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Author ORCID Identifier

N/A

AccessType

Open Access Dissertation

Document Type

dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Program

Education

Year Degree Awarded

2018

Month Degree Awarded

September

First Advisor

Michael Krezmien

Second Advisor

John C. Carey

Third Advisor

Seth A. Cable

Subject Categories

Gifted Education | Special Education and Teaching

Abstract

Teachers of gifted students (GT) are the key to a fruitful learning environment for gifted students who have unique abilities and are different from their peers. There is a growing demand to identify effective GT teachers in Saudi Arabia who have specific characteristics that will help them successfully tailor their teaching to the needs of gifted students. Consequently, exploring the characteristics of Saudi GT teachers is an essential component of ensuring the quality of the teaching of gifted students in their settings. The characteristics of GT teachers have been adequately addressed in several countries, but there is a paucity of similar research in Saudi Arabia. Thus, this study aimed to explore the characteristics of effective Saudi GT teachers based on their perspectives. The perceptions of Saudi GT teachers were identified by using a developed survey (Teachers of Gifted Student’s Survey) based on the results of prior research. The study included 220 GT teachers from Riyadh and Asir. The results indicated that the most highly valued characteristics among Saudi GT teachers are: enthusiasm, positive attitude, encouraging the intellectual process, motivating gifted students (GS) to learn, assigning challenging tasks, assigning creative work, encouraging imagination, showing interest in GS’s ideas, using various approaches, providing helpful feedback, being an expert in their field, being an expert in multiple subjects, and having a high IQ. The results indicated statistically significant differences in encouraging intellectual processes at the level of experience and training. Also, there was a statistically significant difference in inviting experts to the classroom at the level of experience.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/12136536

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