EDUCATION OF GIFTED CHILDREN: A GENERAL ROADMAP AND THE CASE OF ISRAEL

There are two major reasons why an organization should establish special programs for gifted children. The first one is to help individual gifted children maximize their capacities for their own sake, rescuing them from an unchallenging environment in their “normal” classes. The second reason has to do with the welfare of others rather than that of the gifted individuals: investment in gifted children as a promise for a better future for the society. When a nation or an organization makes a strategic decision to establish a large-scale program for the education of the gifted, it has to follow a certain roadmap that includes several crossroads; at each crossroad a choice must be made between several options. The major junctures and the options associated with them are described in this article. Among the domains where actual decisions should be made are: Definitional issues, types of special talents, identification of gifted children, age range, types of enrichment programs and teacher qualifications. It is argued that there is no single program, specific combination, or unique track for all gifted education programs. Every program must be custom-tailored according to the children’s specific needs and conditions. Moreover, every gifted education program must be considered as a long-range investment. The fruits of efforts in the area of the education of gifted children are seen many years later. In the second half of the article, it details the specific decisions that were taken by the Ministry of Education in Israel with regards to the education of gifted children.