Development and Evaluation of a Pioneer School-Based Gifted Education Program (Project GIFT) for Primary and Secondary Students in Hong Kong

Abstract

In this study, we used a quasi-experimental research design with pretest and post-test data collected from an experimental group and a control group to investigate changes in students after participating in a school-based gifted education program (Project GIFT) in Hong Kong. There were 3207 successfully matched students (3rd to 9th graders) joining the Level 1 program (for all students) alone or both the Level 1 program and Level 2 program (for gifted students). Participants of the experimental and control groups completed validated measures on creativity, multiple intelligences, gifted characteristics, self-efficacy, psychological well-being, and satisfaction with life before and after participating in the program(s). One-way ANCOVA results revealed that students in the experimental groups showed positive changes after joining the program(s), with a greater impact for students joining both Level 1 and Level 2 programs. Students participating in both Level 1 and Level 2 programs displayed significant improvement in creativity, academic performance, logical–mathematical intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, self-efficacy, autonomy, environmental mastery, and personal growth compared to the control counterparts. This study illustrates the benefits of the Level 1 and Level 2 programs in promoting the holistic development of the program participants.