Conclusion: A winding up for the standing of education and learning resources in Arab states

1.

The ultimate goal of this paper is to draw a concluding statement about the collection of articles published in the special issue: “Gifted education in Arab countries: Analyses from a learning resource perspective.” It has succinctly underscored key constituents and results and put forward recommendations and directions for future research engagements. Education of gifted/talented children has been increasingly gaining more reputation and dedication in many parts of the world, including Arab states. Some Arab countries have an unpretentious history in offering formal and semi-formal gifted education for younger children to develop their potential, while other states are still at the instigation of recognizing and introducing this kind of education into their educational systems (Ismail et al., 2022). The history of modern general education in a country plays a key role in the progress and the offering of a cutting-edge special education for children who possess exceptional talents, abilities, skills, and interests. Like some other developing countries worldwide, in Arab countries, social, educational, economic, and political factors may have in some way contributed to the late self-effacing practice and possibly the slow recognition of the merit of gifted children’s education and the pivotal role that it can play in the development and prosperity of a country. Accordingly, the implications of the research articles included in the present special issue may go further than the local contexts of the Arab countries.

Yet, those countries collectively have recently started to value the education of the elite generations and their anticipated contributions to the advancement and prosperity of their nations as embodied by the latest visions and practices of Arab countries. Some Arab countries started to embark on gifted education towards the end of the previous century, while others followed them in the same line at the beginning of the present century (Ismail et al., 2022). They are truly at dissimilar stages and levels in their recent endeavors depending on the advancement of their general educational systems and their economic prosperities. The contributing countries in the current special issue research project (Gifted education in Arab countries: Analyses from a learning resource perspective) can be generally regarded as good representatives of the entire situation of gifted education in the Arab World though these countries are now to a degree at distinct stages of their growth in promoting the education of gifted and talented students.

The published articles from several Arab states (Egypt, Oman, Sudan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) gave a good account of the existing situations of paying attention to the education of students with special talents and gifts. Although some of those countries do not have a long history and rich experiences in the official modern general education, they are somehow seen ahead of other countries whose educational systems have been around for a number of years and gifted education is not a completely new concept within the overall hierarchy of their systems. These distinctions might be momentous when only considering the current economic status and infrastructure in all participating countries, but they are indiscriminately very minimal in relation to student learning outcomes and the overall outcomes of education in all countries.

All the published research articles in the present collection aimed at reviewing and examining the position of gifted education in each of the participating Arab countries using an “education and learning resources model” developed by Ziegler and colleagues (Ziegler, 2005; Ziegler & Baker, 2013; Ziegler et al., 2017). This model encompasses two components of resources, learning resources which reside inside the individual and education resources that existed within the environment, both of which are conditional for acquiring knowledge and for learning to happen. Thus, the learner’s attempt to acquire knowledge and experiences consists of both an environmental (external) and an individual (internal) element which continuously interact during the process of constructing and reconstructing meaning (Al-Awidi & Ismail, 2014; Vialle & Stoeger, 2018; Vygotsky, 1978; Ziegler & Stoeger, 2017). This dual functionality of the theoretical framework allowed the researchers to look thoroughly at the existing conditions of nurturing and supporting talented and gifted students and it enabled them to capture a plausible wider picture about the present standing of gifted and talented education and learning resources in each country. Additionally, the utilization of this theoretical model empowered the investigators to conduct systematic analyses and report trustworthy results which in turn facilitated the process of capturing a meticulous picture of the situation, tracing progress, and drawing the major resemblances and variances in the efforts of Arab countries to recognize, establish, and promote the culture and concept of gifted education. Although the model of learning and education capitals is considered relatively new (Ziegler & Baker, 2013), especially in the Arab World (Ismail et al., 2022), it had systematically paved the way to explore the status of gifted education in those countries and generated some focal findings.

The foremost results demonstrated that those countries are moving forward in their attempts to acknowledge the rights and needs of gifted students to be offered the necessary support and the appropriate services to develop themselves and grow to the highest level they can accomplish. When only considering learning capitals, the reported overall results, and the general descriptive information provided about learning outcomes did not display a huge gap between the experiences and efforts of those countries. The reported results of students’ participation in international exams (TIMSS & PISA), for example, did not disclose any significant variations among the scores of students of the participating Arab countries though their places in the ranking scale are not exactly the same. Motivation, concentration, goals, and participation are other typical examples illustrating the analogies shared by the reported results in the published studies in the collection. Students were reported to be enthusiastic, persistent, and motivated to pursue their goals to learn and blossom. The surveyed literature provided support to the idea that the goals of a learner have the power to influence future attainments and competencies (Bandura et al., 2001; Harackiewicz et al., 2002; Ziegler et al., 2017, 2019). It was accentuated that students with clear long- or short-term goals are highly encouraged and directed towards the standards and levels they want to reach.

The major results of the education capitals’ component illustrated some variances especially in areas relevant to economic prosperity. The description of the infrastructure component of each country provided a clear example of the disparities relevant to the availability, standards, and utilization of resources to serve and support gifted students. In some countries, the existence of state-of-the-art infrastructure plays a decisive role in supporting talented learners to grow and succeed. Other countries are assiduously trying to exploit their limited resources and offer the necessary support to the gifted and talented community of learners. Still, some other countries are working their way on developing the indispensable infrastructures, including resources which are vital for serving gifted students.

Yet, parallels within the component of the “education capitals” were unveiled by the encouraging indications that the education authorities in Arab countries have embraced and recognized the significance of gifted education and the right of talented children to be offered special education opportunities to advance their talents and accomplish their goals; and thus, they are moving in this direction with their strategic planning and incessant efforts. There are straightforward signs that gifted education is gaining more attention as reflected and embodied by the general education strategic planning and the constant attempts to serve students who possess talents in numerous fields, including artistic, creative, leadership, intellectual, and academic (STEM). As emphasized by the United Nations (2019) and highlighted by Makkonen et al. (2023), science is the dominant factor for sustainable advancement and innovation, and thus STEM is indispensable for any national or societal development. Students with different talents, skills, abilities, and interests progress and succeed in STEM through diverse paths at dissimilar paces (Martinovic & Milner-Bolotin, 2022).

On the whole, the studies in this collection concluded that the educational authorities need to pay more attention to the area of gifted education, though there are considerable works to establish concrete operational systems and serve exceptional students to boost their various talents. In this regard, multifarious entities overseeing gifted education are expected to reassess the glitches that marred the endorsement of gifted education in Arab countries. Although some resources were made available for this sector, they were viewed in several studies as insufficient, and they need to be reconsidered, allocate further budget, and provide unconventional infrastructure to respond to and meet the growing demands for gifted education in general. Strategic planning and the incorporation of gifted education into the general education system hierarchy were underlined and acknowledged as critical for enhancing the education of the gifted and talented individuals. The provisions of opportunities by schools of different types and levels to students with varied talents to develop their skills and abilities were seen inadequate as there are increasing needs for more specialized programs and the establishment of more autonomous educational institutions to cater for students with diverse talents. It was stressed that gifted younger children will be the future of their nations and they deserve to be offered the necessary progressive services and support to foster their talents as far as they are capable.

Partnership of schools with parents was regarded as essential for supporting children with special talents, and thus parents should be more involved in the entire process of offering gifted programs and training for their children at all levels. Furthermore, it was emphasized that the outcomes of a systematic evaluation of the existing specialized programs and practices have the power to guide those concerned with gifted education and decision-making to reconsider their current strategic planning based on concrete results and evidence. The results of such evaluation will undeniably assist in making a difference in the kinds of gifted education and improve other pivotal elements, which may impact the execution of every facet of programs and the quality of services offered to gifted and talented students, including staff professional development, resources, student social and well-beings, identification tools, extracurricular activities, and injected enrichment-related activities.

Congruently, adoption and enhancement of best practices, creativity, and innovation in the area of educating gifted and talented students should be research-based, and not merely grounded on the perceptions and understanding of the educational authorities and decision makers. It is necessary to raise those concepts among the community of gifted individuals and provide more and equal opportunities and access to gifted education programs for all eligible learners, including disadvantaged students to develop themselves and shine. The exposure of all gifted and talented students extensively to the appropriate programs will guarantee that students are acquiring the skills, knowledge, and experiences necessary for sustaining their future career to survive in the world of the twenty-first century.

Although the present research studies included in the special issue have made significant contributions to comprehend the phenomenon and the concept of giftedness within the context of Arab countries, painstaking interdisciplinary and large scales research projects are still desired in order to develop a comprehensive understanding and capture a better picture of the situation in each individual country and in all countries collectively. Future research may engage all Arab countries without exception to obtain scrupulous results and focus on matters pertinent to current trends of best practices in gifted education as highlighted or hinted to in a number of published articles such as partnerships with various stakeholders. Research focusing on partnerships between schools and parents and the paramount contributions of parents to the education of their exceptional children should be given special attention due to the pioneering role of these cooperations in elevating student learning outcomes. Other areas of research relevant to partnerships may address the nature and impact of cooperation of all entities involved in providing services and support to gifted and talented students.

Other research projects are also required to examine other concepts and areas relevant to gifted education. Research targeting staff professional development may produce exhaustive results to largely help the educational authorities and program designers reevaluate the existing training policies and courses and their effectiveness in exposing teachers and other concerned individuals in gifted education to current trends of epistemological orientations of best practices, knowledge, strategies, and techniques in the field of offering services and support to the community of gifted and talented individuals. Moreover, curriculum design and program development for the gifted ought to be regularly examined more thoroughly to enlighten decision makers, educators, and specialists in these areas to make realistic and concrete decisions in their planning, advancing, enriching, and the implementation of efficient curricular and programs to better serve the community of exceptional learners in all kinds of disciplines and schools. Relevantly, all these issues may have implications in the context of the Arab region and possibly beyond.

Likewise, it was also underlined in some research of the current special issue that emotional and well-being qualities of students are not receiving enough attention, and thus more research will help in grasping a better understanding of these concepts and their roles in enhancing gifted and talented students’ potential. Another issue is that the introduction of inclusive education divulged the necessity to reassess and explore the success and effectiveness of this model in comparison to non- or semi-inclusive practices. Since the practice of inclusion was implemented in mixed-ability classes, which included learners with multifarious talents, abilities, interests, skills, needs, learning difficulties, and learning styles, it necessitates the need to research differentiation models (strategies and techniques) as this kind of instruction is perceived to assist in boosting learning outcomes and educational practices in general (Malisiova et al., 2023; Ismail & Al Allaq, 2019). In brief, in addition to these directions for future research, there are other areas relevant to students’ learning outcomes, gender, identification, opportunities, and assessment that should similarly be considered for future investigations.

Finally, this special issue (Gifted Education in Arab Countries: Analyses from a Learning-Resource Perspective) has emphatically made considerable additions to the existing limited literature of giftedness within the context of Arab countries and conceivably beyond and signposted the way for similar future research projects. Equally, it has exhibited constructive implications for the context of Arab countries and probably elsewhere. The utilization of the “education and learning model” as a theoretical framework enabled the scientists to adopt an effective research design and conduct their investigations in systematic and well-organized manners. This research design has led to the reaching of concrete and reliable results. Its importance originated from the fact that it focuses on vital issues (Education and learning resources) which truly contribute to the rise of student learning outcomes and educational products in general. Ultimately, this research project is perceived as a substantial step in the right direction as there is a dearth of specialized research about the nature, concept, and practices of gifted education in Arab countries, though there are modest endeavors in separate places. Similar in-depth future research projects will without doubt make more contributions to cultivate a better understanding of the phenomenon, the concept of giftedness and help in the strategic planning to advance the existing gifted and talented education policies and humble practices. In essence, if all the aforementioned measures are scrutinized and observed by the envisaged educational authorities in each country, they will in turn optimistically contribute to the process of improving students’ efforts to enrich their talents, gifts, skills, abilities and attain their goals to flourish and succeed, as well as advancing the culture and quality of gifted and talented education in general.

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