The education act in Norway states that education should be inclusive and that all students receive a high-quality education that meets their individual needs. Furthermore, education should enable students to develop their abilities and talents. However, the responsibility falls on the individual schools and municipalities regarding gifted education, resulting in considerable discrepancies in practices and praxis between schools. The governmental report NOU 2016:14 (2016) "More to Gain. Children with higher learning potential" reveals that there is a lack of Norwegian research that focuses on gifted children and that teachers lack the competence to identify and facilitate education for gifted students. Therefore, according to the report, teachers do not promote sufficiently adapted education. The report recommends that more research in the Norwegian context be conducted to generate knowledge concerning gifted education. This study investigates teachers' perspectives on gifted students and gifted education. The study examines how teachers describe teacher education concerning gifted students and their competence and practices with gifted education. 

Theoretical framework: In Norway, little research has been published on gifted students since the 1970s, and the lack of research seems to have had implications on teachers' and schools' practices and praxis. Research shows that gifted education has had a relatively low priority among researchers in Norway, although it is slowly increasing in recent years (Furnes & Jokstad, 2023; Lenvik et al., 2021). Studies show that a lack of research seems to impact gifted students' opportunities for equal education (Idsøe, 2014; Idsøe & Skogen, 2011; Nissen et al., 2011; Smedsrud, 2018; Straube, 2003). Moreover, gifted students are more likely to feel socially isolated, have low self-efficacy, and struggle with their self-identity resulting in a higher risk of school dropout. 

The study investigates Norwegian teachers' utterances concerning their competencies, practices, and praxis in gifted education. A mixed methods (Creswell, 2007; Johnson et al., 2007) digital survey is mailed to schools and published in teachers' groups on social media, targeting teachers in primary schools. The quantitative results will be analysed through SPSS, and the qualitative results will be explored through a Bakhtin-inspired dialogic analysis informed ( Bakhtin & Holquist, 1981). The study examines the voicedness in teachers' utterances and the layers between them. This article is based on findings from the digital survey.

Some of our preliminary findings: The survey will be concluded before the schools take summer leave, in June 2023. So far 85 teachers have answered the survey. Teachers in the study report that teacher education did not focus on gifted education and are uncertain about how to cater to these students. Furthermore, approximately 80 percent report little or no knowledge of the governmental report NOU 2016:14 (2016) "More to Gain. Children with higher learning potential". Roughly 25 percent report that they have been trained to cater to gifted students, and around 13 percent state that their schools have guidelines concerning gifted education. The qualitative results show so far that there is a broad understanding among teachers in the study that gifted students are perceived as a challenge but not a priority. Only a few teachers in the study perceive gifted students as a valuable resource, while the majority seem to have a problem-oriented view of this student group.

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