Evaluating the status of gifted education in the Gulf cooperation Council Countries

Abstract

The aim of this study is to highlight the current status of gifted education in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Based on articles, books, and projects on gifted education published in these countries, besides relevant information gleaned from semi-structured interviews with 120 gifted education teachers (male = 53, female = 67), the researcher gathered structured data on gifted education policies and initiatives in the targeted countries. The qualitative-analytical approach was used to analyze the responses of teachers in semi-structured interviews, documents, and literature. The descriptive-analytical method was used to characterize the demographic data that the researcher obtained from the teachers. The study’s results revealed the differences between the Gulf Cooperation Council countries’ policies and procedures for identifying and nurturing gifted students. There were also weaknesses related to the absence of a common definition of giftedness, a dearth of tools to identify gifted students, the deficiency of programs to prepare teachers for teaching gifted students, and finally, the deficiency of programs for the artistically gifted due to cultural considerations.