Gifted Children and Students in Inclusive Education

The Institute for Contemporary Education’s Center for Professional Development in partnership with the resource center Znanje from Belgrade organized a seminar titled Gifted Children and Students in Inclusive Education for all education professionals. The seminar was held on March 2, 2019 and the lecturers were special education therapist Marinela Šćepanović, MSc, member of the Society of Defectologists of Vojvodina and Mensa Serbia, and doctor of education in special education, Snežana Nišević from the Primary School Boško Buha in Belgrade.

The aim of the seminar was to present the concept of giftedness with regard to general intellectual and academic abilities, creative and productive thinking, ability of visual and auditory perception of reality, and psychomotor abilities. The lecturers highlighted ways in which gifted students qualitatively differ from average children by their physical, cognitive, emotional and social qualities. The seminar also presented the methodology of early detection of giftedness, and ways to recognize and identify giftedness in the context of school subjects. Special emphasis was placed on the importance of providing support to teachers who work with gifted children and students in inclusive education.  

Participants expressed great satisfaction after the seminar, because they obtained functional knowledge and methods that can be effectively applied in their teaching practice to encourage children and students to achieve their full potential. The methodology presented in the seminar empowered the participants to encourage and stimulate gifted students by designing individualized education plans and including them into advanced programs. 

In cooperation with the lecturers, the Institute for Contemporary Education provided free participation for Dubravka R. from Savremena Gimnazija, and members of the Institute, Tatjana D. and Gordana P.