Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Best country for gifted

I have been involved in educational research for some years now and am familiar with at least twenty educational systems. And although the educational systems vary a lot, I feel comfortable saying that socioeconomic status of parents as well as their education level (especially mother�s) have substantial influence on educational opportunities and outcomes of their children. I believe this to be true for gifted students as well. Of course it may seem that countries where gifted education is supported by the system, gifted children would have better opportunities, however, in most cases the access to gifted programs and/or better schools is provided based on achievement test scores. In Asian countries this means that parents spend a lot of money on tutors, and children are spending enormous amount of time preparing for these tests.

To answer your question, I would say Finland has the best home and school environment for gifted. Majority of parents are well educated, plus income inequality there is lower than in many other countries. Although its school system does not have gifted programs in place, it does have overall high education standards. Gifted children from different backgrounds(including ethnic minorities and immigrants) have more equal opportunities in the school system. In addition, their schools and teachers have freedom to adjust their curriculum to meet individual student needs. Actually it is an expectation not just a freedom to do so.