Gifted Students In The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia Education Essay

Gifted Students In The Kingdom Of Saudi-Arabian-Arabian Arabia Education EssayIntroductionMaking proper(a) stipulation for intelligent school-age childs is significant for the acquire and growth of ones society. They ar considered as valu up to(p) future resources. In the socio-economic class 1998, the interest in supporting clever children in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia grew. They bind established political programs in which they were able to identify dexterous children. The popular judicatory for Gifted Students (GAGS) was established in Saudi Arabias Ministry of Education in the year 2000. (Bondagjy, 2000). in that respect has been non enough research and infractment in the field of introduction of invest children in Saudi Arabia. jibe to Al-Ghamdi, 2007, at that place atomic number 18 very hardly a(prenominal) programmes for smart students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that was run by the Ministry of Education. The programmes that do exist are new and in t ake of evaluation and further development in order to provide maximum benefit for smart students. The Saudi Arabian government believe that the gifts and talents of the unripened people in the country are nurtured.At the present time, in Saudi Arabia, capable students who have superfluous characteristics or abilities qualify for provision at the highest levels of services.Since 1999, the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has demonstrated a strong interest in its gifted students by baffleting in place programmes that are developed special ally for these students however, these programmes are rare and new. Therefore I feel it is necessary to carry out an in-depth study of the present state of gifted education, unwrap out what is available and identify the strengths and weaknesses of what is being offered.Objectives of the studyFrom the outset, it is ac friendshipd that the concept of giftedness and its identification is highly complex. As Gubbins (2002) point s out, people all over the instauration are still asking questions about how we assess and nurture peoples abilities. Whilst in that respect are centres around the world reduceing on research and development on gifted education, there are also experts (Borland, 2005) who question the whole concept of identification of gifted students and recommend that what is needed is gifted education without labelling a assembly as gifted. Borland, however, states that there is agreement amongst experts that high achieving or high-ability students are among those who are the most ill- dispensed when curriculum and instruction are non differentiated.This study aims to make a contribution to the on-going debate in aspects of gifted education. It also hopes to add to the research literature by studying the nature of gifted education in Saudi Arabia, which has a different cultural social and educational background to m any(prenominal) other countries where gifted programmes exist.More special( prenominal)ally, the aims of this study areto explore the effectiveness and any possible weaknesses of gifted programmes in Saudi Arabia, by essaying the perspectives of all parties involvedto draw conclusions about the Saudi programmes and make recommendations based on the schooling collectedto make suggestions based on what is cognise about gifted programmes in other countries.As previously stated, the study also aims to provide an over see of world(prenominal) literature on gifted education by reviewing gifted education programmes and the range of methods employ in other countries.The research questionsBased on the aims joint in the previous section, the following specific research questions have been formulatedHow does the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia define gifted students?How does the Ministry identify and support gifted students?What is the nature of programmes for gifted students in the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?How effective are th ese programmes in call of making provision in terms of the educational methods and resources for gifted students?In 1969 the Saudi cabinet first recognized the necessity of identifying gifted students -Nafea et all (1992), but no actual steps had been taken for action. Between the years 1990 and 1996, King Abdul Azizs urban center of Science and Technology, with collaboration from the Ministry of Education and the General Presidency for Girls Education, produced a project for extensive national research. The project highborn identification and care for Gifted Students (Bondagjy, 2000) and consisted of three main aimsTo design a programme for identification of gifted students.To design amelioratement programme models for mathematics and science curriculum.To square away Saudi society about the importance of the identification of gifted pupils and provision for their educational needs.Regarding identification of gifted students, the project employs seven methods, which areTeache rs nomination mellowed academic carry throughmentHigh achievement in scienceHigh achievement in mathematics.IQ tallyTorrance test for creativity thinkingWechsler IQ test.In 1998, a project (identify and car programme for gifted students) designed for identifying gifted students in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia was implemented by the Ministry of Education (Alwasruh, 2005). This programme consists of four unitsIdentification of gifted students.Care and enrichment programmes for gifted students.Training, planning and organization.Finance and administration services.This project was a very significant one in that it would serve the purpose of identifying and supporting gifted children of the kingdom. Therefore, it represents a landmark in the history of gifted education in Saudi Arabia. It provided the Ministry of Education with the opportunity to start special programmes for gifted students.Gifted Students Care Centres in Saudi ArabiaThe gifted students Care Centres are establishments charged with the task of offering educational, social and psychological care for gifted students. Such centres are supervised by the General Administration for Gifted Students. The administration body which controls each of these centres includes a Centre Director, assistants, teachers, behavioural specialists, laboratory technicians, learnedness sources specialists and general support technicians. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, at the time of writing this thesis, has 31 Care Centres for boys and 20 for girls (MOE, web, 2007).Care Programmes for Gifted Students in the Schools of the Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaThe General Administration for Gifted Students emphasises that all students should be provided with equal opportunities, so that their abilities may be identified and their gifts and talents developed. In order to achieve this goal, the General Administration for Gifted Students provides a programme to train teachers so as to achieve this purpose.The teachers duties include the in troduction of a complete gifted programme prepared by the General Administration for Gifted Students. These programmes start at the beginning of every school term. Among the responsibilities of the teacher is the use of modern methods which garter to improve students skills of leadership, social and scientific research skills, as well as improving the parents knowledge about the importance of provision for gifted students. The duties of teachers also include the liaison between the assorted Care Centres of Gifted Students.The number of schools that have had benefited from this programme, between the years 2002 and 2004 was 264 boys schools and 97 girls schools (Alwasruh, 2005).Support for Gifted EducationThe Foundation provides funds and support to students in the half dozen main centres for gifted education of the Ministry of Education of Saudi Arabia. These centres are located in Riyadh, Jeddah, Taif, Madinah, Dammam, and Al-Hassa. They scarper on identifying gifted children a nd providing them with enriched educational activity. They also assist in the teaching of the whole community about the nature of giftedness and about the role that talents and talented people entrust play in the future of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Additionally, the Foundation is committed to providing training for all those who interact with the gifted children (KACFG, web, 2007).The KACFG is the first and the biggest foundation to support the education of the gifted and talented in the Saudi Arabia, as it supplies programmes and support with substantial funding.Literature ReviewThis chapter provides a pervasive review of literature relevant to the identification of and provision for gifted students. The contents of this review cook up the basis for the empirical work and the subsequent analysis. It starts with an examination of a range of commentarys and conceptions of giftedness. Theories and research relating to various aspects of gifted education are reviewed, accompanied by a critical analysis of various points of view on the complex and contested conceptions of giftedness which provide a theoretical framework for this study.In this section literature on methods of identification of gifted students is reviewed, which will be followed by a review literature on aspects of provision of educational opportunities that will trouble and/or enrich the larn of the gifted students. It could be begd that development accurate methods of identification is critical in determining the nature of provision. For example, Gubbins (1995) believes that identifying gifted and talented students is not in force(p) about answering the question, who are they? but it must also address the question, how do we find them? and what do we do when we find them?The bring of identification may differ from one programme to other. In roughly programmes, the solely means used for identification is the use of standardized tests. In others, the standardized test is provided one o f the factors in the identification process and in addition to test scores, nominations and recommendations of teachers, parents, staff, and even self-nomination are used (Blackshear 1979 Denton and Postlehwaite, 1984 LPS 1995). ( check spelling of of Post..)Bondagjy (2000) believes that a single test to determine general ability may not be sufficient and that subject specific tests may need to be usedStandardized tests of intelligence service offer a good base for staff to identify potential capability, including that of some pupils whose performance is otherwise undistinguished as poor. In a few schools the tests are used in isolation without reference to individual aptitudes in specific areas of the curriculum, either as a short cut for selecting pupils for special enrichment courses, or for determining the composition of teaching groups of. This is less useful than if combined with a subject-specific test. (Bondagjy, 2000, p.20)Standardised tests are used widely by the supporte rs of the theories of a one-dimensional view of ability, which go back to the first theories of intelligence, such as Spearmans theory ( date) mentioned in the previous section, which has been received with enthusiasm and also with scepticism and rejection. The arguments against this single-dimension view of ability (based on general intelligence that consists of areas that are highly cor cogitate with each other and that are mainly intellectual and tested using IQ tests) led to the concept of multi-dimensional theories of ability, such as that of Renzulli, (1978) Gardner (1983,1993), Sternberg (2000) and others. The multi-faceted theories of giftedness are viewed by many to be more inhibit to define and identify high ability. These authors along with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, ( date ) and Benjamin hot flash (1985) have all made compelling arguments for a much broader conception of giftedness. Chongde Tsingan, (2003) describes the contribution to the more liberal conceptions of g iftedness asMany western theories of intelligence focus on its physiological or cognitive components. However, Howard Gardners theory of multiple intelligences (1983, 1993), Robert Sternbergs triarchic theory of intelligence (1985) and Stephen Cecis bioecological theory of intelligence (1996) are much broader in scope. They combine and extend aspects of the biological, hierarchical and contextual views of intelligence which include interactions between mental processes, contextual influences and multiple abilities. (p.)The following section provides greater detail of the specific models of identification of giftedness and associated views on high ability, which have informed the nature of data collection in the present study.Saudi Arabia has conducted research to find out the best approach to gifted education, but of course for females who are severely restricted in the subjects they are allowed to study, these moves are somewhat academic. An interesting survey of computer use in Ar abic countries was made by a Jordanian, Subhi (1997). He recommended that gifted pupils records should be computerised for easier monitoring of their progress, and he has designed a programme to help this. The problem, he found though, is that although there are computers in Jordanian schools, there are very few of them and the teachers do not generally know how to use them.It looks as though most, if not all, Arab countries are willing to recognise and help the gifted, and several have made forays into out-of-school activities, but the overall outcome is still difficult to define.Some authors (such as Sternberg et al., 1986, Ziegler and Heller, 2000) believe that a consensus is yet to be reached on what is meant by the term (gifted), and yet multiple efforts have been made to establish criteria for this, which include components such as motivation, creativity, task commitment, and problem solving. However, in the flesh(predicate) talent is described by Renzulli (1999a, p.4) as exc eptional ability to select and achieve difficult goals that fit ones interests, abilities and social contexts. In his view, personal talent is a capability developed in the field of self-management that is concentrated by the individual in the direction of selected outcomes that contain well-being, happiness, personal consanguinitys, hobbies as well as career achievements. He proposes that personal talent can be referred to as a range where those in the centre of this continuum can be explained as personally competent, while those at the high end of the range can be categorized as personally talented.On the other hand, Masten et al. (2002) argue that resilient individuals learn how to overcome obstacles in order to achieve their anticipated goals, and that this can be described as personal talent. Also, Bland et al. (1994) refer to specific characteristics of resilience as an indicator of exceptional abilities and talent regarding children from poor backgrounds. In this regard, Mar ker et al. (1996) propose that numerous of the principles of distinguishing curriculum for gifted and talented learners support the development of personal talent. They refer to learning environments that foster independence, flexibility and high mobility as being potentially more promising for fostering personal talents than the more traditional teacher-centred classrooms that concentrate on lectures with academic content. However, some researchers regret the fact that research on giftedness has been somewhat biased, having mainly concentrated on IQ-related abilities that address academic skills, and by-passing or simply ignoring other basic skills such as vocational skills (Bals, 1999), practical intelligence in everyday life (Sternberg, 2000), and, most importantly, social skills (Persson, 1997). Motivation is another issue that has been the focus of research with regard to gifted children. harmonise to Sternberg (2000), some theories depict motivation as an assisting internal f actor in the expansion of giftedness. unmatchable of these theories is Gages dynamic theory of giftedness which depicts motivation, volition and self-management as interpersonal catalysts that help convert gifts into talents. However, these theories have failed to provide counsellor in assisting youths of high ability to develop motivation. For this reason, some researchers (for example, Colangelo et al. 2000 Alrasheed, 2001) believe that talented students should be identified and given tasks at a higher level than the normal school curriculum. Renzulli (1999b) is of the opinion that gifted students should be producers of knowledge rather than mere consumers of quick information. He believes that specific programmes and services for the talented and gifted are the only solution to allow them to live up to their potential. This idea is further supported by Reis et al (1995) who argues that it is not fair to make a gifted child sit in a classroom where learning something new will not happen until the second half of the year.Historical review of school guidance in the KSAInitially, in 1981, the Ministry of Education established the General Directorate of Guidance and Counselling. Since that time, guidance and counselling has become formalized and recognized as a profession, and counsellors have been appointed to deal with psychological, social, educational, and vocational problems and deliver preventive counselling (Ministry of Education KSA, 1999). It should be mentioned here that the model for and practice of guidance and counselling in SaudiArabian schools was derived from western sources, mainly the United States. More than two decades have passed since the guidance and counselling programme was established in Saudi schools. Its development has progressed at a slow rate and, currently, it faces various problems. The major difficulty relates to the definition of the role and function of the school counsellor (Al-Gamdi, 1999) which is un deport to questi ons, teachers, parents, students and school counsellors themselves. Due to this problem, counsellors have found themselves overly involved in paperwork and administrative tasks and duties not related to school counselling. Additionally, counsellors often complain about lack of support and cooperation from others involved in the counselling service, especially parents (Al-rebdi, 2000). In this situation, if school counsellors in Saudi Arabia are to provide part services for students, their role must be clearly be. It is also necessary for those involved in counselling to have a clear view of what counsellors should and should not do. Added to this, counsellors must choose carefully how they spend their time and energy. As the role and functions of the school counsellors become clearer, they should be able to respond better to the needs of their students. Furthermore, in 1981, following decree number 216/k issued by the Ministry of Education, the Social Educational Administration wa s replaced by the Student Guidance and Counselling Service, and guidance and counselling in Saudi schools became formalised. That same year, the name was changed again to the General Administration for Guidance and Counselling (Ministry of Education, 1999).The responsibilities of this administration are as follows1- To plan, prepare and develop the programme and services of guidance and counselling.2- To provide professional staff who are capable of delivering such services to all students at various stages of education.3- To provide students with the appropriate care applicable to their ages and their psychological, educational and social needs.4- To assist students to develop their capabilities, potentialities and talents, to allow them to face their problems and to help them feel comfortable with themselves and with the community in which they live.5- To attain a high standard of mental health in a way that reflects the targets and goals sought by educational guidance in general (Ministry of Education, 1999).Saleh (1987) pointed out that, due to the immediate need for professionals to monitor and guide the counselling service in schools, the Ministry of Education sought personnel from among the existing social education supervisors to act as the supervisors counselling and guidance programmes in addition to carrying out their normal duties. The Ministry of Education also sought personnel from within the existing teaching force, provided they had the relevant experience, to work temporarily as counsellors in schools. To meet the need for school counsellors in all schools, the General Administration for Guidance and Counselling allowed those with a Bachelors degree in psychology, social work or sociology to perform the role of the school counsellor until enough trained professional counsellors could be provided. In order to meet the need for trained full-time counsellors to work in schools, universities in Saudi Arabia were requested to offer guidance and co unselling programmes at masters level. Statistical information for the year 2000 shows that there were 229 counselling supervisors and 3381 school counsellors overall (Ministry of Education, 2000). By 2003, the number of counsellors had increased rapidly toabout 4000(Al-Rebdi, 2004). The Ministry of Education (1999) defined the term counselling as the interactive process though which the counsellor assists the student to understand himself and recognise his capabilities and potentialities and gives him a more enlightened approach to his problems and how to face them. Counsellors also help students to enhance their responsible behaviour and to show conformity with their community.Counselling gifted studentsLandau (1990) noted that gifted students might become isolated and alienated. Moreover, Rogers (1983) pointed out that in an egalitarian system children not only lack the opportunity for confirmation and social acceptance, but they also often lack the freedom to learn. The need for confirmation and steamy support is well known in the literature which focuses on giftedness and talent (Csikszentmilalyi et al., 1993 Kelley, 1999 Stednitz, 1995). Donna (1999) suggests that teachers and counsellors need to encourage minority students to consider a teaching career in general and gifted student education in particular. Ford (1995) however, believes that from an historical point of view, the counselling of gifted students has not been an important part of educational and counselling discourse. He points out that misconceptions and stereotypes of gifted students as being immune to social, emotional, and academic problems have contributed to the lack of counselling for these students, and in cases where counselling is available it is only limited to academic, assessment and placement issues.According to Ford, the fact that more children are entering school with serious personal and academic problems should entail an expansion in the responsibilities and roles of couns ellors to meet the needs of all children who seek guidance and assistance. But nonetheless according to Alrasheed, (2001) the limited availability of counselling services has failed to meet the enormous need for counselling services and research regarding gifted individuals. In this respect he endeavoured to provide counsellors, classroom teachers and educationalists as well as parents with advice regarding the catch of the academic and social needs of gifted and talented students. Persson (2005) considers mentorship as a possible solution to aid the immediate psychological and intellectual needs of gifted individuals, particularly received mentorship. According to Person, mentorship could be direct or indirect by cooperating with the student to find a mentor of his choice, given the fact that not all gifted students would be likely to choose their counsellors to be their mentors. Person expresses the conviction that mentorship is the only viable counselling solution in an egalitar ian context, which lacks recognition and particular provision for gifted individuals. Ford (1995) outlines the goal of counselling as that of promoting healthy self-concepts and ensuring psychological growth. Bearing that in mind, counsellors must have an awareness and understanding of the many issues that hinder gifted students and affect their psychological, social and emotional well-being. He recognises the role of counsellors in ensuring that such students remain in gifted programmes once identified and placed.Finally the concept of counselling needs to be defined within a context where it is not a task assigned merely to a particular group. Instead, as Brown et al. (1992) suggest the task has grow from an initial concern with educational and vocational guidance to the remediation and prevention of personal, interpersonal, vocational and educational concerns. Consequently, according to Persson (2005), the aim of the intervention is for the individual to gain an understanding of self and context, in which case individual differences become a sensitive and even problematic issue, particularly in cases where gifted individuals are involved.Research occupationThere have been few programmes for gifted students offered in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Even though there has been programmes existing, it is new and is for further evaluation to be able to develop it more for the students. It has been believed that if there has been more developed programmes for gifted children then they will be more enhanced and so, benefiting the country.The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have put up programmes for gifted students but is new and rare. There has been studies regarding the support of the authorities in the schools on how to support gifted students.The research questionsBased on the aims furnish in the previous section, the following specific research questions have been formulatedHow does the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia support gifted students?Does the authoritie s in the schools help in the development of the programmes?How do we determine the effectiveness of the programmes with the school counsellor, principal, and teachers help?Sub-questionsTwo sub-questions will also be exploredDo the teacher, student counsellor and principal who work with gifted students have special qualifications?What is the level and nature of the response of gifted students to these programmes?Research DesignThe design of the study is intended to determine first, the relationship of the roles of student counsellor, teachers, and principals to the performance of the gifted students second, the effectiveness of the programmes in developing the capacity of the gifted students.Instrumentation and Data CollectionThe researchers visited the Insert name of University Library or City Library for journals, articles and studies needed for the research paper. The researchers gathered time-series data from different physical training institutions to assure of its validity and consistency.The primary data will be gathered using quantitative method, as this is best useful with questionnaires. The use of quantitative method will be appropriate for the research because the results in the questionnaires consist of numerical information, in general based from the ratings included in the questions. Quantitative methods are used to provide reference to numeric calculations and are often used with questionnaires that have a specific goal and a target to achieve. This is helpful in the research, and its instigation in the process needs to be further culminated so that the problem is solved with efficacy and precision.In gathering data, the researcher would like to clear certain ethical issues that might hinder the processing of data. First, confidentiality will be kept at all costs. As the main reason why questionnaires will be used in the research is for the respondents to feel secure and to be assured that their answers will not be related to who they are. The re may be instances wherein the respondent will divulge information that will be detrimental to the company, or to its competitors, depending on the case. Hence, there is a better chance at more responsive respondents if they can be assured of their confidentiality.Second, the Data Protection Act will be followed at all costs. The compliance with the act will be transparently said to the respondents so that they are further assured that anything they say in response to the questions asked them will only be used for the benefit of the research and not in any other practices. It should also be clear to the researcher that any information regarding the respondents cannot be released to anyone who is not immediately connected with the research unless permission from the subject respondent has been secured beforehand.Third, the research must always bear in mind the objectives of the study and never stray away from them. A researcher who has no definite purpose in doing the research is go ing nowhere and is exerting effort in a research that is not delimited properly and punctually. The purpose of the research is explicitly stated at the beginning of the research and is implied in every step of the identification of the research so as to not delineate the researcher from his goals.Lastly, the researcher must opt to practice objectivity. As the researcher, he is expected to keep an broad-minded approach to the topic, keeping from his mind and personal bias in the subject matter or on the people involved. The reason for doing research is to test existing information, validate, prove or disprove existing ideas, or to test the limits of a certain prospect. Given this simple definition, it is clearly seen that in no form is the personal opinions of the researcher expected to hinder in the subject. Any act that might be biased or subjective will hint of the researchs failure to achieve its goals.Planned Method of AnalysisThe researchers plan to analyze the different test conducted through constant evaluation of the gifted students and how they perform. There will be a weekly evaluation in terms of how the programmes and the role of the authorities, and the effect of it to their performance. The performance in the field will be evaluated by the gifted students progress and development. final stageThis study adds to a growing body of literature that reinforces the importance of examining the programmes for gifted students adopted by the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for further development. There is no, to the researchers knowledge, research that investigates such programmes. This study is identified as being the first study at the level of a doctorate research project which evaluates the gifted programmes in the Ministry of Education from the point of view of the students, the schools and the workers in such programmes. The study further attempts to use the most effective methods of collecting information, which the researcher obtained data in the form of questionnaires, interviews, observation and documentation. The mixed methods employed in the research made it possible to triangulate both qualitative and quantitative research. Further to these methods, the study used the most popular electronic program (SPSS) to gather and analyse the data as well as to design the tables and diagrams.The study focuses on the research questions at every stage of the research, either theoretically or practically. The researcher also oversaw the validity and procedural aspects of the questionnaire through sitting with students and workers when they answered the questions in order to clarify any ambiguity and confusion on their behalf. In general, the results of the study agree with many of the theoretical studies mentioned in chapter two. Finally, this is a serious explorative study, which has