Editorial

Abstract

EditorialStriving toward the best practice and providing evidences of effectiveness of gifted program are the most challenging issues in gifted education (Callahan et al., 2015;Van Tassel-Baska and Brown, 2007). For decades, enrichment program has been widely used in gifted education, but whether the enrichment meets the qualitative requirement has become controversial. Enrichment activities used in gifted education include topic speeches, field trips, independent studies, film appreciation, higher-order thinking skill training, interpersonal interactions, free creation, competitions, debates, product displays, and so on. The purpose of these activities is to provide students with a variety of learning content and processes to expand their vision and develop their talent. However, Worcester and Schaeffer (1956) pointed out that enrichment often appears sporadic, fragmentary, and superficial, and relatively lacking in the system. Stanley (1976) also mentioned that enrichment activities are mostly for providing some special subjects or activities, which are unable to meet the core goal of gifted education. Nevertheless, if the enrichment programs are well designed and accelerated properly, positive learning effects can be found (Kulik and Kulik, 1992). Thus, gifted education teachers are advised to provide systematic enrichment activities with "a specific purpose." For revitalizing the unique contribution of enrichment program, this special issue invites gifted educators to provide their insights regarding the evaluation and practice of enrichment program. Their main purpose, design, and evaluation model of enrichment programs are briefly described as follows.In the first article, Chan et al. (2020) introduce the Chinese University of Hong Kong Program for Gifted and Talented Students (PGT) and elaborate how the program was evaluated. PGT mainly adopts the Rimm's input-process-outcomes model and conducts formative and summative evaluation research annually. The annual reports are compiled to update strategic plans, to report on the annual program performances, and to inform the future development and operation.In the second article, Chen and Chen (2020) introduce two approaches of enrichment program for Taiwan's gifted; one with the programs following the Special Education Act, and the other programs initiated by local authorities, private organizations, and researchers. The authors suggest good evaluation can inform decision makers about programs' strengths and weaknesses, and also guide possible changes that enhance the services provided for gifted students. Besides, the responsive and heuristic criteria of designing and evaluating gifted programs for professional autonomy and development need to be measured by valid and reliable tools and strategies.In the third article, Tan et al. (2020) emphasize the fidelity of conceptualizing and implementing enrichment programs. As most enrichment programs are after-school

A retrospective survey on evaluating an enrichment program for socioeconomically disadvantaged gifted students

“…This unique project in Taiwan provided scholarships, living subsidies, enrichment courses, and counseling mainly for gifted senior high students of low-income family (Cheng, 2009; Kuo, 2011b). Kuo (2008) proposed some key elements of this program: (1) discover students’ interests and strengths, (2) cultivate social and affective development, (3) increase higher thinking skills, (4) teach learning strategies and improve self-efficacy, (5) confront challenges by making use of creativity and problem-solving ability, (6) enhance the ability to manage stress, and (7) provide leadership experience.…”