The gifted: Identity construction through the practice of gifted education

Over the past two decades in Australia, the field of gifted education has expanded considerably. The term ‘giftedness’ has effectively entered mainstream discourse. The field of gifted education, which nowadays operates as a compensatory function of mass education, is comprised of groups of people who broadly share in the concept of giftedness but contest, through discourse, its meanings and practices. This paper explores the politics of ‘identity construction’ through gifted practice. Social constructionism was used in the study theoretically and methodologically, to underpin discourse analysis and the life history approach to research. This paper aims to delineate the study generally, and to shed light on its findings. It explores history, arguing that gifted education, despite prevailing claims to inclusivity, sustains competition and individualism and subverts the social function of education.