The Finnish Public Discussion of Gifted Education

• In Event: Roundtable Session 34
  In Roundtable Session: International Perspectives on Gifted Education

Abstract

This paper presents preliminary results of a research in which the Finnish public discussion of gifted education was examined. The aim was to unearth what is discussed about the educational policy of gifted education, and what alternatives for gifted education at the comprehensive school level are presented. A total of 235 articles from a central Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat were analyzed using inductive oriented content analysis. Preliminary results show that there is a concern on how gifted students are noticed at school, and change towards better consideration of the gifted is called for. However, thoughts of why the change is needed and how gifted education should be best carried out varied considerably.

Author

• Sonja Laine, University of Helsinki