Assessing meritocratic beliefs of Taiwanese gifted students: an analysis of educational categorical inequality

This study aims to investigate how gifted students define and defend their status as a privileged category. Education systems often perpetuate categorical inequalities through mechanisms such as tracking, grading and labelling, for example, ‘gifted’ programmes. While previous research has explored various meritocratic beliefs among academic elites, less is known about the experiences of gifted students who are institutionally labelled and afforded educational privileges. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 39 Taiwanese gifted high school students and 22 parents, this study identifies common self-presentation patterns. Overall, by emphasising their advanced competencies and downplaying the social privileges from which they benefit, gifted students affirm meritocratic beliefs in a subtle manner. By employing multiple techniques to explore how interviewees position themselves, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of meritocratic beliefs and their complexities.