Supporting Underprivileged Students with Underachievement by School-based Enrichment Programme

Overview

In Hong Kong, most gifted programmes focus on developing gifted achievers. Without proper teacher training in the concept of giftedness, most schools do not have sufficient resources and knowledge to identify and support underachieving gifted students. The educational needs of underachieving gifted students are overlooked. It is even more difficult for underachieving students with an underprivileged background. Those students not only lack support from the school but also lack resources from their families. It is therefore creating another kind of inequality in learning opportunities. By implementing the innovative ‘Integrated Supporting Model’, the programme provides systematic teacher training in gifted education to school teachers, followed by the designation and implementation of school-based enrichment programmes. The programme targets the educational needs of underprivileged, underachieving gifted students. The programme supported a total of 6 secondary schools and 9 primary schools with 30 teachers and 131 students. The subjects of the school-based enrichment covered English, Maths, Science and Art. The project has achieved positive results. The quantitative and qualitative feedback from students and teachers was positive, with noticeable improvement.