The Impact of Four Educational Programs on Gifted Learners

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 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 dissertation was to study the different types of programs, followed in the private sector, that represent the Lebanese curriculum, to investigate their effects on gifted learners. The study followed the qualitative and quantitative research methods. Four types of programs: standard, differentiated, enrichment/pull-out and International Program, which are given by different private schools in Lebanon, have been assessed. The hypothesis of this research is that gifted learners are not being properly catered for academically, socially and emotionally, thus need immediate intervention by the academics to provide them with meaningful learning experiences. The data collected and analyzed revealed that none of the four models can cater for all aspects of gifted children.