective: The main goal of this article is to portray the challenges that early education and preschool teachers encounter when working with talented young learners in public preschools and kindergartens.
Problem and research methods: The author investigates the complexities of working with talented young learners, utilizing quantitative methods such as standardized surveys and interviews with early education and preschool teachers.
The process of argumentation: The introduction outlines the topic, followed by a brief description of the challenges in teaching talented learners. The research method is then discussed. Finally, the findings and recommendations for practice are presented.
Research results: The findings indicate that early education and preschool teachers face some challenges in teaching talented learners, mostly connected with recognition, diagnosis, and individualized instruction. Many teachers feel unprepared, lack sufficient time, and receive little support from colleagues and administrators. They also seldom seek help from specialists.
Conclusions, innovations, and recommendations: There is a need for comprehensive political regulation in Poland to enhance the individualization of education for talented young learners. Support for teachers through collaboration with headmasters, parents, and specialists is vital. Teamwork and assistance are essential to effectively meet the needs of these learners.
References
Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 9 sierpnia 2017 r. w sprawie zasad organizacji i udzielania pomocy psychologiczno-pedagogicznej w publicznych przedszkolach, szkołach i placówkach [Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 9 August 2017 on the principles of organising and providing psychological and pedagogical assistance in public kindergartens, schools and institutions] Dz.U. z 2023 r. poz. 1798 (2023) (Polska). https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20230001798/O/D20231798.pdf
Clark, B. (2002). Growing up gifted: Developing the Potential of Children at Home and School. Merrill/Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River.
Dyrda, B. (2007). Zjawiska niepowodzeń szkolnych uczniów zdolnych. Rozpoznawanie i przeciwdziałanie [School failures of gifted students: Recognition and counteraction]. Oficyna Wydawnicza „Impuls”.
Ingram, G. (2008). Meeting the Needs of Your Most Able Pupils: Modern Foreign Languages. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
Kamińska, A. (2021). Matura na 100%. Doświadczenia edukacyjne uczniów zdolnych w polskiej szkole publicznej [Excelling at the Matura exam: Educational experiences of gifted students in a Polish public school]. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Akademii Ignatianum w Krakowie.
Kerr, B. (Eds.). (2009). Encyclopedia of Giftedness, Creativity and Talented. Sage Publications.
Limont, W. (2012). Uczeń zdolni, Jak go rozpoznać i jak z nim pracować [The gifted student: How to recognise them and how to work with them]. Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne.
Pfeiffer, S. (2015). Essential of Giftedness Assessment. John Wiley & Sons.
Robinson, W. & Campbell, J. (2010). Effective Teaching in Gifted Education: Using a Whole School Approach. Routledge.
Stambaugh, T. & Mofield, E. (2022). A Teacher`s Guide to Curriculum Design for Gifted and Advanced Learners. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
Todd, S. (2022). Inquiry Learning in the Gifted Classroom, It is a Problem-Based World. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
Copyright (c) 2024 Aneta Kamińska
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
- The Author/Authors agree(s) to publish the article free of charge in Multidisciplinary Journal of School Education in English or Spanish. The Editorial Board reserves the right to shorten the texts and change the titles.
- As part of free publication mentioned in § 1, the Author/Authors agrees to make the full electronic version of their article available in the Internet.
- The Author/Authors agrees to index their article in databases at home and abroad, including abstracts and keywords as well as Author's/Authors’ affiliation in English and in other languages. The Author/Authors agrees to pass on the information mentioned above to the owners of these databases.
- The Author/Authors declares that their publication is original and does not include borrowings from other works which might cause Publisher's responsibility, does not infringe the rights of the third party and that their copyright on this publication is not limited. The Author/Authors will incur all the costs and will pay compensations which might result from the mendacity of the following statement.
- The Author/Authors declares to bear complete responsibility for the scientific reliability of the article submitted. The detailed contribution of all co-authors is defined.
- The Author/Authors declares to publish the text in the Multidisciplinary Journal of School Education under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-ND 4.0).
- For more than one author, please complete the Authorship Contributions and send it to the editorial office. Please indicate the specific contributions made by each author (list the authors’ initials, e.g., JKH). Please download, complete, scan and attach the file in the system during the submission process.
Authors Statement - Authorship Contributions
