Giftedness in School: A Neglected Area in Teacher Training. A Systematic Review

Abstract

This study reviews the literature on educational policies and initial teacher education related to students with high abilities in Latin America, with particular attention to Chile.

This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020) guidelines. A search strategy was implemented across Web of Science, Scopus, and SciELO, covering publications from July 2020 to July 2025. Two Boolean search equations combining descriptors related to gifted education, teacher preparation, and Latin America were applied. Studies were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria considering educational level, study design, thematic focus on high abilities, geographical scope, year of publication, and language. Only empirical studies examining educational policies or initial teacher education processes related to high-ability students in Latin America were included. From an initial pool of 105 records, duplicates and ineligible studies were removed, resulting in a final corpus of 12 articles.

The selected studies were analyzed through a descriptive systematic synthesis. Titles and abstracts were independently screened by the research team, followed by full-text reviews of eligible articles. Relevant information was extracted using a structured analytical matrix that included study characteristics, features of teacher education programs, pedagogical strategies for supporting high-ability students, descriptions of training experiences, and references to policy frameworks.

The findings reveal several converging patterns across the Latin American context. First, although most countries formally recognize inclusive education in policy discourse, explicit provisions for high-ability students remain scarce, fragmented, or inconsistently implemented. Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico show more developed policy frameworks, including guidelines for identification and educational support. Nevertheless, implementation remains uneven and often constrained by limited institutional resources and insufficient teacher training. In contrast, Uruguay, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Argentina display fragmented initiatives that frequently depend on isolated programs or private-sector interventions rather than comprehensive national strategies.

Most importantly, the review highlights a gap in initial teacher education across the region. None of the analyzed studies report a systematic incorporation of gifted education into undergraduate teacher training curricula. Instead, professional development opportunities tend to occur after teachers enter the profession and are usually voluntary, sporadic, or dependent on individual initiative. This lack of formal preparation contributes to misconceptions among teachers, including the belief that high-ability students do not require differentiated pedagogical support.

From a theoretical standpoint, the findings are interpreted through the Actiotope Model of Giftedness, which conceptualizes talent development as an interaction between individual resources and environmental conditions. Overall, the review identifies a gap between inclusive policy discourse and educational practice in Latin America, underscoring the need for stronger policies, systematic teacher preparation, and sustained research in the field. These findings also highlight the urgency of incorporating gifted education into preservice teacher training as a relevant dimension of educational equity, inclusion, and pedagogical responsiveness across diverse school contexts today.