Evaluation Results of a Teacher Professional Development Program in Greece on Gifted and Talented Children Education (GATCE)

Abstract

According to research results, gifted students need early intervention processes. However, school administrators and teachers have limited knowledge of the identification of giftedness and the development of programs for the specific student population, especially in Greece. An eight-month training program was designed and implemented to meet the K-6th- grade teachers’ learning needs about gifted education in a school district in Central Greece. The objective of this study is (was) to evaluate the results of the in-service teachers’ professional development program on gifted and talented children’s Education (GATCE) in Greece and its impact to the participants. The sample comprised of 47 K-6th grade teachers, 2 trainers and 1 education consultant. The results showed that most of the participators were satisfied with the eight-month training and considered it would help them effectively integrating theory about gifted students’ education into their instruction. Study results also indicated that the majority of the participants were involved in relevant tasks regarding the development of their lesson plans and the implementation of activities in the classroom. Since the completion of the training, the participants worked in groups to enrich the national curriculum and to develop activities for their gifted students.