Write a PREreview

This study examines how gifted students in STEM subjects are identified and supported at Seafarers College, a bilingual Catholic boys’ secondary school in Madrid. Using a participatory action research (PAR) methodology within a constructivist paradigm, data were collected through interviews, observations, focus groups and online questionnaires with teachers, students, and parents. The theoretical framework draws on the Three-Ring Model of giftedness to conceptualise giftedness and incorporates Critical Race Theory alongside Freire’s notion of education as liberation to address issues of equity and empowerment. Findings reveal that provision for gifted learners is minimal at Seafarers College. Identification tends to be reactive and largely parent-driven, and classroom pedagogy remains exam-oriented, teacher-led, and non-differentiated. Moreover, the bilingual setting further complicates gifted identification, often privileging dominant-language speakers. The study concludes that effectively supporting gifted students in such contexts requires not only culturally responsive pedagogy and structural reform, but also greater teacher agency and a shift from a compliance-driven culture to one of collaboration.