The role of the school principals in the care of gifted students Dissertation

The role of the school principals in the care of gifted students - Dissertation Example Now, there are many ways of assessing how children perform, interact with their learning and solve different problems, beyond just reading and writing, to find out who is gifted (Murray, 1994). The definition of giftedness according to Marland report (1972) as cited in Klein, et. al (2007, p. 574) is "Gifted and talented are those ... with demonstrated achievement and/or potential ability in ... (a) general intellectual ability, (b) specific academic aptitude, (c) creative or productive thinking, (d) leadership ability, (e) visual and performing arts, and (f) psychomotor ability.† This definition now include skills which are not easily manifested, and to successfully and credibly label someone as â€Å"gifted† many processes are necessary than mere parental observation. Research indicates that the gifted individuals form a diverse group and it is not something which can be associated with a single trait. The giftedness of a child is associated with the psychological well -being of a gifted child, the matching of his skills with education provided, and the personal characteristics of the child, for example, his life situations, his nature and/or self-perceptions (Niehart 1999, p. 15). 1.1 Context Saudi Arabia puts a premium on education based on their belief that one’s principal duty in life is to acquire intellectual and spiritual perfection in his thinking, perceptions and belief (Gulen 2004, p. 202). Hence, the Ministry of Education was established in 1953. It sets overall standards for the country’s educational system and assumes responsibility for policy making and planning curriculum, teacher and superintendent training and special education (Al-Hamdan, n.d., p. 2). The system consists of twelve years. The educational ladder begins with six years of elementary school, three years of intermediate school and three years of high school. The educational aim of schools is to develop students’ different skills, abilities and crea tivity (Al-Hamdan, n.d., p. 3). Gifted education is incorporated in the system stemming from two administrative branches in the Ministry of Education that are tasked to identify and serve the gifted. They consist of four units namely the programs unit; the planning, coordination and training unit; the identification unit and the administrative communication unit. Special programs are provided for the identified gifted students. These include Thursday programs, summer programs and enrichment programs for the gifted within the school day (Al-Hamdan, n.d., p. 3). As stated by Aljoghaiman (2007) one example of enrichment programs is the one developed for elementary schools. Programs include teacher training for gifted students so specialized programs can be effectively implemented through appropriate teaching methods for the enhancement of gifted abilities in all areas. One example is the grouping of gifted students for a period of time during the school day when they engage in activiti es while passing through four levels of the program. â€Å"The first level concentrated on preparation and it included basic thinking skills, such as brain storming, some of the skills in the CoRT Program for Thinking, and Scamper Strategy. The second level included teaching the Creative Problem Solving Program. The third level consisted of the Future Problem Solving Program, and in the fourth and last level, gifted students went through the research program: a comprehensive program of self regulated learning that included different thinking skills. This program