Perceptions of preservice teacher candidates towards gifted education training and obtaining the gifted education endorsement certificate in florida

According to the Institute for Research and Policy on Acceleration, training in gifted education is inaccessible by teacher candidates in colleges of education in the United States. This study involved the use of questionnaires with 100 teacher candidates enrolled on an introductory course on diversity in education in a Florida university. Teacher candidates responded to a series of items to identify beliefs about giftedness within and outside the context of education as well as the value of training in gifted education for educators. Of the 100 respondents, 79% agreed or strongly agreed with the need for specialized training for educators working with gifted students. 60.6% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with outcomes with gifted students being positively influenced by research of and experiences with gifted students. The data showed a statistically significant, positive correlation between attitudes towards giftedness within education and agreement with outcomes with gifted students being positively influenced by research of and experiences with gifted students. Results suggest teacher candidates recognize a value in training in gifted education but do not see themselves as gifted educators and are unaware of how to be trained in gifted education