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The Educational Predicament Confronting Taiwan's Gifted Programs: An Evaluation of Current Practices and Future Challenges

This study examines the current problems affecting Taiwan's gifted education through a large-scale gifted program evaluation. Fifty-one gifted classes at 15 elementary schools and 62 gifted classes at 18 junior high schools were evaluated. The primary activities included in this biennial evaluation were document review, observation of instructional activities, inspection of equipment and facilities, and interviews with 113 students, 82 teachers, and 26 parents. The data were analyzed qualitatively. Major themes uncovered by this study included exam-oriented instruction, lack of quality affective education, heavy burdens for teachers, enormous pressure for students, gifted art programs as camouflage, and the failure to utilize resources in the community. These problems could further be consolidated into an overarching theme, overemphasis on exam performance. Discussions and implications addressing these problems are provided in the hope that Taiwan's and other countries' gifted education can benefit from them.