Should the teacher of the gifted be gifted?

Abstract

There are relatively few research studies focusing on the understanding of teachers of gifted learners, though it is assumed that not all teachers should be assigned to teach the gifted. Most of the studies investigated this issue by examining the perceptions of teachers and students. In most of those studies the results show a preference to the social qualities of the teacher. The ability to respond to students as individuals is considered a central component of successful teaching. Yet, experimental studies show different results. Mills (2003) found that the characteristics of effective teachers of the gifted were similar to those typically ascribed to the gifted students. How important are the teaching skills of the teachers of the gifted? And how significant is his or her expertise in the field? Because the gifted population is not homogeneous, it seems that different students would have different preferences. Yet, it could be concluded that in order to be a successful mediator for gifted students, one would undoubtedly have to be intelligent enough to be able to understand their way of thinking, knowledgeable enough to be able to challenge them and, last but not least, emotionally intelligent.