The ACTIOTOPE model of giftedness is based on the idea that giftedness is not an inherent trait, but rather the result of successful adaptations to environmental determinants. It introduces the concepts of educational and learning capital, which are fundamental resources that facilitate excellence. The Questionnaire on Educational and Learning Capital (QELC) provides an understanding of the resources that contribute to academic and professional success. It has been validated in several countries, demonstrating its cross-cultural applicability. For example, in Mexico, the results showed that the original factor structure presents an absolute fit and low levels of error. Research has shown that educational and learning capital are important predictors of academic performance, highlighting the importance of environmental and personal resources in fostering academic excellence. The QELC consists of subscales that measure the five forms of educational capital (economic, cultural, social, infrastructural, and didactic) and the five forms of learning capital (organismic, actional, telic, episodic, and attentional). It is not only a research tool, but also a practical instrument for educators, helping to identify students who could benefit from additional resources or support, enabling educators to create personalized learning environments that foster excellence. The objective of this study was to compare the Educational and Learning Capitals of students with high intellectual ability and those without high intellectual ability in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades of primary school and the first through third grades of secondary school. The study was descriptive and cross-sectional. A total of 354 students participated, including those with high intellectual ability (N = 178) and those without high ability (N = 176), all from public schools. A Student's t-test for independent samples was performed, and the effect size was calculated. The results indicate significant differences in educational and learning capital. In relation to the educational capital subscales, differences were found in the economic, cultural, social, infrastructure, and didactic subscales, where students with high ability obtained higher scores than students without high ability. The effect size is large in educational, economic, and infrastructure capital and medium for the rest of the educational capitals. On the other hand, with regard to Learning Capital, significant differences were found in this and in Organic, Actional, Episodic, and Attentional Capital, where students with high abilities obtained higher scores. A high effect size was observed in Organic Capital, and a medium effect size in Learning, Actional, Episodic, and Attention Capital. Only in Telic Capital were no differences observed. The findings confirm the relevance of the ACTIOTOPE Model as a guiding framework for the comprehensive care of gifted students, offering clear guidelines for coordinated intervention in the academic, social, and family spheres, avoiding fragmented approaches and favoring a systemic view of development. In particular, the data highlight the need for dynamic interaction between both types of capital, which drives excellence and positive adaptation among students.
The Intercultural Bilingual Education [EIB] policy in Chile is going through a stage of greater openness in the teaching of indigenous language and culture, which includes people with little or no vitality in their native languages. This educational policy has been questioned due to its compensatory and monocultural bias and its failure to promote interculturality among the entire student population nationwide. Characterized as a bicultural rather than an intercultural policy, it is considered to promote a Westernizing paradigm. However, it is worth noting that in areas where the Indigenous people's presence is a minority -as is the case in various areas of northern Chile- the act of state recognition has influenced the formation of ethnic actors, who now bear the responsibility for the educational work and the reconstruction of their Indigenous languages and cultures. This study aims to characterize the social actors that mobilize this educational policy and its main dilemmas and points of tension. A multiple-case design is followed, selecting a group of nine Atacame & ntilde;o, Colla, and Diaguita educational communities located in the Antofagasta, Atacama, and Coquimbo regions in northern Chile. The fieldwork was conducted between 2022 and 2024. Interviews were conducted with state agents, members of indigenous communities, school principals, and indigenous educators from the groups included in the research. The results indicate the presence of three main actors: institutional, business, and ethnic. The tensions and dilemmas identified include the preponderance of state action, the configuration of a space for collaboration, negotiation, and dispute between actors, the absence of systematic critical or autonomous indigenous initiatives, and the growing interference of mining companies in actions related to education in indigenous languages and cultures. A scenario of re-articulation of neoliberal multiculturalism in educational matters is configured, reflected in the current EIB policy. This characteristic corresponds to the neoliberal multiculturalism model upon which this educational policy has been designed and implemented in Chile, where, despite various reforms, it has not been substantially transformed. In the Atacame & ntilde;a area, for example, the strong presence of the mining industry means that critical voices against this type of public-private relationship are few and far between. Something similar happens on a different scale, in the Colla context. In contrast, the Diaguita territory presents a different scenario, where there are some cases of active conflict, but it is also an area where mining is less prevalent. It is necessary to consider the implications of this form of relationship with the mining industry and its potential impact on inhibiting alternative and critical perspectives. Because those perspectives have also proven to be a fertile ground for Indigenous languages and culture revitalization.
Educational Inclusive education has become a priority axis of international educational policies. This approach requires profound transformations in school cultures, recognizing diversity as a value. In this context, teacher professional development is key, and collaboration among teachers has been identified as an effective strategy for advancing towards more inclusive schools. In this sense, Participatory Action Research (PAR) is presented as an appropriate methodology to promote professional and inclusive development, by integrating theory and practice in reflective and collaborative processes. This study examines the perception of a group of teachers participating in a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project (contract ref. 2023/075) regarding its implications for their professional development towards inclusive education, in a public school in Chile. A qualitative descriptive-interpretative approach was adopted, focused on understanding the experiences of teachers in a Chilean public school. Thirty-two professionals (30 teachers and 2 school leaders) participated in a PAR experience carried out during the 2023-2024 academic year. Data collection included group field diaries, open-ended questionnaires, one in-depth interview, and records of the sessions. The analysis was conducted through open coding and content analysis. The results show that PAR promotes cooperation and cohesion among teachers, encourages pedagogical innovation, strengthens professional autonomy, and facilitates the creation of a common language-elements that may contribute to more inclusive education. In addition, valuable practices driven by the professional commitment of teachers were identified. Participation in the PAR process made it possible to make visible the activation of joint reflection towards more collaborative ways of working. Professional relationships were strengthened, a shared vision regarding the challenges faced by the school was developed, and teacher autonomy was consolidated as a driver of change. Among the main challenges identified are the lack of time and the need for a shift in how teacher training is conceived, moving from the transmission of traditional models to more active and participatory approaches. The experience shows that innovation and inclusion do not depend exclusively on external resources, but on teachers' capacity to create alliances, share knowledge, and build contextualized proposals. In this sense, PAR functioned not only as a methodology but also as a pathway to strengthen teachers' agency towards the construction of a more inclusive culture in the school.
Attention to gifted students in the university context is a nascent field of study, which has led to a limited availability of educational proposals tailored to their characteristics and needs. As a result, higher education still faces significant challenges in creating conditions that favor the full development of this population. Given this situation, the present study aimed to evaluate the effects of the INGENIOUS program, an extracurricular enrichment proposal aimed at highly gifted university students, designed to enhance their talents and personal well-being through formative and enriching experiences. The program was implemented in a public higher education institution in Mexico, with the participation of 87 students identified as gifted, of whom 46 formed the experimental group and 41 the control group. Standardized instruments were used for evaluation: the CREA Creative Intelligence Test (Corbal & aacute;n et al., 2003) and the Study Habits Inventory (IHE; Fern & aacute;ndez, 2014), in addition to ad hoc instruments designed to assess the fulfillment of expectations and participant satisfaction. The methodological approach was mixed. To evaluate the effectiveness of the program, a split-plot ANOVA analysis was applied to identify intra-and intergroup changes in creativity and study habits. Effectiveness was evaluated using Student's t-test for paired samples, analyzing the fulfillment of expectations in three dimensions: personal, academic, and social. Frequencies were also calculated to assess satisfaction with the workshops, and a phenomenological discourse analysis was performed to interpret the participants'verbalizations. The quantitative results showed significant effects on creativity in the experimental group compared to the control group. In terms of study habits, significant differences were observed in the interaction in all dimensions: "Study environment conditions," "Study planning," "Use of materials," and "Content assimilation." Regarding effectiveness, significant improvements were identified in the three dimensions of expectation fulfillment in the experimental group, along with a positive assessment of satisfaction with the program. The qualitative analysis identified six thematic categories: 1) gradual impact and progressive growth, 2) personal and professional development, 3) positive assessment of the program, 4) acquisition of new knowledge, 5) reflections on the experience, and 6) fulfillment of expectations. Overall, the findings support the efficacy and effectiveness of the INGENIOUS program, as well as providing empirical evidence of the need for universities to design and implement specific proposals that respond to the characteristics and demands of gifted students.
This article examines the presence of mathematical talent in kindergarten children identified with intellectual precocity. Within the field of high abilities, intellectual precocity is understood as an early manifestation of above-average cognitive development, whereas mathematical talent is conceived as a specific competence expressed through outstanding mathematical reasoning and performance. From this perspective, the study explores whether children previously identified as intellectually precocious also demonstrate high levels of mathematical competence in early childhood. The theoretical framework emphasizes that mathematical talent is a complex construct that cannot be reduced to school achievement alone. It involves cognitive ability, abstraction, flexibility, creativity, problem solving, and early sensitivity to numerical and logical relationships. The authors underline the relevance of identifying mathematical talent in preschool years, since this stage offers important opportunities for stimulation and intervention. At the same time, they note that early identification is difficult because many traditional measures fail to capture the diversity and specificity of young children's mathematical thinking. The study is part of a broader longitudinal investigation on intellectual precocity in children from the Valparaiso region of Chile. The research design is exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional, and non-experimental. From an initial sample of 787 preschool children, 116 were identified by parents and teachers as showing characteristics associated with intellectual precocity. After the selection process, the final sample for this phase consisted of 54 kindergarten children. To evaluate their mathematical performance, the researchers applied the Test of Early Mathematics Ability (TEMA-3), an instrument that assesses both informal and formal mathematical skills and yields a Mathematical Competence Index adjusted to age norms. The results show that mathematical competence among these children is not uniform. Although the group mean was above the normative average, individual scores varied considerably. In distributional terms, 17% of the children were classified at a very superior level, 9% at a superior level, 17% above average, 48% at an average level, 7% below average, and 2% at a poor level. These findings indicate that identification with intellectual precocity does not automatically imply equally high mathematical talent in all cases. Rather, the results confirm the heterogeneous nature of early development and the need to distinguish between general cognitive precocity and specific domain performance in assessment processes. The study also found differences associated with sex and school administrative dependency. Boys obtained higher average scores than girls in overall mathematical competence as well as in informal and formal mathematics, whereas girls showed less variability in their results. In relation to school type, children attending municipal schools obtained the lowest scores, while those in private schools achieved the highest averages, and those in subsidized private schools showed the greatest dispersion. These differences suggest that contextual and educational factors may influence the development and expression of mathematical abilities. In conclusion, the article argues that mathematical talent in intellectually precocious children is heterogeneous and shaped by individual and contextual variables. It highlights the importance of early and multidimensional assessment processes that make it possible to identify specific talents and provide timely educational support.
