LAUSR

The article examines socio-economic and political influences on gifted education. It highlights the widespread disparity between advantaged and disadvantaged ‘gifted and talented’ students in terms of the extent to which they benefit from gifted education. Negative perceptions of social egalitarianism and societal misconceptions in giftedness are critically analysed. Cultural aspects related to gifted education are emphasized with a particular focus on the specific ‘science’ domain of giftedness. The article proposes and outlines future research in gifted education to address the issues of ‘cultural-clashes’ and ‘cross-cultural border crossing’ encountered by gifted and other students in their daily lives. Future outcomes from the proposed research might help teachers adapting their teaching styles and pedagogies to address the needs of gifted students, and assist future longitudinal research related to their cognitive, affective and social development.