Saudi Gazette A number of factors are related to academic excellence but the most significant factors, a recent study found, are: the student's self-confidence in his or her own abilities, the learning methods adopted by the student and level of intelligence. The recent study was led by a pioneer in the field of gifted education in Saudi Arabia and worldwide, Professor Abdullah Aljughaiman, and was conducted in the Kingdom with the participation of 800 gifted elementary school students from different regions in the Kingdom. Aljughaiman is the director of the National Research Center for Giftedness and Creativity, based at King Faisal University, and is also the president of the International Research Association for Talent Development and Excellence. Among the chief goals of these non-profit organizations are to initiate and support research, disseminate research findings, develop and evaluate educational programs, and to gather scholars and professionals in the fields of talent development, excellence, creativity and innovation. The professor is advocating the development of programs by the Ministry of Education that train teachers in identifying giftedness in students. In addition, he urges teachers to help all students acquire the skills that will help improve their academic performance, such as time management skills, study skills, self-learning and research methods. Teachers should also work hard to boost each student's self-esteem and to motivate them to become achievers, he said. “Those students who practice good study skills and self-learning strategies, and who know how to search for information on their own, often do better in the classroom and outside than those students who lack such abilities. Students who often self-evaluate their school performance and self-test their understanding of the subject material often get higher grades and plan better for tests. Setting clear and specific goals and drawing a practical plan are the most important steps toward success and achieving those goals. Children who know how to wisely distribute their activities and efforts and manage their time throughout the day often do better in school than students who are less structured and less organized,” said Aljughaiman. “Students should be encouraged to seek knowledge from a number of different sources, to read more and to use a variety of tools and educational aids. A student who is more actively involved in the learning process and exhibits a higher level of independence and responsibility concerning his/her studies and grades will often show superior academic performance at school,” added Aljughaiman. __
