Middle East

An overview of gifted education the Middle East:

-most schools in Turkey are boarding or pension ones.

-14 year olds who complete the basic education requirements may attend a high school whose programs match their interests and abilities.

-females are attending schools at a growing rate.

-there are general and vocational high schools.

-the first science high school was created in the early 1980's to provide education for those gifted in science and math.

-class size is limited to 24 students and the language of instruction is Turkish.

-the first fine arts high school for gifted students opened in the late 1980's.

-by 1999 there were 19 of these types of school.

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-private schools supplement public ones in Syria but less then 5% attend them.

-less then 10% of 3-5 year olds attend an early childhood development program.

-elementary education is free and compulsory for all Syrians age 6 to 12.

-teachers are trained in state approved programs.

-by 1999, there were over 3000 high schools where each student is expected to complete the required material in one school year.

-children identified as being gifted attend schools designed to meet their needs.

-these schools have electronic libraries and learning centres.

-teachers are skilled to integrate more hands on type activities and materials that encourage creative thinking and problem solving strategies.

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-most of the resources in the United Arab Emirates are used to carry out usual activities of an expanding national education system.

-in recent years, the government has recognized the need for gifted education.

-several pilot projects have been developed in effort to meet the needs of students with advanced competence.

-these projects try to give the students a wider range of learning possibilities.

-they try to group students consistently, substantially elevating the curriculum and promoting students whenever needed.

-most courses are grouped according to gender.

-by the year 2000 over 1000 male students were studying outside the country with government grants.

Middle East to other countries