Development opportunities of gifted pupils in secondary school

This diploma thesis examines possibilities for a development of gifted and highly gifted students at upper-secondary schools. A theoretical part defines a concept of giftedness, presents selected models of giftedness, describes developmental specifics of adolescents, summarizes a relevant legislation and support measures related to a education of the gifted students, and outlines opportunities for their development - both within and outside schools. An empirical part is conducted according to principles of a grounded theory. A research sample involved five gifted students, their parents, and twelve teachers. Data were collected through analysis of a school documentation and semi-structured interviews with the gifted students, their parents, and teachers from nine selected upper-secondary schools. Multi-stage coding (open, axial, and selective) led to a creation of paradigmatic models of the individual schools and to a subsequent formulation of a central category. An outcome is the grounded theory that describes types of schools according to a degree to which a support for giftedness is institutionally embedded and shows how these types condition different opportunities for a development of the gifted students. Three types were identified: schools with an institutionally embedded support for...