Professional development for teachers of gifted education in Hong Kong : instrument validation and training effectiveness

Abstract

Project GIFT is a pioneer research-based gifted education program which has been found to be effective in fostering holistic development of students in Hong Kong. Nevertheless, little is known whether the Project is beneficial to teachers. To investigate the changes in teachers after participating in the Project, we adopted a quasi-experimental design with pretest and posttest data collected from experimental and control groups in this study. A total of 2031 primary and secondary school teachers participated in the professional development program of the Project. They completed validated measures on teachers' knowledge of and attitudes toward gifted education, teaching behaviors, characteristics and competencies, in addition to well-being before and after participating in the program. Results of one-way ANCOVA showed that the program could promote teachers' knowledge of gifted education and specific teaching strategies to gifted learners. This study provides preliminary support for the program in promoting holistic professional development of participating teachers in gifted education. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.