Giftedness in inclusive education: a systematic review of research

ABSTRACT

Research and practice on giftedness in the field of inclusive education remain marginal given the long tradition of specific interventions in separate educational contexts. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the learning, social, and personal outcomes of gifted students in inclusive school settings. Twenty-five studies met the eligibility criteria for inclusion. Regarding social and psychological outcomes, the results are mixed: gifted students experience positive relationships with their peers in the inclusive context, however, it appears that teaching inadequacy may lead to frustration and disengagement. Regarding learning outcomes, results on the difference between inclusive and segregated contexts are inconsistent and mostly non-statistically significant. This paper also addresses conceptual barriers in relation to the identification of giftedness and questions what approaches and strategies could be adapted and used in inclusive contexts to effectively address the needs of gifted students.

KEYWORDS:

• Inclusion
• giftedness
• student outcomes
• systematic review

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Francesco Marsili

Francesco Marsili is a Ph.D candidate at the University of Perugia. His research interests are mainly gifted education, special and inclusive education and methods for research synthesis with a focus on meta-analysis and systematic reviews.

Silvia Dell’Anna

Silvia Dell'Anna is a postdoctoral researcher in Special and Inclusive Education at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy. Her area of interest concerns the effective implementation of Inclusive Education and its evaluation.

Marta Pellegrini

Marta Pellegrini is an assistant professor in Experimental pedagogy at the University of Cagliari. Her research interests focus on evidence-based education, systematic review and meta-analysis on educational and teaching interventions, research use in educational policies and practices.