Gifted education in Uruguay: analyses from a learning-resource perspective

This paper presents a qualitative descriptive study on the Uruguayan reality concerning the High Ability/Gifted (HA/GT) education. Fifty-five participants have answered an online anonymous 40-question survey randomly sent which investigated the endogenous and exogenous learning resources according to the Actiotope Model of Giftedness (Ziegler & Baker, 2013). Documental analysis of the educational laws, regulations, and websites of the governmental authorities complements the data, supported by the literature. Results have shown the country has scarce research on giftedness, an almost complete lack of teachers’ training both in private and public schools, inexistent public policy contemplating these students, no government investments to serve this population, lack of information among people not related to HA/GT students, and only two voluntary organizations offering some services and support to them and their families. Legislation and documents concerning special education and HA/GT students are also almost nonexistent or just exclusively devoted to disabled students. Educational authorities should consider the urgent need to train teachers to identify and serve gifted students and encourage academic research to help understand and improve these services. Gifted students’ families and gifted persons themselves should enhance their participation in civil organizations to make a public policy for gifted persons to become real and denounce when students are rejected, expelled, discriminated or bullied.