An Overview of the Phenomenon of Waiting in the Class from the Perspective of the Classroom Teacher: A Phenomenology Study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to reveal the reasons and different factors underlying the phenomenon of waiting in the class based on the opinions and experiences of classroom teachers teaching gifted students in the regular classrooms. The study was conducted as a phenomenology study, which is amongst qualitative research designs. The participants consisted of four classroom teachers teaching in regular classrooms including gifted students at a public elementary school. A series of open-ended questions developed by the researcher focusing on the phenomenon of waiting in the class were asked to the participants and responses received. Interviews with each of the participants were guided by a semi-structured interview protocol. Data were subjected to content analysis using a qualitative analysis program. Analysis of the qualitative data revealed nineteen different codes under four different themes. The themes emerged after the analysis were: state of the classroom, intra-course routines, nature of being gifted and teacher’s competence. In conclusion, gifted students’ waiting in the class also existed in elementary school classrooms and the reasons of the phenomenon differed from the perspective of the classroom teacher. Before the beginning of the process of supporting gifted students in regular classrooms, there is a need to implement a number of specific measures to overcome the issue.