The actual support and the need of support, for teachers and gifted pupils, in the subject of mathematics, grades 4-6 : - From a teacher's perspective

Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie är att inhämta enskilda lärares åsikter om sitt faktiska stöd i undervisningen av särbegåvade elever i ämnet matematik, årskurs 4-6, samt sitt behov av stöd. Studien omfattar även vad lärare anser att de särbegåvade elever de undervisar erhåller samt behöver, för att utvecklas i ämnet matematik. För att kunna genomföra studien har sju personer verksamma på olika grundskolor i Sverige intervjuats, genom så kallade semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Samtliga respondenter uppgav att de undervisat minst en särbegåvad elev var. Av resultatet framkom både likheter och skillnader mellan respondenternas svar. Sådana likheter var exempelvis att samtliga respondenter uppgav sig till största del vara självlärda på området särbegåvning och att kunskapen om elevers särbegåvning i svenska skolor generellt uppfattades som låg. Detta ansåg respondenterna i sin tur påverka de särbegåvade elevernas stöd i undervisningen negativt. Gemensamt för alla respondenter var även att de gav särbegåvade elever stöd i mån av tid och egen förmåga. En skillnad som framkom, respondenterna emellan, var att tre av dem inte ansåg sig ha något faktiskt stöd i undervisningen, men att de hade behov av detta. En av respondenterna uppgav sig inte ha något stöd, men upplevde sig heller inte behöva det. De resterande tre respondenterna uppgav att de kunde söka stöd i sin undervisning från bland annat specialpedagoger, förstelärare och beteendevetare.The purpose of this qualitative study is to obtain the opinions of individual teachers about their actual support and their need for support, in teaching gifted pupils in the subject of mathematics, grades 4-6. The study also includes what teachers think gifted pupils receive and need, in order to develop knowledge in the subject of mathematics. To be able to carry out the study, seven people working at different compulsory schools in Sweden, were interviewed through so-called semi-structured interviews. All respondents stated that they each had been teaching at least one gifted pupil. The results showed similarities and differences between the respondents' answers. Such similarities were, for example, that all respondents stated that they were self-taught in the area of gifted pupils and that the knowledge was generally perceived as low in Swedish schools. This was by the respondents considered to adversely affect the pupils' support in the classroom. Common to all the respondents was also that, they themselves, provided gifted pupils support according to their time and their own abilities. One difference that emerged between the respondent’s answers was that three of them did not consider themselves to have any actual support in teaching gifted pupils, but that they had a need for this. One of the respondents stated that she did not have any support but did not feel that she needed it either. The remaining three respondents stated that they could get support when teaching gifted pupils from, among other things, special educators, lecturers and behavioral scientists