PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ OPINIONS TOWARDS MUSICALLY GIFTED STUDENTS

Primary school teachers have an important role in the early identification and further development of a child's musical giftedness. The research was aimed to examine the opinions of primary school classroom teachers (N = 1130) employed in Croatian primary schools regarding conceptualization of musical giftedness and its impact on identification of musically gifted students. Furthermore, their opinions about the support of parents, professional team and collective as well as competencies for recognizing and further development of the child’s musical giftedness were investigated. Although most respondents assess their competencies in identifying musical giftedness, most of the surveyed teachers, especially younger ones, are willing to be additionally trained in this area. They stated that the existing curriculum should be expanded and enriched and stressed the need for more support from the expert assistants (psychologists and pedagogues). In addition to the teachers' age, their title (teacher, teacher mentor and teacher advisor) also proved to be a significant factor in the identification and development of a child's musical giftedness. Findings of research have implications for theory and practice of primary school teacher’s music education and education for work with gifted children both during their higher education and lifelong learning. Keywords: musical giftedness, musically gifted students, primary school teachers, Republic of Croatia