Nurturing Gifted and Talented Learners from Disadvantaged Backgrounds

Overview

Over the last hundred years, the notion of giftedness has become progressively more inclusive (Meyer & Plucker, 2021; Subotnik et al., 2011). According to Gagné’s Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (DGMT), gifted students need a favourable environment and opportunities to develop their potentials to talents. However, revealed in numerous studies, a lot of disadvantaged gifted students, particularly those from a low socio-economic background, are not exposed to the favourable environment and opportunities. After a systematic gifted education teacher training provided by the Education University of Hong Kong in collaboration with Radboud University, the Netherlands, the participating schools introduced their school-based gifted programmes in 2021-2023. Through the sharing of insights, expertise and external connections of individual members, their schools’ gifted programmes are shared and implemented in a professional learning community known as Hong Kong Professional Association for the Gifted and Talented (HKPAGT) with the support of some charity funds. This not only addresses the issue of gifted under-achievement amongst the under-privileged gifted students, but also creates a synergy amongst gifted education practitioners in the learning community. These contribute to the sustainable development of nurturing the talents, in alignment with the vision of Hong Kong as a talent hub.