This Brief discusses research about gifted education in Lebanese schools. It provides an overview of the latest theories, definitions, and practices used to identify gifted students in Lebanese schools. Chapters begin by providing background information on the status of gifted education in Lebanon and the challenges gifted Lebanese children face. Subsequent chapters discuss recent and relevant international definitions of giftedness as well as common misconceptions and underrepresentation of giftedness.
The Brief presents research study findings on the cultural definition of giftedness in the minds of Lebanese teachers. It also presents findings on current practices used to identify gifted learners in Lebanese schools. It concludes with recommendations from the teachers that participated in the reported study as well as the authors' proposal for a Lebanese elementary school policy for identification of gifted students. Gifted Education in Lebanese Schools is an informative resource for researchers, professionals, practitioners, and graduate students in the field of school psychology, educational psychology, gifted and special education, and social work.
About the Author: Sara El Khoury, MA, is the Program Coordinator of USP VI, USAID, in the American University of Beirut (AUB), which helps Lebanese underprivileged students attain a USAID scholarship at AUB. Ms. Khoury previously worked in Adma International School as a special needs teacher, where she taught students with severe learning disabilities, including down syndrome, cognitive delay, autism, dyslexia, and gifted students in middle school. She created and implemented curricula that were approved and used in the school. Ms. Khoury completed her MA in Educational Psychology (with emphasis on School Guidance and Counseling), BA in Elementary Education (with emphasis on English and Social Studies Education), and a teaching diploma in Special Education from the American University of Beirut (AUB). Ms. Khoury was also a research associate on a project funded by the Welfare Association regarding different aspects of education in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon.
Anies Al-Hroub, PhD, MPhil, is the Chairperson of the Department of Education at the American University of Beirut. He is an Associate Professor of Education Psychology and Special Education and the coordinator of the Special Education program. Al-Hroub completed his PhD and MPhil in Special Education (Giftedness and Learning Disabilities) from the University of Cambridge and his MA (Special Education) and BA (Psychology) from the University of Jordan. He also obtained a Higher Diploma in "Learning Disabilities" from Balka Applied University. He was selected as the British Academy Visiting Scholar to the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge in 2010, and a Visiting Scholar to the School of Advanced Social Studies (SASS) in Slovenia. His publications appeared in leading international gifted and special education journals in addition to two published books entitled, Theories and Programs of Education for the Gifted and Talented (1999), and ADHD in Lebanese schools: Diagnosis, assessment and treatment [spring, 2016]. His research interests focus on gifted and talented education, learning disabilities, dyslexia, twice-exceptionality, early childhood education, educational assessment, psychometric and dynamic assessment, guidance and counseling, metacognition and school dropout. He has led several educational projects sponsored by UNICEF, UNRWA, the British Academy, USAID, Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI), and Welfare Association and served as consultant for UNESCO, the Asfari Foundation, and the Center for Civic Engagement and Community Service (CCECS) at AUB.
