In the future, they may become Nobel Prize winners or come up with a fundamental discovery. There are approximately 150,000 students who stand out from the rest in Czech primary and secondary schools. They are gifted. But no one knows about three quarters of them. The Czech education system has long failed to identify these pupils and develop their talent.
While an ordinary first-grader is happy if he can count to ten on his fingers or spell out his favorite word, gifted students are mostly far ahead in their mental abilities. Each individual’s talent manifests itself in a different period. Some read fluently at the age of three, while others master a small multiplication table even before the start of compulsory schooling. In some cases, the talent becomes apparent only in the second grade of elementary school.
There is no exact list of characteristics that can be used to determine whether a student belongs to the fifteen percent gifted. However, these children tend to have certain characteristics in common. According to psychologist Šárka Portešová, they can already see patterns and work with abstract symbols at an early age. They do not lack interest in learning something new and curiosity. However, they can sometimes encounter an excessive number of questions. Even children who develop faster tend to have difficulties at school, which are manifested, for example, by drawing too much attention to themselves or being angry.
According to estimates, gifted children make up ten to fifteen percent of pupils. There should therefore be roughly 150,000 of them in primary and secondary schools in the Czech Republic. However, only about 43 thousand of them are known. At the same time, gifted children need an individual approach, thanks to which they can further advance their knowledge. As well as pupils with special educational needs, the inclusive amendment to the Education Act of 2016 was supposed to help them.
“The situation has improved slightly since then, but the area of talent development is still remembered much less than the issue of pupils with special needs,” says deputy central school inspector Karel Kovář. According to the Ministry of Education, this is also due to the fact that gifted children do not pose an immediate problem for the school like pupils with special needs.
Gifted students are currently being identified by educational and psychological counseling centers, which are the only ones that can design educational measures directly tailored to the given child. But this is time-consuming. The examination of the pupil itself takes two to three hours, then the results must be processed and a report prepared for the school. “The waiting period is on the order of several months,” says Protešová and recommends parents not to wait until the last minute to order.
At the same time, the detection of gifted students is important. Talent also brings with it difficulties. “These students usually don’t get along with their peers that much. Finding friends with the same interests can therefore be more challenging for them,” explains Portešová. Gifted children are aware of their difference and sometimes begin to mask their abilities if the class makes them aware of it. An example is those who can already read, but out of fear they prefer to conform to others and spell individual words.
According to experts, they sometimes also encounter misunderstandings from some teachers who want to give space to others, and that is why selected pupils are put off. “We know you know it. Don’t ask anymore,” they say, for example.
Psychologist Portešová claims that education should not rely only on the counseling system, because they cannot detect gifted children across the board. That is also why she and colleagues from the Faculty of Social Studies of Brno’s Masaryk University created tests called Invenio, which target pupils across the country.
“Our goal is to catch even pupils who have good logical skills, but are perhaps slower or have difficulty remembering. The testing takes place in the form of a game, the children enjoy it and we also get the results quickly,” explains the author. 5,850 pupils have already passed the test and 250 of them have been identified as intellectually gifted. Mensa offers a similar service. Anyone can sign up for their tests on the official website.
The schools themselves usually only use observation and interviews to identify gifted students. Therefore, from 2025, the Ministry of Education plans to more intensively involve supporting positions in ordinary elementary schools, which include school psychologists and school special educators. “We are currently verifying a new system that should give all elementary schools the right to an adequate wage for these workers,” says ministry spokesperson Aneta Lednová.
Common characteristics of gifted children
Ability to concentrate deeply
High sensitivity
Ability to work independently
They see the problem from a different perspective
Analytical skills
Immersion in solving the task
Cit pro fair play
New unconventional solutions
It goes beyond the expected answers
He quickly sees cause and effect, understands connections
He hates to be interrupted
Inadequate response
He refuses to work with others
It rejects too narrow topics
It does not have to distinguish the essential from the unessential
Source: psychologist Šárka Portešová
According to Kovář from the Czech School Inspectorate, the starting point is not the separation of gifted children into special classes, but rather the support of joint education in diverse collectives. “Teachers’ work is crucial. Pupils must be given space to show their abilities. Knowledge sharing should also be cultivated in the classroom, because the presence of gifted children can be beneficial for their classmates as well,” he says. He also considers the linking of formal and hobby education to be important.
Jeanne Bočková from the Center for Talented Youth claims that gifted students are expected to find their own way independently. Extracurricular clubs can help them with this. “Some activities are not financially accessible to all parents. If a motivated child does not have family support for any reason, it should be in the school’s interest to help him find educational and financial resources,” he thinks.
It is one’s own experience that leads to the greatest openness and empathy in the issue of gifted individuals. “Some private kindergartens and schools are created thanks to the initiative and financial support of parents who have such children and want a better educational environment for them,” adds Bočková.
However, gifted students can find their place in regular schools as well. In the Republic, special classes are gradually being formed into which talented children are grouped. For example, Křídlovická Elementary School in Brno has one in each year. However, an individual study plan or an earlier start to school may be enough for some children.
Video: We need to prevent student turnover, says the headmaster of a school in an excluded location (February 26, 2023)
Karel Bendlmajer is the director of the Mojžíř Elementary School in Ústí nad Labem, where mostly children from excluded localities attend. | Video: Radek Bartoníček
