This chapter aims to compare the ways that teachers in both countries, Oman and Canada, respond to the needs of gifted students and deal with them in elementary schools, with a focus on the use of instructional software and their impacts on gifted students' achievement and activities. It reviews the literature in this field, explains and analyzes the collected data and findings of a small-scale study conducted with teachers of gifted students in the two countries. The chapter then presents the schoolteachers' perceptions about the impacts of instructional software on gifted students. Conclusions are drawn and future prospectives are pointed out.
TopCountries (Oman And Canada) Profiles
Canada is recognized as the second largest country in the world, covering most of the vast area of North America with a landscape that occupies 9,984,670 km2, enjoying diverse geographical regions, natural resources and sceneries (Nations Online, 2019). Canada became independent in 1867 to form its own constitution. The capital city of Canada is Ottawa (see Fig. 1). Toronto and Montreal are respectively the first two large cities in Canada in terms of their economic status, population as well as the educational importance. Vancouver is the largest city in trading with the Pacific Rim countries and is considered the main western gateway center of trade (Bercuson, Nicholson, Morton, Hall & Krueger, 2019). The Canadian culture has been influenced by western traditions and its own native cultures. Canada continuously welcomes an increasing number of immigrants from European, Asian and Latin American countries, which makes Canada a multicultural country. There are two official languages spoken in Canada; English and French (Nations Online, 2019)
Figure 1. Source: CIA, 2019 Oman, on the other hand, is a Muslim country located at the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula with an area of approximately 309,500 km2, and enjoys a long coastal area of 3,165 km (see Fig. 2). The nature in Oman is diverse and includes long series of mountains, valleys, green agricultural spaces and desserts. There are 11 governorates in Oman. The capital city of Oman is Muscat and the formal language is Arabic; however, English, Urdu and Hindi are often used (National Center for Statistics and Information, 2017). Oman has long served as a trade point between the east and west, using its location as the middle land for countries to exchange goods. This has helped Oman to develop connections between India and China on one side and with Europe on the other side.
Figure 2. Source: CIA, 2019 It can be said that both countries form suitable environments where cultures are diverse and people exchange different kinds of skills, beliefs and ideas. This diversity is an interesting topic of educational research between two countries that enjoy important geographic locations and considerable economic potentials and yet differ in terms of traditions, values and the extent of development.