Philippine E-Journals

A Late Developer - Gifted Education in Malaysia within a Global Context

Sivanes Phillipson | Shane N. Phillipson | Inderbir Kaur

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

Gifted education is a relatively neglected aspect of the Malaysian education system, both within the local community and at the ministry level. The absence of a national policy addressing the specific needs of gifted children is surprising not only in the light of other educational innovations within Malaysia, but also because many of Malaysia’s neighbors have well established programs for gifted children. Despite this situation, Malaysia has an opportunity to build a gifted education program that, in the context of educational globalization, is unique in the international community. To guide this development, a generic model for gifted education is described, based on four components (including policy development, implementation, advocacy and research & teacher education). However, this paper argues that Malaysia must develop its own conceptions of giftedness where the individual character of the three major ethnic groups is recognized. Finally, a number of recommendations are made for both Malaysian universities and the National Association of Gifted Children Malaysia in terms of research, teacher education, and policy development that also provide examples for other nations to study when meeting the needs of gifted children within a global society.