2.1.2 Does the Lebanese Education System Hinder the Performance of the Highly Able Learners?

Across the years, very few Lebanese students have been able to perform at the highest level in Math and Science in TIMSS, which leads to the belief that current Lebanese curricula and teaching and learning methods might be failing our highly able students. Although Lebanon has been experiencing social and political turbulence over an extended period of time, the country places a high value on education, with a culture that rewards effort and achievement, particularly in the academic arena. Considering the TIMSS results in the backdrop of the Lebanese educational culture, it is important to closely examine possible explanations of the consistent low performance of Lebanese highly able students in Math and Science. Since addressing diverse students’ needs is a complex issue, it is important to explore how highly able students are supported at the various levels of an educational system: educational policy, national curriculum and curricular materials, and teacher capacity and perceptions. As such, possible reasons of highly able students’ low performance can inform policy and curricular reform on one hand and teachers’ professional development needs and classroom practices on the other. This paper aims to examine: (a) if policies exist in terms of catering for highly able students, (b) how the national Science and Math textbooks address the needs of highly able students, and (c) how teachers in different Lebanese schools perceive and may provide for the educational needs of highly able students. Teachers’ perceptions and attitudes have been found to be a fundamental element in the success of educational policy and practice in relation to highly able students. Utilising a qualitative approach, the following data sources were used to address the research aim: policy document analysis, national Science and Mathematics textbook analysis and teacher interviews. The findings indicated very little evidence of policy and curricular provisions, and no attention to the needs of highly able learners was found in Science and Math National textbooks. Teacher interview analyses illustrated an overall lack of awareness by participants of research-based best practices appropriate and effective for identifying and providing for highly able students. There was ample evidence, though, of the desire of teacher participants to become more informed about such practices. (363 words)

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