Gifted Education in Lebanon: Time to Rethink Teaching the Gifted

ABSTRACT

Lebanon is a country that places a high value on education, with the culture specifically rewarding effort and achievement. Despite this, no educational policies for gifted students exist in the country. This article outlines findings from a mixed method case study investigating the perceptions of more than 280 Lebanese teachers about educational approaches used to identify and teach highly able/gifted primary school students. Findings acknowledge reservations among teacher participants in relation to offering special services for gifted students. Although the analysis illustrated an overall lack of awareness of practices that have been identified in international research as effective for identifying and providing for gifted students, there was ample evidence of the desire of teacher participants to become more informed about evidence-based practice. This suggests the time is ripe for a revised focus on gifted education in Teacher Education within Lebanon.

KEYWORDS:

• culture
• gifted
• gifted and talented education
• Lebanon
• teacher practices

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Pseudonyms were used to protect the identities of subjects.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Maya Antoun

Maya Antoun is an Assistant Professor and the Bachelor of Arts coordinator in the Department of Education at the University of Balamand (Lebanon). Maya completed her PhD at Monash University in 2016 and is currently teaching a number of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in education. She supervises Masters students with research interests in inclusive education. Her teaching and research interests are in the field of gifted education, inclusion, teacher education, and classroom management. Maya is a Lebanese delegate on the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children. Email: [email protected]

Margaret Plunkett

Margaret Plunkett, PhD, is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Education at Federation University, Australia. Margaret has researched and taught in the field of gifted education for more than two decades. She has presented and published nationally and internationally on topics including rural giftedness, teacher education and professional learning in gifted education, alternative educational settings, and distance education. Margaret was an elected Australian delegate for the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children from 2006–2021 and Associate Editor of the Australasian Journal of Gifted Education. Email: [email protected]

Leonie Kronborg

Leonie Kronborg, PhD, is Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Educational Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Education, Monash University. Leonie coordinated courses and taught gifted education for 25 years in the Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia, and supervises PhD students who focus on gifted education. She is past Vice President of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children, editor of the Gifted and Talented International journal, and on Editorial Boards of several international gifted education journals. She has more than 65 research articles on giftedness and gender, eminence and talent development, teacher education, and professional learning in gifted education publications. Email: [email protected]