Experiences of Intellectually Gifted Students in an Egalitarian and Inclusive Educational System: A Survey Study

A study was launched in an educational setting where giftedness is not officially rec-ognized to explore intellectually gifted students ’ experience of family background and support, their age and means of identification, the degree of support received in school, and the understanding they experienced from a primary to a tertiary education level. In all, 287 members of the Swedish branch of Mensa (216 men and 71 women), all with IQ scores equal to or higher than the 98th percentile, constituted the research group. A survey design was used and provided as an Internet-based questionnaire. Quantitative data were analyzed as within-group dispersions, whereas qualitative data were subjected to a straightforward content analysis. Results show cause for con-cern. In particular, primary school appeared to be a hostile environment. However, conditions improved somewhat as participants moved from primary to secondary school and again from secondary to tertiary education. However, the participants remained far from satisfied at any level of the education system. Four problem areas were identified in the study as constituting the gifted students ’ compounded dilemma in an egalitarian, regular, and inclusive school system. In an international perspective, intellectually gifted individuals are often seen as “the hope of the future ” (e.g., Wilms, 1986). It would seem only natural, then, to expect that educators in most school systems all over the world would be eager to assist their potentially high-achieving gifted students. Paradoxically, while providing special education for slow learners is never controversial, providing intellec-tual stimulation to the gifted learners is on occasion very controversial even at a tertiary level. Resistance to providing suitable education for students who need more, even much more, intellectual stimulation than the average student, is not uncommon (e.g., Howley, Howley