Teachers’ Perceptions of the Socioemotional Development of Intellectually Gifted Primary Aged Students and Their Attitudes Towards Ability Grouping and Acceleration

This qualitative multi-site case study sought to examine the current educational provisions in place for intellectually gifted primary school students in Queensland and to consider how the beliefs and attitudes of primary school stakeholders were reflected in the production of their school gifted education policies. Attitudes and perceptions of principals and teachers at four Queensland primary schools are reported in this article. The major findings indicated that while reported attitudes towards acceleration and ability grouping were fairly positive overall, educators are still concerned about the possible adverse effects of grade-skipping on students’ social and emotional development, and the connotations of elitism associated with full-time models of ability grouping. However, teachers’ knowledge and awareness of the affective characteristics of gifted students did not appear to influence their attitudes or beliefs regarding acceleration and ability grouping.