What Gifted Education Looks Like Around the World

Gifted organizations exist in most areas of the world. Many are non-profit organizations or NGOs, but some are also government sponsored. The World Council (currently headquartered in the US) has nearly 30 affiliates around the world. It hosts a biennial conference in various countries. One of the newest organizations is the World Giftedness Center, begun in 2017, as a joint venture between the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany and the Hamdan Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance in Dubai.

Other countries express differing attitudes regarding gifted children and their education. It’s valuable to explore the various approaches they use to see what works best. Many countries rely mainly on ‘talent development’ when considering how to educate gifted youth with less emphasis on the social-emotional needs of students. These types of programs are often government supported. In some countries which do not support gifted education, gifted organizations provide the sole support for parents and educators of gifted children. They serve as models of innovation and resourcefulness.

Europe has some of the oldest and most established organizations providing resources to students, educators, and parents. Many work in association with universities to provide in-person and online classes for free or low-cost. Europe also has a talent support network (ETSN) that runs centers in multiple countries. It was established with the help of the European Council for High Ability (ECHA) in 2015 and has 21 centers in Europe and 4 outside Europe. Several European countries have also partnered with US universities such as Johns Hopkins’s Center for Talented Youth (CTY) to provide educational opportunities for gifted children.

Countries in Asia and the South Pacific (ex.: China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India, Vietnam) have widely divergent approaches to gifted children and their education. Until very recently, China provided excellent support for gifted education, but this has radically changed this year due to political changes in the country. Vietnam has a vigorous support system for its students. Australia and New Zealand have supports similar to the US. The Philippines is supported by the Philippine Center for Gifted Education. India has numerous government-funded organizations providing gifted education.

Many countries in South America have vibrant gifted organizations supporting GT learners. A good place to access information on South American resources is in Facebook groups. They include groups for both parents and professionals. Academic competitions are an important part of gifted education such as the Children’s Knowledge Olympiad 2022.

Gifted education is widely supported in the Middle East; both by governments and private organizations. In Saudi Arabia, gifted education began in 1968. Gifted programming and services for students began in 1999 with the establishment of Mawhiba and there are now nearly 90 centers for the gifted throughout the country.

A transcript of this chat can be found at Wakelet.

Global #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented is a weekly chat on Twitter. Join us Thursdays at 8E/7C/6M/5P in the U.S. and Fridays at Noon NZST/10 AM AEST/1AM UK to discuss current topics in the gifted community and meet experts in the field. Transcripts of our weekly chats can be found at Wakelet. Our Meta Page provides information on the chat and news and information regarding the gifted community.

About the author: Lisa Conrad is the Moderator of Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT and Social Media Manager of the Global #gtchat Community. She is a longtime advocate for gifted children and also blogs at Gifted Parenting Support. Lisa can be contacted at: gtchatmod@gmail.com

Resources:

World Council for Gifted and Talented Children

Potential Plus UK

NACE: National Association for Able Children in Education

NZ Centre for Gifted Education

AAEGT: Australian Association for the Education of the Gifted and Talented

International Gifted Consortium

ECHA: European Council for High Ability

CTYI: Centre for Talented Youth, Ireland at Dublin City University

ETSN: European Talent Support Network

Association of Hungarian Talent Support Organizations

“We Want to Be Educated!” A Thematic Analysis of Gifted Students’ Views on Education in Norway