ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a broad situational analysis of research in gifted education in the domains of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in the Australian and New Zealand contexts. An extensive review of Australian and New Zealand research on exceptional mathematics students, including gifted students and those with learning difficulties, was published in 2004 by Diezmann, C. M., T. Lowrie, Bicknell, B., Faraghar, and Putt, I. In gifted education, there appears to be an overemphasis among educators on the question of identification at the expense of curriculum and teaching strategies. Provisions can be made for gifted students at the classroom, whole school, or system levels, and may include acceleration, enrichment, differentiated curriculum, curriculum compacting, pull-out programs, individual education programs, and competitions. Concerns about Australia's performances in STEM, echoed to a lesser extent in New Zealand, and has not directly impacted on gifted education policy or practices.
