Gifted student as perceived by male and female teachers – research report

The article aims to discuss the issue of how gifted students are perceived by primary andsecondary school teachers. The publication has a theoretical and research character. In thefirst part, the author analysed the literature and current research results in identifyinggifted students. The empirical part of the text presents the results of survey research conductedby the author in 2021 among teachers of the Warsaw network of schools supportingthe gifted. The research process aimed to learn about the features that, in the opinionof teachers, characterise gifted students and the impact of professional experience on theperception of gifted students. The author compared the image of a gifted student presentedin the literature with his image emerging from the research. The surveyed teachers’opinions about the figure of a gifted student differ only in a few aspects from the imagedescribed by the researchers. During the research process, several statistically significantdifferences were revealed between the length of work experience of the surveyed teachersand their assessment of the characteristics of gifted students. The literature analysis andsurvey research process have proven that experience is an important factor supporting thereliability of teachers’ identification of gifted students. Still, the starting point should beappropriate substantive support.