Gifted Programs Cannot Be Successful Without Gifted Research and Theory: Evidence From Practice With Gifted Students of Mathematics

This study investigated the educational provision for mathematically gifted students offered in primary (elementary) schools in England (United Kingdom) just before the abandonment of the government’s Gifted and Talented (G&T) program. Through a questionnaire within five Educational Authorities and four in-depth case studies in different primary schools that were implementing provision for their most able mathematicians, the study, despite some positive results, found a number of problems relating to the effectiveness and defensibility of the offered provision. This article presents those problems and the identified links between them, the lack of support from gifted theory and research, the lack of support from specialists, and the abandonment of the G&T initiative and makes recommendations that could have sustained and increased the effectiveness of both the schools’ provision and the government’s initiative.