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494502
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JEG36310.1177/0162353213494502Journal for the Education of the GiftedWeyringer

Article

Gifted Education in Austria

Journal for the Education of the Gifted
36(3) 365­–383
© The Author(s) 2013
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DOI: 10.1177/0162353213494502
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Sieglinde Weyringer1

Abstract
In Austria, gifted education and the education of highly gifted and talented children
have been receiving an increasing public awareness and social acceptance over the
past decade. The article highlights the existing ideas of giftedness in Austria, and it
presents several initiatives having triggered and influenced this positive development.
The provision of special programs for gifted education is closely linked to the general
structure of the Austrian school system. This established system and its inherent
opportunities for talent support will be described. The information forms the
background to understand why there is still a public controversial debate on the
need of specific endeavors in gifted education.
Keywords
gifted children, gifted education, gifted learners, gifted programming, giftedness

Introduction
In Austria, the meaning and acceptance of giftedness and gifted education can be characterized as being ambivalent: On one hand, a great variety of supportive initiatives
and endeavors can be listed, and on the other hand strong reservations toward the label
highly gifted can be identified. Twenty years ago, these two seemingly opposing positions caused an intense dispute between two leading political parties concerning politics in general education and the support of specific programs in gifted education.
Meanwhile, a consensus has been found with the help of research and scientific discourse. Generally today, the usual way of handling the fact that a person, especially a
child, has exceptional abilities and shows the potential for excellent performance is to
avoid the usage of the term gifted. The recurrent argument revolves around the fear of
creating an outsider of the peer group or of society: Hiding above-average abilities is
mainly caused by the motive to not be noticed as being “different from the others.”

1University of Salzburg, Austria

Corresponding Author:
Sieglinde Weyringer, University of Salzburg, Erzabt-Klotz-Strasse 1, Salzburg, 5020, Austria.
Email: [email protected]

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Most recently, a new political consensus had been found. Legal conditions have
been created making the establishment of networks and the realization of programs in
gifted education possible. Step by step, these new regulations are helping to create an
atmosphere that aims to change the described societal and personal stance toward
giftedness.

Primary Conception of Giftedness: Definition and Usage of Terms in the
German Language
Analyzing the definitions and usage of terms of giftedness, many differences between
the German and English languages can be identified. In general, the preferred theoretical concept of giftedness in Austria is the concept of multiple intelligences (Gardner,
1993). This concept is based on a broader understanding of intelligence than IQ testing
provides. Intelligence is not a single, inborn, and unchangeable capacity for which a
general factor can be nominated; intelligence is the capacity to solve problems.
Problem solving involves more than those skills measured in traditional intelligence
tests. Another aspect of this approach of multiple intelligences is the idea that a person
can be very good in a specific domain, such as mathematics, but that does not mean he
or she is similarly excellent in another area, such as in writing. Particularly with regard
to talent domains specifically requiring noncognitive skills (e.g., dancing, singing,
sport), this concept of giftedness is more appropriate.
In contrast to the tradition in English/American scientific terminology, the terms
Begabung (meaning “ability”) and Talent (meaning “talent”) are not used for the distinction between natural abilities and systematically developed skills (Gagné, 2003).
Both terms express the potential to do something. Begabung mainly addresses exceptional cognitive thinking skills (e.g., memory, capacity, reproduction, fluency) and
higher order thinking skills (e.g., critical thinking, reasoning); talent is related to physical and artistic activities (e.g., singing, dancing, drawing, cooking).
Concerning the usage of the term highly, a shift can be observed during the two past
decades: When the issue of gifted education was brought into the focus of teacher
trainers in the mid-1990s, the first training courses gave preference to the intelligencebased concept of giftedness and the usage of 130 points as the discriminating score in
intelligence tests. Presently, due to the established broader concept of giftedness, this
term is mainly put in parentheses. Even in diagnostic reports based on psychometric
procedures, especially with IQ testing, the results avoid the label highly gifted by communicating the percentage quotation and the ranking, not the IQ number. The scores
are explained as a potential and not as a fixed factor for achievement in different
domains of human activities.
In 2006, the European Commission initiated a report on “Specific Educational
Measures to Promote All Forms of Giftedness at School in Europe” (European
Commission, 2006). This document gives an overview on the variety of official terms
and terminologies most commonly used to denote children or young people displaying
exceptional potential (European Commission, 2006, p. 8). The main terms are gifted/
very gifted, talented, or other terms.

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Gifted children in Austria are described as those, “who perform especially well in
intellectual, emotional, social and artistic fields, as well as in sports, as a result of their
(considerable) ability and (special) talents, which are seen as evidence of very high
potential of achievement” (European Commission, 2006, p. 30). Above-average
results are taken as evidence for very high potential in a specific talent domain. The
performance in aptitude tests or in tests of potential ability and also the informal measurement of the level of attained performance are the classification criteria for the
denotation of children and young people as gifted or talented. In addition, interpersonal, emotional, and psychomotor abilities as well as intellectual and artistic aspects
of development are taken into account (European Commission, 2006, p. 9).
Characterizing the current discourse on concepts of giftedness as a hidden endeavor
can be identified in society as well as in the scientific community to distinguish
between Begabungsförderung and Begabtenförderung. Begabungsförderung means
nurturing any individual with all his or her talents and abilities as well as with his or
her failures and shortcomings. Begabtenförderung concentrates on the special abilities
and talents a gifted person can have. By definition, there is no clear distinction between
these two terms concerning the idea of man and related anthropological concepts. The
usage of these terms originated with the previously mentioned ideological dispute
between the two political parties. Presently, a general political agreement exists concerning the practice of gifted education and talent support in Austria: Programs should
concentrate on the person in general to foster and develop his or her abilities and talents as well as focusing on the developmental needs of a gifted individual. The overall
objective of all educational endeavors is to support a person’s individual talent development as well as the establishment of a coherent self. The following description of
initiatives and programs of gifted education shows how a bridge can be made between
these two concepts.

Talent Domains Valued in Austria
If you search the web about Austria and what it is most well-known for, the most frequent answers may include musical references to Austrian composers such as Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Josef Haydn, Anton Bruckner, Anton
Dvořák,Strauss-Family, and Gustav Mahler; or conductors such as Herbert von
Karajan, Karl Böhm, and Nikolaus Hanouncourt; singers such as Elisabeth
Schwarzkopf, Vienna Boys Choir, The Trapp Family, and Falco; and dancers such as
FannyElsler, Grete Wiesenthal, and Gertrud Bodenwieser. Austria is well-represented
musically also with the hymn “Silent Night” and the Viennese Waltz. If you ask
Austrian citizens the same question, you will again hear the same names. These famous
musicians highlight the Austrian tradition of promoting musical talents during the past
200 years. Several educational institutions as well as events and locations for performances have been founded and established, and Austria has achieved a leading position with international and worldwide importance in setting standards. It is home to the
Viennese Opera, the Burg Theater, Vienna, the Wiener Festwochen, the Salzburg
Festival, the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, the Mozarteum

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University in Salzburg and the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz.
Clearly, music is a highly valued domain of talent in Austria.
Another talent domain established in the public and collective mind about Austria
is winter sports, most of all skiing and ski jumping. Austrians are regular medal winners in the winter Olympics as well as in other international competitions. In 1901, the
first skiing club, the Ski-Club Arlberg, was founded with its core objective being the
promotion of young skiers. In 1967, the SchigymnasiumStams opened its doors as
the first academic secondary school in the world specializing in the training of athletes
for winter sports. Since then, many similar educational associations and institutions
for the promotion of winter sports have been founded. Equivalent promotion structures exist in other disciplines of amateur and professional sports. The most popular
and traditional of these is soccer. In 1894, the first Austrian soccer club was founded,
and during the last decade, several soccer academies have been established, encouraging young talents. The promotion of sporting talent is sponsored by private fundraising, as well as by the Austrian government and by the Austrian lottery.
Beside music and winter sports, Austria is well-known for many other talents and
it should be pointed out that excellent performance in these other areas are not usually
considered less important than music. Hence they belong to the national cultural heritage of Austria, and therefore represent core components of the identity concept of
Austrians. These domains are fine arts, design and architecture, theater and film, literature, philosophy, psychology, economy, social sciences, political theories, and
natural sciences. Many of the persons working in these fields have either won the
Nobel Prize in their particular domain or their work is valued as fundamental for the
development of sciences. Many schools have been named after them. Austria is also
famous for its traditions in cooking and food production. Since the 1980s, Austria has
been a pioneer in organic farming, and holds a leading position within the European
countries (Eder, 2006). Nearly 20 % of the acreage in Austria is used for organic food
production. Since 2001, four master plans were established to support joint efforts
between research, environmental technology industry, economy, and education to
attain climate protection targets and additional environmental protection objectives.
Several federal, university, and private research institutes have been working on the
development of organic technology since the first organic farms were established in
the 1920s.
All these areas and the excellence of related performances are present in the shared
memory of the Austrian society and in the consciousness of its citizens. Policymakers
and relevant stakeholders are aware of the responsibilities they have in saving and
nurturing these traditions. Special governmental structures as well as the allotment of
funds and private sponsoring by economic and commercial companies and by handicraft guilds show this awareness. Additional allocation of funds is given by the nine
Austrian province-governments, economic associations, public or charitable foundations, and by some private sponsors and donors. A remarkable financial base is available for the promotion of specific talents, high ability, and giftedness, related to the
traditional as well as new domains of excellence, such as computer sciences, and
information and communication technologies. This talent promotion is not labeled as

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“education for the gifted.” It concentrates on high and excellent performances symbolized by innovative products and high quality of results and outputs. This is the idea of
man as the producer contributing to the increase of the competitive capacity of the
nation.
Excellent performance cannot be simply executed. Existing knowledge and experiences regarding excellent performance have highlighted the importance of personal factors since the beginning of research on giftedness (e.g., Terman, 1925). The
coherence of all aspects of personality, meaning high and low potential and abilities,
is one of the most important preconditions of excellent performance. Austrian legislation and the government concentrate on this precondition. The single person having found individual happiness by the development of a reliable personality and
being well integrated into the society enables a development of the anthropological
background.
Due to the broad palette of talent domains valued in the Austrian society, the governmental endeavors aim to provide supportive conditions for the education of talented and gifted young persons in the regular school system. It must be mentioned that
the nurturing and promotion of exceptional talents and abilities cannot be achieved
fully in the regular school system. The development of expertise needs experts and
special training programs adapted to the individual performer—A regular school in
general cannot provide such special individualized programs, hence there is a huge
range of governmental possibilities to support this development. Before we present
details of concrete Austrian initiatives in educating highly gifted and talented children,
the Austrian school system is described, because all other initiatives are connected
with formal education.

The Austrian School System
Austria has two ministries which have the nurturance of cultural tradition and the promotion of talents as core topics on their agendas: Bundesministerium für Unterricht,
Kunst und Kultur—Federal Ministry for Education, Art, and Culture (BMUKK) and
Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Forschung—BMWF (Federal Ministry of
Science and Research). BMUKK had funds of more than 8 billion Euros as the total
budget for education, art and, culture for 2012 (Bundesministerium für Finanzen
[BMF]/Federal Ministry for Finances, 2011). With this investment, the Austrian school
system is ranked as the fourth most expensive educational system within Organisation
for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). For science and research
(BMWF) the governmental investment is more than 7 billion Euros—this is 1.13% of
the gross domestic product (GDP). In total, 41% of all research and scientific activities
are financed by the government. In this aspect, Austria holds the top rank within the
OECD or EU (BMF, 2011). The education of children and programs for the promotion
of innovative research are given priority. Steps have been made to reduce pupil numbers per class (maximum 25), as well as changes in the structure and in the curriculum
of the academic secondary school system. In addition, there has been improvement in
day-care facilities for pupils (BMF, 2011).

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Figure 1. Educational opportunities in Austria.

Source. Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur—Federal Ministry for Education, Art, and
Culture (BMUKK; 2012).

In Austria, formal education is mainly provided by governmental public schools.
There are only a few private schools, which are run by clerical or commercial institutions. Regardless of their status, the structure of the Austrian school system is founded
on three levels (see Figure 1): Primary School level (Grades 1-4), Secondary School
level (Grades 5-13), and Tertiary Education level (after matriculation or with past
professional experience). A school year starts at the beginning of September and ends
at the beginning of July.
The legislative regulation requires compulsory formal education of all children living permanently in Austria (Schulpflichtgesetz, 1985). Continuing the tradition of
school education established in 1774, this law does not require a child to receive this
education in schools or within the school system; parents and other nonprofessional
educators are allowed to provide this obligatory education outside of school. In such
cases (e.g., a child is homeschooled) the responsibility for evaluating the child’s
knowledge acquisition is given to the school the child normally would have to attend.
At the end of each school year, this school must provide exams equivalent to the curriculum of a particular class; to continue to the next higher class, all exams must be
passed successfully.
Kindergarten attendance is voluntary, beginning at the age of 3. Since 2010, it is
obligatory by law for all children to attend kindergarten in the last year before entering Primary school. Compulsory education lasts 9 years, beginning in the year when
the child is 6 years old. At this age, each child must be enrolled in the primary school
of the district where she or he resides. Since 2006, early admission to primary school
is possible for children who will become 6 years old by March of the following calendar year and who can cope with the cognitive and emotional requirements of the

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first grade. Children who have already reached age 6 at the beginning of the school
year, but who do not show the expected developmental stage of maturation, must
attend preschool for 1 year. This year counts as the 1st year of compulsory education.
Depending on the capabilities and needs of the child, she or he may require between
1 and 3 years to master the material of the curriculum for preschool and Grades 1 and 2.
These 3 years are called Grundstufe 1. Within this phase, a child can also move forward from one grade to the next during the school year, not just at the end. This
general regulation allows a flexible beginning to school according to the developmental level of an individual child.
Secondary school education starts at age 10 and provides various paths for the promotion and nurturing of talents and abilities at different levels of challenge and achievement, especially for grades 5 to 8. These paths are either general secondary school
(Hauptschule/HS) or academic secondary school (AllgemeinbildendeHöhereSchule/
AHS), and, since 2008, the pilot project Neue Mittelschule (NMS; New secondary
school). General secondary school (age 10-14) is common mostly in rural areas and it
offers instruction in three ability levels in German, mathematics, and modern languages.
In these subjects, the children are grouped in classes according to their abilities, and
there is a permanent support system to enable a move forward to the next level. The
classes with the highest achievement level have the same curriculum as equivalent
grades in academic secondary schools. Furthermore, each general secondary school can
develop a special profile by creating an autonomous curriculum and setting instructional
emphases on selected subjects, such as languages, music, art and design, sports, science,
ecology, computer science, and the like. In addition, special types of general secondary
school have been established concentrating on the professional and intensive training
and education of high abilities in sports, music, or arts. For admission to these schools,
the students must pass ability tests.
In general, academic secondary schools (Gymnasium) are found in cities; education
lasts for 8 years and is divided in two levels: The lower level covers the same age group
as the general secondary school; the upper level provides education leading to matriculation exams (Grades 9-12). There are three types of academic secondary school, each
with a different emphasis: Gymnasium (Latin or modern languages), Realgymnasium
(mathematics and natural sciences), WirtschaftskundlichesRealgymnasium (more
chemistry and textiles or technical handicrafts). Similar to general secondary schools,
academic secondary schools are also given partial autonomy to establish a special ability profile and to create an appropriate curriculum (e.g., concentrating on languages,
sports, music or/and arts bias, trade or crafts). For acceptance, children must pass aptitude tests. Furthermore, there are two special forms of academic secondary school at
the upper level (Grades 9-12), which focus either on language and arts or on science
and mathematics.
The pilot project NeueMittelschule (NMS) concentrates on the integrated and differentiated development of abilities and talents. Providing a joint education for all
children between 10 and 14 years, it covers Grades 5 to 8, and was established to avoid
the negative effects of too early segregation and selection in different paths of school
education. Instruction at the NMS follows the curriculum of the academic secondary

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school at the lower level. In these schools, teachers from general and academic secondary schools work together in teams.
Basic and higher vocational education is offered in several special types of schools.
The Polytechnic school provides a 1-year-basic orientation in vocational training and
career planning (Grade 9). The students can choose one of seven subject areas: metal
work, electrics, wood construction, commerce/clerical, service, or tourism. After graduating from this school, the student passes on to a vocational education lasting 3 or 4
years and based on a dual system, combining an apprenticeship with the corresponding
vocational college. After several years of professional experience, additional courses
can be taken to receive the master craftsman’s diploma. Further education can be
acquired in higher technical colleges.
Upper level secondary technical and vocational college, Kindergarten teacher training college, and teacher training college for social education and medium-level secondary technical and vocational colleges are other types of vocational education.
These colleges offer full-time courses in industrial, trade, and craft areas such as commerce, nursing and health, computer sciences, tourism, beverage and food production,
fashion, home economics, social work, forest, and agriculture. They start at Grade 9,
and they last between 2 and 5 years. The students graduate with vocational diplomas
or with vocational matriculation examinations. These diplomas open the admission to
specialized courses at postsecondary level.
The higher level secondary industrial, trade, or technical colleges and specified colleges are very popular. They offer programs in fashion, artistic or product design,
product management and presentation, tourism, and commerce, and for occupations in
the food and beverage industries, agriculture, and forestry. They start at Grade 9 and
last 5 years, graduating with matriculation.
On the tertiary level, there are specialized postmatriculation courses, higher technical colleges, and postsecondary colleges in addition to regular universities. All these
tertiary educational institutions demand specific matriculation standards as a requirement for access. Several additional possibilities to achieve this qualification are provided outside of the regular school system, especially implemented for persons with
previous vocational experience.
In Austria, studies at the tertiary level are mainly free of enrollment fees, and also
free of entrance exams. Students with excellent examination results can apply for special grants and scholarships from the federal government, which do not have to be paid
back after they have finished their studies.
Assessing the educational opportunities in Austria with regard to the promotion
and the development of special abilities and talents, it can be said that the structure of
the educational system offers the organization of very individualized careers, especially for students coming from underprivileged and unsupportive family backgrounds. Highly gifted persons have additional special needs for the development of
their gifts and talents. These needs are supported by several specific acts and regulations concerning curriculum, admission to higher education, obligations of school
education, and the like, and also by their manifestation in teacher education and
teacher training.

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The Legal Base of Talent Promotion and Concept of
Giftedness
In keeping with the wide variety and diversity of excellent performance domains
described in the introduction to this article, the official assistance toward the promotion of talents, high ability, and giftedness is similarly expansive. In general, the law
of school organization (SchOG §2; established in 1962) dictates that education in
school be organized according to the interests, needs, talents, and abilities of a pupil or
student. Based on this law, the teacher is given the right and the responsibility to
choose the didactic approach and the teaching method he or she considers to be the
most viable for reaching this objective.
In 1974, skipping a grade in the secondary school was made possible for the first
time. Since then, several further regulations have widened this opportunity to all
school grades, especially the law of school education (SchUG §26, 2006). In 1988, the
amendment of SchOG §6 implemented the organization of special programs to be run
in addition to the regular curriculum. Each school was given consent to run voluntary
courses explicitly for special interest and ability groups. Another regulation allowed
absence from regular school lessons “because of special reasons” (SchUG §45, 1998).
This regulation was interpreted also with respect to the special educational needs and
interests of highly gifted students provided for outside the regular school programs.
Corresponding to this regulation, the law for universities (UG§70, 2002) allows early
access to regular studies while a student is still attending the upper level of secondary
schools and before he or she has finished matriculation examination. Students can use
this opportunity to enroll in courses as visiting students at any university in Austria
according to their interests. They can also complete these courses with the normal
exams and if they continue their studies after matriculation, these exam results are
accepted toward regular study requirements.
In 2005, a special edict concerning developmental support was given to schools.
This paper interprets developmental support, not only with respect to deficits in
knowledge or development but also bringing into focus the need to support highly
gifted students, whether they are underachievers or they show above-average potential
of performance. Since then, schools have had the opportunity to provide additional
courses for the promotion of very specific high abilities.
In 2007, the BMUKK introduced the initiative 25 Plus addressing the need for
individualization of the daily praxis of school education and to focus on the preconditions of learning for any single student in the class. This order highlights the explicit
need for the promotion of highly gifted children.
The current base for educating highly gifted children and students within the regular school system is stated in a paper from the BMUKK, formulating principles for
the promotion of exceptional talents and the education of highly gifted persons. This
paper is called the “Grundsatzerlass zur Begabtenförderung” ([Decree for the
Education of the Gifted]; BMUKK, 2009). It presents giftedness as a multidimensional phenomenon based on the notion of the potential of an individual to achieve
exceptional performances. This potential is expounded by the interactions of

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the individual and his or her social background. It also depends on maturation and
self-management of the person as well as on the developmental support in their environment, especially involving the family and the school. All supportive initiatives
must aim at the development of the personality and should not be restricted to the
development of limited skills related to a talent domain. Talent development in
schools must incorporate the need to equalize social opportunities, to avert underachievement and to make aware the value of high abilities for society in general. The
principles on which the education of gifted children and students must be based are
the emphasis on abilities (not on deficits), the handling of stereotypes concerning
highly gifted persons (e.g., avoiding the limited focus on high achievement in school
exams and in all school subjects, the need for special and individualized developmental support, etc.), the variety of possible promotion programs, development of internal school organization, cooperation with family and initiatives outside of school,
teacher education, and teacher training. Furthermore, the paper addresses the importance of a fair and balanced cooperation and communication between all involved
groups (child, teacher, parents) as well as the potential of established instruments of
talent promotion, such as enrichment, acceleration, encouraging feedback on learning
outcomes, and instruments of self-organized learning.
Summarizing the legislative regulations for the promotion of talents and talent
development in Austria, it is obvious that a holistic approach on personality development forms the primary conception of giftedness: The anthropological perspective
concentrates on the tenet that a stable self-concept is well grounded in the balanced
interplay between best developed abilities and well-handled performance deficits,
combined with the consciousness that the individual itself—not only society—is also
responsible for the discovery and the flourishing of the given talents and abilities. This
concept does not favor elitism, and therefore any selective structure of talent promotion does not exist in Austria. All special measures are primarily integrated into the
regular school system. The core pedagogical tenets are differentiation and individualization within the regular school class.
Such challenging educational goals need accompanying measures in teacher education and teacher training. The core challenge for these programs is to manage and
master the heterogeneity of ability levels, especially because children with learning
deficits, handicaps, and disabilities are also educated inclusively in the regular class.
In such cases, an additional teacher with expertise in inclusive education teaches
together with the class teacher.
The current law for teacher education, established in 2006, meets this egalitarian
understanding of giftedness as well as the fact of diversity concerning special abilities.
It highlights the fact that highly gifted and interested students have special needs of
support. This law provides a general framework for all programs of preservice as well
as in-service teacher training. The fact that the colleges for teacher education have the
same status of autonomy as the universities means they are free to organize courses
focusing on special educational needs. The analysis of the current curricula in all
Austrian university colleges for teacher preservice training shows that topics related to
the education of gifted students are still rare and are only marginally addressed in

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courses for inclusive education. This can be seen as an indicator of a lack of awareness
of teachers and society that gifted learners also have special educational needs.

The Most Important Contributions to Gifted Education in
Austria During the Past Decades
The last 15 years can be declared as the “golden age” for gifted education in Austria.
Although many ideas and suggestions of reformist pedagogy have been realized in
legislative regulations and laws, the need for specific initiatives has long been evident.
Five events can be noted that have strongly stimulated gifted education in Austria: the
foundation of an organization for the promotion of gifted students in Salzburg; the first
implementation of a European Council for High Ability (ECHA) teacher training program at the teacher training college of Upper Austria in 1996, followed by the formation of the teacher association ECHA-Austria in 1998; the foundation of the Sir Karl
Popper School in Vienna in the same year; and finally, the opening of the Oesterreichisches Zentrum für Begabtenförderung und Begabungsforschung ([Austrian
Research and Support Centre for the Gifted and Talented]; OEZBF) in 1999. All five
events have had the potential to influence public awareness and acceptance of special
programs for gifted children. They were implemented by the dedicated initiatives of
individuals involving federal governance and linking their initiatives to the regular
school system. These milestones are described in detail.
In 1986, the first association for the promotion of gifted and talented students,
Protalent, was founded by the local authorities of school education in Salzburg. The
first office concerning the needs of gifted education was opened. Its aims were to draw
public attention toward the necessity for gifted education and to provide special
courses for gifted students in addition to voluntary interest courses in school. This
office also organized the first summer camp for gifted students. Since then the socalled PLUS-courses and the Summer Academy have taken place annually.
In 1988, Protalent also organized the first international congress for gifted education in Salzburg in cooperation with the local and the federal ministry of education.
These initiatives in Salzburg immediately led to similar groups being created in other
federal states of Austria. The first Austrian teachers finished the ECHA diploma course
in 1996. Several years previously, the Radboud University of Nijmegen in the
Netherlands, together with the international association ECHA had developed a special diploma course for teacher in-service training, the so-called ECHA diploma. The
teacher training institute of Upper Austria established a close cooperation with ECHA
and brought this program to Austria, because the course trainers were aware of the
value of this diploma course. The ECHA diploma program includes theories of giftedness, the exploration of practice-models in schools in Austria and abroad, the realization of a project within the personal school setting, a diploma thesis on this project,
and a final presentation of the project. Core concepts of giftedness in this program are
the Triarchic theory of human intelligence by Robert Sternberg (1984), the Three-Ring
conception of giftedness by Joe Renzulli (1986), high ability as a triadic model of

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interdependence by Franz Mönks (1995), and the Schoolwide Enrichment Model by
Joe Renzulli and Sally Reis (Renzulli & Reis, 1985, 1994, 1997).
Immediately after the first batch of teachers had received their diploma, teacher
training institutes in other Austrian federal states implemented this ECHA diploma
course in their in-service programs for teachers. Teachers holding the ECHA diploma
were asked by the government and by school boards to create similar courses and to
become advising experts for decision-making processes regarding matters of
giftedness.
Within 2 years, the number of experts in gifted education holding a specific diploma
(ECHA or others) increased rapidly in nearly all of the nine federal states of Austria.
In 1998, at the request of these experts, the national branch of ECHA, ECHA-Austria,
was founded. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 Austrian teachers and educators at all levels of formal education have been trained in diverse special programs and now hold a
diploma or certificate in gifted education. ECHA-Austria was the first association in
Austria acting at the national level. Its aims are to bring together all persons, either
experts or those interested in gifted education including teachers, parents, students,
officials, researchers, and other key figures to establish a nationwide network for this
group, to provide permanent scientific input about the latest research, to promote
gifted education as essential for society in general and to draw public attention to the
importance of this topic. Since 2000, ECHA-Austria has organized annual national
conferences in each of the nine federal states of Austria. These 2-day conferences
focus on research on the 1st day and present successful best-practice models on the
2nd day. The structure of these national conferences pursues the aim of bridging the
gap between science and praxis by presenting research and studies on newsworthy
educational topics and linking them to educational practice. This scientific input aims
to challenge the audience regarding the understanding of the enormous variety of
needs of gifted children and to stimulate discussions about the innovative potential
teachers have to manage the heterogeneity of a class. Another intention is to highlight
the initiatives and endeavors in educating the gifted being made by the federal state.
The keynotes and the models presented are published on the website of ECHA-Austria.
Since 2004, ECHA-Austria has been cooperating with the University of Salzburg’s
Department of Education. The joint project is the Platon Youth Forum, an international
summer camp for gifted young adolescents. The program is aimed at the development
of European citizenship. The challenge given to the participants is to investigate possible solutions for current problems in the EU. ECHA-Austria organizes these camps;
the Department of Education evaluates the program.
The fourth milestone was also realized in 1998: the opening of the Sir Karl Popper
School in Vienna. This school was founded as a pilot project at the Wiedner Gymnasium
at the upper secondary level. Although this school concentrates explicitly on the promotion of gifted and talented students, it does not favor elitism. The principles of this school
follow the vision of the philosopher Sir Karl Popper, whose dream was a school where
students are inspired to raise and to discuss problems, where they are not forced to
answer bland questions and where they do not study for exams but for life and for their
own development. In a holistic perspective the individual person and his or her

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relationship to social groups and society is placed in the center of any didactical and/or
educational initiative. The student is seen as an autonomous learner being fully responsible for the learning process and for the learning outcomes. The didactic approach is
based on the structure of modules and fosters multidisciplinary communication, applicability of competencies, investigative learning attitudes, and open-mindedness toward
practice, science, economy, expertise, and esthetic education. Approved interventions of
gifted education (e.g., enrichment, acceleration, and grouping) are implemented, together
with democratic participation and special methods of quality assurance. Special efforts
are made toward the development of social competence by providing a diverse system
of coaching, tutoring, and mentoring: Teachers as well as students take on related tasks
and roles. Up to four different foreign languages can be studied. Contracting allows the
promotion of individual learning interests; the applied assessment criteria refer to this
individualized process. These principles pose a challenge to the teachers. The school is
seen as a developing and learning system raising unknown dynamic processes of growth
and development. Permanent self-reflection and immediate reaction to the outputs of the
dynamics are considered to be the most important and necessary abilities of a teacher at
this school. Regular internal and external evaluation supports the process of systemic
development at this school. Lifelong learning in the sense of developing personal, professional, and social competencies is considered obligatory for all teachers at the school.
From its beginning, the Sir Karl Popper School has greatly contributed to the practice of
gifted education in Austria. The school communicated not only their successful innovations and experiences but also the problems, failures, and flops of particular initiatives
and they also reported how they solved these problems. Therefore, this school has
become a leading model for innovative education in general.
In 1999, the OEZBF was founded as an association in Salzburg. This center is
financed by the BMUKK as well as by the BMWF in Austria. Its aims are to promote
and support young people’s talent development according to holistic educational
approaches as the basic principle for programs of gifted education in Austria. It provides a platform for the exchange of experience between research and practice. On the
initiative of the center, each of the nine Austrian states has nominated an appointee to
be responsible for governmental initiatives in gifted education in the province.
Coordinated by OEZBF, this group of people regularly meets at a round table, and in
turn contributes to the establishment of new educational strategies and concepts very
successfully. The center also provides support in school quality development and quality assurance; it puts great effort into the dissemination of the latest research results to
educators and teachers, with the use of publications, newsletters, handouts, as well as
the organization of international conferences. It is also in close contact with international associations and is involved in many multinational networks, projects, and initiatives of talent promotion. Established as a forum for national and international
networking among experts, the center aims to contribute to a better public awareness,
understanding, and acceptance of the special supportive needs highly gifted students
have to reach their full potential. Due to its position, the center also serves as a consultant for both ministries to whom it is responsible. Therefore, the center has a core
influence on policy making in talent promotion.

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The regional school boards in the nine states of Austria have also established a
variety of opportunities for talent promotion, such as regional centers for gifted education offering special courses in pull-out-programs, or special offices and contact points
for counseling and testing, in Upper and Lower Austria. Another very successful initiative in Vienna is the seal of quality for schools, providing a supportive environment
and program for talent promotion in general.
These five core establishments have made an enormous impact on various initiatives in gifted education. The Eurydice Report (European Commission, 2006) gives a
comparative overview of all measures of talent promotion in Europe. Austria is one of
those countries which provide specific measures and opportunities in all categories,
including several forms of enrichment and differentiation within the school system
(e.g., competitions, Olympiads in math, physics, or chemistry), teacher training, and
challenging courses in addition to school programs, acceleration, and networks. All
these measures have become an inherent part of the Austrian school system and also a
constituent of the educational opportunities for talent promotion in general. As already
mentioned, the main funding for all the programs for gifted learners is provided by the
two Federal Ministries, the BMUKK and BMWF. Currently, the concern of educating
the gifted is included in the agenda of inclusive education and special educational
needs at the BMUKK. A special task force group has been implemented at the BMWF.
The implementation of an endowed professorship at one of the Austrian universities is
planned to carry out concrete evaluation and investigations concerning the impact of
programs and initiatives in gifted education in Austria.
This description of the Austrian initiatives in educating gifted children and students
probably gives the impression that gifted education and the special needs of highly
able children are well accepted by the Austrian society. However, the many positive
steps that have been made do not disguise the fact that there is still reservation and
even resentment toward providing special investments in gifted education as is
described in the introduction of this article.

Practice in the Promotion of Talent Development and
Education of Gifted and Talented Learners in Schools and
Other Contexts
The character and the structure of the Austrian school system as well as the legal base
and the core principles for education of gifted and talented learners take two factors of
heterogeneity of groups into account: (a) the diversity of minds and (b) the disparities
in the level and dynamics of personal development. The first factor is rooted in a diagnosis of Johann-Friedrich Herbart (1808) concerning factors of a successful school
education. He claimed that didactic approaches must take into account the heterogeneity of a school class as an image of the heterogeneity of a society. Herbart recommended the provision of lessons for individual learning. His didactic recommendations
became one of the core tenets for teacher education in Austria. The second factor
refers to findings of developmental psychology—that excellent and outstanding

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performances do not necessarily evolve in a permanent progression from child genius
to adult genius (e.g., Winner, 1996).
The Schoolwide Enrichment Model by Renzulli and Reis (1985, 1994) gave a
practical model to create an atmosphere for inclusive pedagogical approaches and
programs; this atmosphere was labeled by Friedrich Oswald (2002) as begabungsfreundliche Lernkultur [an atmosphere for learning and development especially
suited to nurturing talents and abilities]. Teachers in ECHA diploma courses have
created a huge variety of projects and programs attuned to the special needs and
interests of their bright pupils and students, which take into account the local
resources of their schools. The best projects and programs are presented in conferences and in publications (e.g., Weyringer, Oswald, & Pinz, 2013; Weyringer,
Oswald, & Seyr, 2009) sharing ideas with other teachers encouraging talent promotion and education for the gifted.
In most of the nine Austrian states, pull-out-programs and summer academies for
gifted learners are organized regularly by school authorities. If a child or a learner
wants to participate in such a program or academy, he or she is required to pass a selection procedure. The impetus for nomination and acceptance vary for each program.
Most common is the nomination by a teacher or self-nomination with evidence of
above-average school performance or high scores in psychometric tests. These programs and the selection procedures are also used to identify underachievers as well as
overachievers.
The local school authorities also organize annual competitions and Olympiads in
sciences and foreign languages. In other contexts outside of school, talent promotion
is either specific to a particular domain, such as sports or music (related programs are
mainly organized by clubs and associations), or is organized through competitions or
awards. Appropriate projects are mainly organized by guilds, clubs, and by societies of
economy and industry. These programs and projects are not explicitly labeled as education for the gifted learner, but they provide a strong impetus to trigger talent development. The funding for these projects and programs are given either by the organizing
club, by private companies, or by the government.

Most Difficult Issues for the Promotion of Programs and
Services for Gifted Learners
One of the most persistent obstacles to the promotion of special programs and services
for gifted and talented learners is people’s beliefs about gifted individuals, their needs
for support, and their understanding of talent development. Since the emergence of the
topic “special needs of gifted learners,” public opinion has been polarized. Three
opposing positions can be identified:
1.

Gifted and talented learners do not need special supportive measures, because
in any case their high intellectual potential will enable them to achieve excellent and above-average performance.

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2.

With respect to children with handicaps, low intellectual potential, and disabilities, it is not justified to establish special programs for gifted learners
because these initiatives increase the inequality of opportunity.
Children with excellent intellectual potential and exceptional abilities should
be provided with separate developmental opportunities because only the intellectual elite can assure the future welfare of a nation.

3.

Convincing arguments and examples can be found for any of these points and decision makers and key figures in politics, the economy and society try hard to find a
compromise. The currently applied principles represent an attempt to find a compromise between these three positions.
As the main funding is provided by the government, politicians are particularly
challenged by this dispute. Associations of economy and industry are primarily interested in the development of special abilities and talents; the holistic approach of personal development seems to be less efficient and effective in these concerns. Other
private organizations providing funding in other countries (e.g., “trusts”) do not exist
in Austria. So additional funding for the programs and courses for gifted learners relies
very often on personal networks and relationships.
Scientific research might facilitate the decision making of the stakeholders, but
specific calls, applications, or grants dealing with related topics are very rare in
Austria. Also evaluations of established programs meeting scientific standards are not
available. At the university level, there is no department dealing with issues of talent
promotion and the special needs of gifted learners. Even in the influential national and
international scientific associations (e.g., European Association for Research on
Learning and Instruction [EARLI] or Austrian Association for Research and
Development [OEFEB]), talent promotion and gifted education are not represented.
These weaknesses can be assumed to have a negative impact on the existing structure and measures of talent promotion in Austria. First indications can be identified:
The teachers’ interest in gifted education (i.e., participation in conferences and in
training programs) is decreasing; special programs for gifted learners are beginning to
be cancelled; applications for scientific studies are rejected, and so forth. The public
dispute concerning gifted education, the limitations of public funding and the lack of
wider representation in the scientific community are the most difficult issues that need
to be addressed to continue to provide appropriate programs and services for gifted
learners.
Another difficult issue is the involvement of children who are immigrants to
Austria. Cultural aspects and family traditions as well as language skills, attitudes
toward education and social integration, and furthermore, preferred gender role models have an important influence on the nomination and on the decision as to whether a
child should participate in a special program for gifted and talented learners.
Last but not the least, management of the heterogeneity in a classroom is the most
crucial factor for the success of education in general. Therefore, the curricula of
teacher education and also the programs for teacher training concentrate on mastering
this challenge. The overall objective is the realization of inclusive pedagogy; this

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means the inclusion of average learning abilities, disabilities, handicaps, and special
above-average abilities. The problem is to communicate that children with special
above-average abilities need specific didactic approaches for their learning and their
personal development equivalent to those of children with handicaps and disabilities.
Another problem is to communicate that a child can have above-average abilities as
well as disabilities and handicaps in another learning domain. All these problems and
difficulties provide the pool for further discussions on improvement and development
of educating the gifted and talented.

Future Directions for Research and Program
Development
Austria has established and implemented a variety of measures regarding talent promotion and gifted education. At present, it seems that a certain level of saturation has
been reached concerning the acceptance and public awareness of related governmental
initiatives. This situation is very challenging for the provision of sustainable and reliable established programs and structures for learning opportunities in the existing educational system. Aiming to guarantee continuance, it is necessary to increase ways of
raising awareness of the needs of gifted children to improve public opinion and not in
a polemic and lopsided manner but as a fact-based discussion involving a range of
diverse arguments. The principle should be “as well as,” not “either–or.”
Enormous efforts should be put into research to be carried out by independent scientists, who are not forced to bring results “on demand.” Gifted education as a separate
scientific discipline has to be introduced to the scientific community in general, to
improve funding from organizations involved in the establishment of research programs.
Priority in research must be put on the evaluation of existing programs and measures.
Another issue is the development of instruments and tools for a dynamic identification procedure, which takes the process of personal development into account. These
instruments should be practical for teachers in their daily work.
Finally, one target essential for the future of talent promotion and the education of
gifted learners must be singled out: the EU and its enormous investment in scientific
development. The current research framework program (from 2007 to 2013) has funds
of 53.2 billion Euros. The budget for the next program (2014-2020) would be 87 billion
Euros. Although this investment is aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the EU,
basic research on the preconditions of this aim is neglected, and social science and
humanities are downgraded. Research in educating gifted and talented children and
students is one of many other very important scientific disciplines to provide knowledge on these preconditions. But if we analyze all recent EU research programs, none
can be found addressing gifted-related topics. There is no awareness of the necessity
of related scientific investigations and no understanding concerning the dependence of
excellent performance in any ability domain from basic education and early talent
promotion. Therefore, an international promotion campaign needs to commence to
allow international program designers to realize the benefits gifted education has on
the future welfare of societies and nations.

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Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship,
and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.

References
Bundesministerium für Finanzen [Federal Ministry for Finances]. (2011). Budget 2012. Stabile
Finanzen für die Zukunft [Stable finances for the future]. Retrieved from
gv.at/Budget/Budgetpolitik/Budgetreden/Budgetrede_2012.pdf
Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur [Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts
and Culture]. (2009). Grundsatzerlass zur Begabtenförderung [Decree for the Education of
the Gifted]. Retrieved from www.bmukk.gv.at/ministerium/rs/2009_16.xml
Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur. (2012). Educational opportunities in
Austria. Retrieved from www.bmukk.gv.at/enfr/school/bw_en/index.xml
Eder, M. (2006). Der biologische Landbau in Österreich: Eine Erfolgsgeschichte [Organic
farming in Austria: A success story]. In I. Darnhofer, C. Walla & H. K. Wytrzens (Eds.),
Alternative Strategien fuer die Landwirtschaft (pp. 89-100). Vienna, Austria: Facultas.
European Commission. (2006). Eurydice 2006. Specific educational measures to promote all
forms of giftedness at school in Europe. Retrieved from
specific-educational-measures-to-promote-all-forms-of-giftedness-at-school-in-europepbEC3212332/
Gardner, H. (1993). Frames of mind. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Gagné, F. (2003). Transforming gifts into talents: The DMGT as a developmental theory. In
N. Colangelo & G. A. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of gifted education (3rd ed., pp. 60-74).
Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Herbart, J.-F. (1808). Allgemeine Pädagogik aus dem Zweck der Erziehung abgeleitet [General
pedagogy deduced from the purpose of education] (H. Holstein, Ed.) Bochum, Germany:
Kamp.
Mönks, F. J. (1995). Hochbegabung – ein Mehrfaktorenmodell [High ability—The Model of
Triadic Interdependence]. Grundschule, 28, 15-18.
Oswald, F. (2002). Begabtenförderung in der Schule: Entwicklung einer begabungsfreundlichen Lernkultur [Educating the gifted in schools: Development of an stimulating and nurturing atmosphere for learning and the development of abilities]. Wien, Austria: Facultas
Universitätsverlag.
Renzulli, J. S. (1986). The three ring conception of giftedness: A developmental model for
creative productivity. In R. J. Sternberg & J. E. Davidson (Eds.), Conceptions of giftedness
(pp. 53-92). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Renzulli, J. S., & Reis, S. M. (1985). The Schoolwide Enrichment Model: A comprehensive plan
for educational excellence. Mansfield Center, CT: Creative Learning Press.
Renzulli, J. S., & Reis, S. M. (1994). Research related to the Schoolwide Enrichment Model.
Gifted Child Quarterly, 38, 2-14.
Renzulli, J. S., & Reis, S. M. (1997). The Schoolwide Enrichment Model: A how-to guide for
educational excellence. Mansfield Center, CT: Creative Learning Press.

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Schulorganisationsgesetz. (1962). Law of school organization. Retrieved from www.ris.bka.
gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10009265
Schulpflichtgesetz. (1985). Law of compulsory education. Retrieved from www.ris.bka.gv.at/
GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10009576[
Schulunterrichtsgesetz (1998) § 45. Retrieved from
von_der_Schule_SchUG.htm
Schulunterrichtsgesetz. (2006). Law of school teaching. Retrieved from www.ris.bka.gv.at/
GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10009600
Sternberg, R. J. (1984). Toward a triarchic theory of human intelligence. Behavioral and Brain
Sciences, 7, 269-287.
Terman, L. M. (1925). Mental and physical traits of a thousand gifted children: Genetic studies
of genius, Vol. 1. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Universitätsgesetz [Law for universities]. (2002). Retrieved from www.ris.bka.gv.at/Geltende
Fassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20002128
Weyringer, S., Oswald, F., & Pinz, A. (Eds.). (2013). Sinn:voll!? Begabungskulturenzwischennarzisstischer Illusion und sozialer Verantwortung [Meaning:ful!? Programs of
gifted education between narcissistic illusion and social responsibility]. Wien, Münster:
LIT Verlag.
Weyringer, S., Oswald, F., & Seyr, B. (Eds.). (2009). ECHA Österreich. Ein Markenzeichen für
Begabungsförderung und Schulentwicklung [ECHA-Austria. A hallmark for the education
of the gifted and for school development]. Wien, Münster: LIT Verlag.
Winner, E. (1996). Gifted children: Myths and realities. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Links
ECHA—Österreich. www.echa-oesterreich.at
Euripedia—European Enzyclopedia on National Education systems.
eu/fpfis/mwikis/eurydice/index.php/Austria:Overview
OEZBF—Austrian Research and Support Centre for the Gifted and Talented. www.begabtenzentrum.at
Protalent—www.protalent-salzburg.at
Sir Karl Popper Schule—www.popperschule.at

Author Biography
Sieglinde Weyringer is a senior lecturer at the University of Salzburg. Since 1987, she is
involved in the implementation of gifted education in Austria regarding the development of
concepts, programs, and initiatives in teacher trainings, policy making, school development,
and excellence training.

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without
permission.

470039

urnal for the Education of the GiftedO’Reilly

JEG36110.1177/0162353212470039Jo

Gifted Education in Ireland
Colm O’Reilly1

Journal for the Education of the Gifted
36(1) 97­–118
© The Author(s) 2012
Reprints and permission:
sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0162353212470039
jeg.sagepub.com

Abstract
This article will outline the current status of gifted education in Ireland. To fully
understand the picture, one needs to look at the history of the Irish education system
and how educational decisions are made in the country. Political climate is often
an important factor in how people view special education programs and Ireland is
no different in that regard. The article will also chart Ireland’s attempts to define
giftedness and how recent research in the gifted field has furthered our understanding
in this area and can be used to broaden the sphere of programming that exists in
Ireland for high-ability students.
Keywords
special education, gifted education, Ireland

To fully understand the current status of gifted education in Ireland, one needs to look
at the history of the Irish education system and how educational decisions are made in
the country. For more than a century, the system was dominated by the Catholic Church
in a country where more than 90% of the population was Catholic. Most of the schools
were built on church grounds and were controlled by diocesan representatives. This
dominance had a direct impact on how government parties implemented policy relating
to education. Traditionally, Ireland was a poor country with few natural resources, and
in many areas, agriculture was the predominant occupation. It was not until 1967 that
secondary school education became free for everyone. Even as late as 1970, less than
30% of boys and fewer than 40% of girls completed secondary schooling (Whelan &
Hannan, 1999). There were very few employment opportunities and emigration was
high during this period. Against this bleak backdrop, there was little attention given to
gifted students or special education in general. It would be as late as the 1990s before
the issue of gifted education became a topic of conversation in Irish education.
1

Dublin City University, Ireland

Corresponding Author:
Colm O’Reilly, Centre for the Talented Youth of Ireland, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland.
Email: [email protected]

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This article will chart the historical background of the Irish education system and
the political climate that prevailed as a result of the Church dominance in education.
The origins of gifted education in Ireland will be discussed and this will be followed
up to the present day when a small but prominent movement exists in the form of outof-school classes for gifted children. Schools in Ireland have very little to offer gifted
education by virtue of the fact that giftedness is not recognized as a special need by the
Department of Education. The impact of such a scenario will be outlined and the article will conclude with some recommendations to improve the status of gifted education in Ireland.

History of Irish Education
The Irish education system has a history of dominance by the Catholic Church. The
modern system dates back to 1831 when the national school regime was set up under
the control of the British State. However, apart from centralizing control within a
Department of Education in 1924, little change took place in the administration and
financing of schools when the Irish State was established in 1923. In 1930, the
Vocational Education Act gave the State a more significant role in certain areas,
although the education system continued to be controlled mainly by privately owned
institutions.
The ultimate dominance of the Catholic Church seems surprising when one looks
back to the set up of the system in 1831. At this time, the main objective was to unite
children of different creeds in one system. The National Board of Education was to
look with favor on applicants for aid for schools jointly managed by Roman Catholics
and Protestants (Hyland, 1989). Although many of the schools taken into connection
with the Board in the early years were jointly managed, the main Christian churches
put pressure on the government to allow aid to be given to schools under the management of individual churches (Akenson, 1970). This pressure was so effective that, by
the mid-19th century, only 4% of national schools were under mixed management.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the Irish system of national education was
fundamentally different from those in other parts of the United Kingdom. In England
and Scotland, “parallel” systems had evolved, that is, denominational schools existed
side by side with local authority controlled schools (Stuart, 1967). The development
was also mirrored in other Western European countries. In Ireland, provision was never
made for a separate system of primary schools controlled by the local authority, largely
because it had been found by the Powis Commission in 1870 that voluntary effort had
adequately met the demand for elementary education in this country. As a result, by the
mid-20th century, the system of national education in the Republic of Ireland was one
which was de jure nondenominational, but de facto denominational in 97% of cases.
Initially when the education system was being formalized in Ireland, the Roman
Catholic Church had relatively little power and influence compared with the Church
of Ireland. The Roman Catholic Church envied the Church of Ireland because the
Church of Ireland was a major influence in cultural, political, and educational affairs.

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However, by the end of the 19th century, the positions of power for both churches had
been reversed (Ó Buachalla, 1998). The Roman Catholic Church had successfully
used the education system to extend its sphere of influence relative to the Church of
Ireland. While Ireland was under British rule, little attention was paid to Irish schools,
with British forces more preoccupied with quelling any Irish rebellions. The mid-19th
century saw the Irish famine, which greatly reduced the Irish population and the education of the Irish people was a low priority for the British Government. Cardinal Paul
Cullen became Archbishop of Dublin in 1849, and by the end of his career, Cullen
succeeded not only in converting the national schools to Catholic schools but also in
setting up a Catholic majority on the national board that would determine education
policy. At this point, the Roman Catholic Church was now effectively in charge of the
Irish education system. This influence led to an egalitarian philosophy toward education. Under this philosophy, an emphasis was placed on creating similar outcomes for
all students, and gifted students suffered under this position. There was also an emphasis on reestablishing Gaelic traditions and culture that had been neglected under the
British rule. This along with the teaching of the Irish language dominated the school
curriculum. Following the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1923, one of the first
moves in the education system was the removal of science from the primary school
curriculum to be replaced by Irish language as a compulsory subject. Science would
not return to the primary school curriculum in Ireland until 1999.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the churches and the government were the
only bodies that could make education policy. The boards were made up of people
whom the Church and State had nominated, and policy decisions were administered
by these people. Given that almost all of the schools in Ireland were on lands owned
by the Church, this led to a huge influence on educational policy.

How the Irish Education System Works
The Department of Education began to play a more significant role in developing and
implementing educational policy from the 1960s onward. Measures taken included
the introduction of free postprimary education in 1967, the development of community and comprehensive schools, and the establishment of Regional Technical
Colleges (now Institutes of Technology [IoTs]). The Higher Education Authority was
set up in 1971 as the planning and development authority for the university sector.
There was a major era of reform in the 1990s when, following wide-ranging debate
throughout the country, the government published a Green Paper (a discussion paper)
with proposals for education change in all the sectors, and also convened a National
Education Convention in 1993, publishing the White Paper Charting Our Educational
Future in 1995, which was the first major statement of government policy on primary,
postprimary, and tertiary education.
This led to the publication of the Education Act of 1998, which formed the legislative framework for the change agenda. The Act provided, for the first time, a statutory
framework for the Irish education system at first and second levels. This piece of

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legislation states that there is a statutory duty on the government in power to ensure
that appropriate education and support services are available to everyone in the country. At this stage, church influence on a local level was still strong, but nationally
teaching unions and legislative government bodies began to increase their powers and
responsibilities without as much church influence.
The Irish education system is currently centrally controlled by the Department of
Education. All teachers’ salaries of both private and public schools at first and second
level are paid by the Department, but the schools are individually managed by private
institutions, usually a religious order. Traditionally, the Catholic Church had much
control over the patronage of the schools in Ireland, whereas presently, the schools are
managed by a Board of Management. The Church would be influential in the makeup
of the Board, because most schools operate on lands owned by churches or religious
institutions.
Today, there are more than 3,200 primary schools in Ireland, 750 postprimary,
7 Universities, 14 IoTs, 33 Vocational Education Committees (VECs), and a number
of other educational institutions that are aided by the State. Most primary and postprimary schools are privately owned and managed by local diocesan trusts or patron
bodies but are publicly funded. The denominational character and ethos of schools are
recognized by the State, including in legislation.
At primary level, many of the schools are small, with more than 50% of them having four or fewer teachers and each school is managed by its own voluntary management board appointed by the patrons.
At postprimary level, there are different types of State-funded schools—namely,
voluntary secondary schools, vocational schools, and community and comprehensive
schools. Voluntary secondary schools are privately owned and managed and the trustees of most of these schools are religious communities or boards of governors. VECs
are statutory local education bodies that administer vocational schools and community
colleges. Pupils in all three types of schools follow the same curriculum and sit the
same State examinations. Essentially, the Boards of Management are the legal employers of school staff and carry considerable responsibilities as laid down in the Education
Act 1998 and other legislation. Therefore, although salaries are paid for by the State,
each school is legally autonomous in terms of the appointment, discipline, and dismissal of staff, and in terms of legal and compliance responsibilities. This is significant in relation to a school’s policy for gifted students.
The Department of Education currently employs just over 100,000 people and manages a significant budget, with the allocation for 2011 being some €8.9 billion, including a capital budget of €491 million. Of this, about €1 billion is allocated to special
needs education. The budget supports pay and pensions (teachers, nonteaching staff,
and academics), school and higher education student grants, further and adult education activities, labor force development, school transport, and the department’s administrative budget. However, none of this budget in 2011 was allocated toward the
education of gifted children.

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Fitting Gifted Children Into the Picture
So the question to be asked is where do gifted children currently fit into the Irish
education system? To answer this, we must first look at the legal rights of gifted children. Currently there is no legislation in Ireland directly mentioning gifted children.
The 1998 Education Act s.7 (1) (a) states that:
there should be made available to each person resident in the State, including a
person with a disability or who has special educational needs, support services
and a level and quality of education appropriate to meeting the needs and ability
of that person. (Department of Education and Science, 1998)
Although this would seem to advocate that gifted children should receive special
services in schools, to date no direct funding has been made available to allow schools
to provide services for high-ability children. Schools are confused as to what to do
with gifted children, and, without resources, these students may not receive the services they need in school. As part of the new transparent education policy, schools are
now evaluated by the Department of Education in terms of how they implement curriculum and also how they effectively manage the schools. The results of these Whole
School Evaluations are published externally for the public. While most of the focus
within the evaluations relates to the management and performance of the school and
special needs at the other end of the spectrum, some inspectors have asked schools
about how they are providing for the needs of gifted children within the system.
Hence, it would be helpful to know how gifted children are defined within the Irish
Education system. Historically, The U.S. Department of Education or Marland Report
(1972) contains a definition of giftedness that is probably the most quoted in any
research into giftedness. The report declared that
gifted and talented children are those identified by professionally qualified persons, who by virtue of outstanding abilities are capable of high performance.
These are children who require differentiated educational programs and/or services beyond those normally provided by the regular school programme in order
to realise their contribution to self and society.
Children capable of high-performance include those with demonstrated achievement and/or potential ability in any of the following areas, singularly or in combination:
•
•
•
•

General Intellectual Ability
Specific Academic Aptitude
Creative or Productive Thinking
Leadership Ability

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• Visual and Performing Arts
• Psychomotor Ability (Marland, 1972)
The reforms that were mentioned previously in the area of Special Education in
Ireland in the 1990s led to the establishment of a Special Education Review Committee
in 1992. Ireland has had a very poor record in relation to Special Education. Up until
1970, students with special needs were neglected in the system and often were unable
to attend school. Between 1970 and 1990, these students were sent to special schools
with very poor outcomes for the students. It was only in the reform era of the 1990s
that a policy of integration and inclusion was introduced. A small group of parents of
gifted children who were frustrated that their children were not being provided for
within the Irish educational system formed a gifted lobby group, and they were
represented on the Special Education Review Committee. The first Irish definition
of giftedness as offered by the report of The Special Education Review Committee
(Department of Education and Science, 1993) owes much to Marland’s definition,
with proficiency in each of the categories of general ability, specific ability, creative
thinking, leadership, visual and performance art, and psychomotor ability represented,
and a separate section on mechanical aptitude included. The publication of the
Education Act in Ireland in 1998 led to an increased call for the area of special needs
to be addressed. Consequently, the Education for Special Needs Act known as the
EPSON Act was published in 2001. However, although it provided for various special
needs, including dyslexia and other learning difficulties, there was no reference to
giftedness as a recognizable special need in Ireland and therefore no resource hours for
special needs teachers were reserved for gifted students. This was a major blow to the
cause for advocates of the gifted movement in Ireland, because although schools were
now legally obliged to address cases of students with special needs, they did not have
to consider gifted children as part of this plan.
In 2001, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) was established as a statutory body to advise the Minister for Education and Skills on curriculum and assessment for early childhood education and for primary and postprimary
schools. In 2007, the NCCA addressed the area of highly able children and published
a set of draft guidelines for teachers to deal with these. The term gifted is not explicitly
stated, rather the phrase exceptionally able is used to describe students who require
opportunities for enrichment and extension that go beyond those provided for the general cohort of students. The following description was used and is the closest in terms
of a definition of gifted children that Ireland has published.
With that in mind approximately 5-10% of the school population may be exceptionally able and will demonstrate very high levels of attainment in one or more
of the following areas:
•• general intellectual ability or talent
•• specific academic aptitude or talent

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•• visual and performing arts and sports
•• leadership ability
•• creative and productive thinking
•• mechanical ingenuity
•• special abilities in empathy, understanding and negotiation (NCCA, 2007,
p. 8).
A subsequent review of these guidelines by teachers and school principals (NCCA,
2008) showed that they succeeded best in supporting school management and teachers
to audit and review school policy in relation to gifted children. However, feedback
also indicated that the guidelines did not give enough support in allowing teachers to
differentiate curriculum.

Political Climate
The emphasis a country places on gifted students or the concept of giftedness in general is usually dependent on the educational policy and educational philosophy of that
particular country (Gross, 2003). In some countries, education is highly centralized
and a certain educational philosophy dominates. Ireland, for example, has an egalitarian philosophy where national legislation and policy can have a tremendous influence
on the development of any initiatives for gifted and talented programming. In countries with decentralized educational systems, the climate for program development
may vary considerably in different regions or in different historical time periods. In
Canada, gifted and talented programming varies by province, whereas in the United
States, it varies by state or school district. In Australia, gifted programming tends to
be influenced by the political party in power and can vary by time as well as region.
Cultural influences on gifted education are often related to educational philosophies. Freeman (1992) pointed out that the egalitarian philosophy holds that the primary purpose of education is to create similar outcomes for all students. Therefore, an
important educational goal in an egalitarian culture is the reduction of individual differences (see Robinson, 1999). Those with an egalitarian philosophy of education
often oppose homogeneous grouping of high-ability students on the grounds that
gifted classes are elitist and that gifted students can make it on their own without needing special interventions (Moon & Roselli, 2000). Furthermore, egalitarians often
believe that other students will suffer academically when deprived of association with
high-ability classmates (Oakes, 1985; Slavin, 1987).
Countries with egalitarian educational philosophies can be influenced by advocacy
to modify their stance. Finland, for example, has become more receptive to gifted
education because of pressure from industry for greater investment in excellence (Tirri
& Uusikyla, 1994). In Ireland too, falling numbers of people taking science and technology courses at third level has led to widespread investment in the science and technology sector at school level to promote the study of science. The foundation of
Discover Science and Engineering (DSE) in Ireland in 2004 is an example of this.

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DSE is an Irish government–funded project designed to promote interest in science.
DSE’s overall objectives are to increase the number of students studying the physical
sciences at both school and university, to promote a positive attitude to careers in science, to generate an interest in engineering and technology, and to foster a greater
understanding of science and its value to Irish society. This is an admirable project that
has led to increases in the number of people taking science-based courses at university.
However, gifted students were not targeted as part of this venture.
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an initiative of the
Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). First implemented in 2000, it examines the extent to which students from various participating
countries are able to demonstrate key competencies in reading, mathematics, and science (Cosgrove, Shiel, Sofroniou, Zastrutski, & Shortt, 2005; OECD, 2001; OECD,
2004). Ireland participates in PISA, and there is widespread media coverage of outcomes and results. One of the main goals of Ireland’s involvement with PISA comes
from a perspective of achieving equity in educational outcomes reflecting the country’s egalitarian philosophy. This leads to a larger focus on reasons of low achievement
rather than focusing on the results of the high-achieving students. In any case, the
results from PISA are not that encouraging from an Irish perspective. Despite Ireland’s
mean scores in the 2009 PISA report on the overall scale not being significantly different from the OECD average of the other 65 countries, Ireland has shown the largest
decline in average scores from the first PISA results in 2000 (Cosgrove, Perkins,
Moran, & Shiel, 2011). The percentage of high-achieving males fell by 7 points
between 2000 and 2009 and the percentage of high-achieving females fell by 8 points.
However, with the decline in scores of low-achieving students in reading and mathematics, much of the media attention emphasized the low achievement outcomes. The
Educational Research Centre (ERC) of Ireland concluded that some of the decline was
related to demographic changes in the PISA cohort in Ireland since 2000. These
included an increase in the proportion of immigrant students, and greater participation
of students with special educational needs in mainstream schools.
Ireland has significantly fewer students at the higher proficiency levels (at/above
Level 5) than the OECD average (6.7% compared with 12.7%). The United Kingdom
(9.8%) and Poland (10.4%) are countries with similar education systems to Ireland,
and they too have higher average scores at the high proficiency levels. There are also
proportionally more high-achieving students in Northern Ireland (10.3%) than in the
rest of Ireland (6.7%). The percentage of high-achieving students in Ireland is also
much lower than the corresponding percentage in Finland where 21.6% of students
achieved at Level 5 or 6. This pattern of results suggests that Ireland’s low average
performance is, in part, attributable to the comparatively low performance of higher
achieving students (Cosgrove et al., 2011).
One of the problems lies with the fact that there are currently no provisions within
teacher training programs to work with gifted students. The emphasis is on students at
the other end of the spectrum with differing educational needs. Given that under the
EPSON Act, there is no provision for special needs teachers to work with gifted

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students, there is little or no motivation for trainee teachers to be given techniques to
work with gifted students as the schools will have very few resources available to them
once they start their teaching. There is an online course available for teachers run by
Institute of Child Education and Psychology Europe (ICEP Europe), which is a provider of online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and university-validated
diploma programs in special educational needs for teachers, parents, and allied professionals who work with children and young people. They offer a course for teachers
who wish to work with gifted students. However, this course is not financially supported by the Department of Education, and teachers must pay to avail of it.
Following the publication of the Education Act in 1998, there was much excitement
within the small gifted community that this would mean schools would now need to
provide separately for gifted children. However, this was quashed following parliamentary questions on the issue when the Minister of Education in 2001 stated that it
was the decision of the boards of management of the schools to provide services for
high-ability students. Given that nearly all of the public funding for schools goes
toward teacher’s salaries and that the limited number of resource teachers available to
each school would be focusing on students at the other end of the spectrum than gifted
children, there currently does not seem to be any political backing for the advancement
of gifted children in Ireland.
In spite of the lack of political will and the shortage of resources, the gifted community in the country—mostly parents of high-ability students—were anxious to provide the best opportunities possible for their children. This led to the establishment of
a Talent Search to identify gifted children from all the schools in the country and the
introduction of an out-of-school university-based program for gifted students. This
will be discussed in the next section.

Talent Search in Ireland
Without the support of government and with little cooperation from schools, Dublin
City University formulated an ambitious plan to provide services for gifted students.
In 1992, with the aid of Center for Talented Youth (CTY) at Johns Hopkins University,
a talent search was introduced to identify high-ability students for the first gifted summer program run at Dublin City University organized by the Irish Centre for Talented
Youth (CTYI). To date, some 45,000 Irish students aged 6 to 17 have participated in
a Talent Search run by CTYI to identify high-ability students. Letters are written to
all schools in the country to ask them to identify students who have scored at or above
the 95th percentile on a standardized test. As of 2012, up to 70% of the schools in the
country have participated in the Talent Search. Following the Talent Search, qualifying students are asked to attend an awards ceremony at Dublin City University to
recognize their achievement.
The Talent Search concept, pioneered by Julian Stanley in the 1970s, offers a challenging test designed for older students and bright, motivated younger students as a
means of identifying exceptional talent in a specific domain. The Talent Search is

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effectively a two-step process. First, students who score highly on a standardized
achievement test are invited to take an above-level test as a measure of their aptitude.
Second, the above-level test is administered to the eligible students. Identifying students who score well on standardized tests would not be difficult in Ireland as schools
must administer tests in reading and mathematics at two stages in a child’s career in
primary school. Secondary schools in Ireland would often use standardized tests for
students attending the school before they are admitted. These tests cannot be used for
entry to the school but are often used to help with the future educational planning for the
particular student and may identify if the student has a particular learning difficulty.
Following discussions with Dublin City University and Johns Hopkins University, it
was decided that Irish students would take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) as the
out-of-level test to qualify for programming. The CTY had been using the SAT for
many years as an identification tool with good success. Given that Irish students speak
English as their first language and would usually not have seen the SAT before, it was
hoped to be a good indicator of academic potential among Irish students. Early and
subsequent results showed that Irish Talent Search results were very similar to those of
their American counterparts, and thus, the test was applicable to an Irish audience.
Normally, the out-of-level test would be suitable for students 2 to 4 years above the
students taking the test. The youngest of the Irish students would take the SAT at 13
and be compared with 17-year-old college-bound American students. This allows
those students who have hit the ceiling in grade achievement tests to demonstrate their
advanced abilities (Lupkowski-Shoplik, Benbow, Assouline, & Brody, 2003). This
approach uses a standardized test designed for older students to determine the degree
to which younger students’ abilities exceed those that can be measured using tests for
their own age (Charlton, Marolf, & Stanley, 2002). If a student is scoring at the 97th
percentile for his or her age on a grade-level test, then he or she has usually answered
all the questions on this test correctly. The results of this testing can show that students
have mastered the material expected for their particular age but will not be able to
show what the students might know beyond grade level (Swiatek, 2007). By providing
this above-level or out-of-level testing, talent searches allow parents and schools to
determine how much a child’s level of performance differs from the performance of
other above-average students (Matthews, 2008). Furthermore, it allows parents to
decide what curricular modifications might be necessary for meeting the child’s academic needs. Stanley (1991) suggested that the overall purpose of the Talent Search
Model is to educate for individual development over the life span of the student.
Benefits found from Talent Search include students gaining a better understanding
of their academic abilities (Brody, 1998) and reporting higher educational and career
aspirations (Van Tassel-Baska, 1989; Wilder & Casserly, 1988). Olszewski-Kubilius
and Grant (1996) documented that students who participate in talent searches are
more likely to participate in academic extracurricular activities and to pursue more
rigorous academic courses and careers in the future. The predictive validity of abovelevel tests has been demonstrated by the academic success of high-scoring students
(Swiatek, 2007). Longitudinal studies have documented impressive achievements

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among seventh and eighth graders who have taken the SAT (Lubinski & Benbow,
1994; Stanley, 1976). Furthermore, Barnett and Durden (1993) found that students
who participate in talent searches and went on to take advanced academic programs
were more likely to pursue academic challenges while still in high school and to enter
more competitive colleges and universities. Talent Search methods have been shown
to be effective at identifying primary school students as well (Colangelo, Assouline, &
Lu, 1994; Lupkowski-Shoplik & Swiatek, 1999).

Gifted Programs in Ireland
Currently, the only formal program for gifted students in Ireland is the CTYI. CTYI
was established following negotiations with Dublin City University and CTY at Johns
Hopkins University who were interested in starting an international program based on
the principles of the CTY program. CTYI was started at Dublin City University in
1992, with the following aims:
•• to identify through national and international talent searches precollege children who reason extremely well mathematically and/or verbally;
•• to provide talented youth both from Ireland and overseas with challenging
and invigorating coursework and related educational opportunities through
an annual summer program, and on Saturday classes during the school year;
•• to provide teacher training and support services to schools participating in
the CTYI program;
•• to assist parents in advancing talented students by providing access to information and resources; and
•• to research and evaluate talent development and the effectiveness of program
models and curriculum provision (www.dcu.ie/ctyi).
As part of its mission, CTYI runs Saturday courses for primary school children at
various centers around the country. These courses would traditionally be in noncurricular subjects, giving students the opportunity to study topics that they would not
usually be exposed to in school. Examples of subjects in Saturday classes that primary school students in this study experienced included forensic science, zoology,
science of tomorrow, engineering, computer programming, journalism, legal studies,
and psychology.
Feldhusen and Sokol (1982) identified some key cognitive needs of talented students
addressed by Saturday programs. The gifted must try to acquire a broader store of knowledge, learn new research methods, and exercise self-direction in learning. Saturday programs provide the opportunity for gifted and talented youth to engage in some in-depth
study in areas of interest, with a curriculum that can be enriched and accelerated to fit
students’ needs. Saturday programs should offer a wealth of information (enrichment) at
a fast pace (acceleration). Feldhusen and Ruckman (1988) suggested that an effective
Saturday program should be between 7 and 12 weeks in length, with 2 to 3 hr of

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instruction per week. The CTYI Saturday course is a 9-week program with 2.5 hr of
instruction every week. This allows sufficient time for detailed pursuit of a topic and for
any significant project involvement. Feldhusen and Wyman (1980) believed that a college or university campus is an excellent location for a Saturday program. College or
university lecture theaters provide an excellent setting for the classes and the professional academic environment may serve as a career stimulus for the talented adolescent.
The CTYI Saturday classes in Dublin take place on the campus of Dublin City University
and the regional classes take place in third-level institutions around the country.
Courses given would normally be in subjects that would be offered at the third level
and are taught by subject experts in the particular area. The teachers would usually be
part-time lecturers or postgraduate students from the third-level institution hosting the
course. In this way, CTYI students have access to third-level facilities and teachers
who have particular knowledge in their area of interest. Typically in primary school,
these students have one teacher for all subject areas and have little or no opportunity
to develop their knowledge in specific academic areas.
Another out-of-school program option for gifted students is summer programs.
CTYI runs 3-week residential summer programs at Dublin City University for highability, secondary school students. Examples of summer course subjects that secondary school students participated in included biomedical diagnostics, theoretical
physics, criminology, corporate business, social psychology, international relations,
and writing for life. The variety and depth of subjects offer…
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