The landscape of Australian gifted education research: 1992–2013

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study seeks to investigate the body of literature generated in the Australasian Journal of Gifted Education from the establishment of the journal in 1992 until 2013, focusing on the research field in order to understand its research foci, the rigor of research generated, and how events in the Australian context can influence the type of research undertaken. This study was guided by four research questions (1) to what extent is research published in AJGE empirical?; (2) what proportions of the articles are quantitative, qualitative, or non-empirical?; (3) how does the empirical rigor compare over time?; and (4) to what extent has the 2001 Australian Senate Inquiry into the Education of Gifted Children influenced the research foci? A database of AJGE articles was constructed, and an adapted version of the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used to classify empirical studies. Results indicated that qualitative and quantitative research was equally undertaken; however, case studies and quantitative descriptive analysis were favored over other types of approaches. Empirical rigor varied over time, and few recommendations from the 2001Australian Senate Report were reflected in the research undertaken. There are a number of contextual explanations for the irregular presentation and lack of robustness in the quality of research, which are explored in this article.