GIFTED LEARNERS IN LEBANON: THE CASE OF A LOCAL LEBANESE SCHOOL

Gifted learners constitute a significant part of the student body in any country. If properly nurtured, they have the potentials to become important and valuable members of their communities and of the world. The current lack of attention given to them in the standard Lebanese curriculum provided at schools is endangering their learning process and contributing to the loss or waste of their abilities and talents.

The aim of this case study is to investigate the effects of mixing two programs, standard and international program, on the gifted learners. The study (which is a part of a PhD dissertation) is examining whether this type of program caters for the gifted in terms of social skills and emotional well-being. The study is following mixed design research method. For the quantitative data, The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQ) have been used to assess the social and emotional well being of the students alongside checklists, which evaluated the degree of learner engagement and motivation in class. These checklists were developed by the researcher and tested for their validity. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Test has also been used to test the learners’ self-esteem. For the qualitative data, a focused group interview with the gifted learners’ teachers will be held to discuss the learners’ status in the program and the efficiency of the program offered for these learners. The discussion will focus around the evaluation criteria set for assessing the curriculum that the school follows.

Based on the findings, recommendations will be presented.