Contemporary Integrative Education for Highly Gifted Pupils at Primary School An Empirical Study Based on the Grounded Theory Methodology

Abstract

This thesis deals with the investigation of contemporary individual support for highly gifted pupils within a heterogeneous class community in the context of regular lessons in urban elementary school. The following research question is formulated for said purpose:
How is contemporary support for highly gifted primary school pupils constituted within the framework of regular lessons and what role do digital media play in this?
To find answers, eleven qualitative (open guideline) interviews with representatives (and in some cases their parents) of the target group were analyzed and evaluated based on the grounded theory methodology described by Strauss and Corbin. The sample selection was limited to the following «and» conditions: Determined high intelligence (IQ of at least 130), attendance of a regular school/class between the 1st and 6th school year; geographical positioning (Aachen city region and surroundings).
The answered research question enables a reconstruction of the subjectively perceived reality of the students surveyed. (Media) didactic aspects of individual support are developed, which can have a regulating function in the integration of highly gifted children into the classroom situation or into the class community.
The results of the first phase of the analysis led to three central categories: «Digital would be better» with the central phenomenon of «Learning with media», «The normal tasks» with the central phenomenon of «Intellectual stimulation» and «The others» with the central phenomenon of «experiencing differences». These each represent different aspects of support in the classroom that can play a relevant role from the perspective of highly gifted pupils. The central phenomenon identified in this process was worked out in the second phase and is referred to as the «leveling of conditions». It encompasses the balance between the individual prerequisites of the target group and the subjective experience of teaching. Furthermore, three typologies of highly gifted pupils were developed on the basis of the available interview data: «the inconspicuous type», «the resigning type» and «the acting type». This description appeared to be essential in order to identify the active and individual need for support. In the course of the study, the category of the (medial) habitus of highly gifted pupils was also added, which also opened up a further perspective on the question of the content of adequate support in the classroom.
It was established in the thesis that the constitution of contemporary support for gifted pupils is a complex, multifaceted and non-generalizable matter. The need for active consideration of individual (both interpersonal and intrapersonal) differences in regular lessons became apparent during the analysis. Their perception and a corresponding adaptation of didactic actions to the specific circumstances are necessary. A pronounced «experience of differences» in the context of the classroom community can cause the phenomenon of «levelling of conditions» to occur and ultimately lead to the social exclusion and stigmatization of highly gifted pupils. In addition, a very significant role of the family environment in the (further) development of giftedness became apparent. In the course of the analysis, details of the children‘s family environment repeatedly emerged in connection with education, learning and media use. They formed a contrast to the school environment and were taken up as regulating conditions in the central categories, as they can play a reinforcing or diminishing role in the occurrence of the phenomenon («learning with media», «intellectual stimulation» or «experiencing differences»). Commonalities were identified in the interviews that illustrate the parents‘ open attitude towards the free discovery and development of the interests of the children concerned. In particular, it is noticeable that the acquisition of education is not limited to attending school as a place of education, but rather reflects an ongoing status quo from birth. In terms of «intellectual stimulation» and «learning with media», the habitus of highly gifted children and their families differs greatly from the habitus of the educational institution of school. In particular, the “media habitus” of the school institution leads to underchallenge due to a predominantly analog, sometimes antiquated and inflexible learning culture. The potential of digital media for regular lessons and individual support is therefore not being fully exploited. The overall high educational background of the families and their available resources of all kinds indicate reproducibility depending on the environment of origin.