Parallel Session Proceedings »
2.6.9 Catering for Gifted Learners in Lebanon: The Case of LWIS-City International School
Lebanon a small country in the Middle East that is still developing and expanding its special education curriculum, aiming for an inclusive education for all learners. However, although there have been some very successful attempts of inclusive education by some private schools, there has not yet been official records of programs that serve gifted learners. There are some attempts to accommodate for the gifted in various private schools that cater for learners from high socio-economic status. These schools offer some enrichment programs to high-achieving learners whose total grade average is above 85/100 (Sarouphim, 2009); however, the programs are yet to be evaluated for their efficiency in nurturing the needs of gifted learners. The major cause for this lack of proper education for the Gifted and Talented (GT) in Lebanon is that the educational body lacks the basic understanding of what GT is. Moreover, the procedures for identifying, referring and assessing GT learners are not well-known nor easily available. Hence, it becomes imperative to investigate the availability of such tools and creating educational body that can provide for these learners. When the needs of the special education population are not met, particularly those of gifted learners, then the educational system has not fully met its requirements. Gifted learners cannot thrive on their own. GT need assistance from specialists to actualize their potentials. The aim of this paper is three fold- it is to share: 1. LWIS-City International School-DT (LWIS-CiS) experience in catering for the needs gifted children 2. The program for the gifted and talented that was developed during the scholastic year 2015-2016. The program was based on theoretical grounds stemmed from the literature. 3. The challenges facing gifted education in Lebanon