Unique characteristics of a program for gifted students at Michlalah – Jerusalem academic college

In recent years, many studies have been conducted in Israel on gifted students’ programs offered in teacher training colleges. This study, which explored the Regev gifted students’ program at the Michlalah - Jerusalem Academic College, was based on quantitative methodology that explored the differences between the gifted students in the Regev program and students with similar talents and potential who opted out of the gifted students’ program and chose to study in the regular B.Ed. academic program. There was one independent variable in the research, namely students’ group (those in the gifted students’ program compared with those who were in the regular academic program). Three dependent variables were examined: two variables measured well-being in the professional field – study motivation and teaching self-efficacy – and the third measured personal well-being – study satisfaction. The research population consisted of 108 female students who were in first to third years of their undergraduate studies during the 2015-2016 academic year: 53 students participated in the Regev program and 55 studied in the regular academic program. The students in the sample were matched by year and college majors. We used four instruments for data collection: (1) A questionnaire for study motivation (based on Sa’ada, 2000); (2) A questionnaire for teaching self-efficacy (Sa’ada, 2000); (3) A questionnaire that examines study satisfaction (Romanov, 2010); and (4) a demographic questionnaire that collected personal data – age, field of study, etc. The questionnaires were administered on the internet via a link sent to the students. In the first stage of analysis descriptive statistics were calculated, and the questionnaires’ coefficients of reliability were established. In the second stage, one-way ANOVA analyses were performed to check the research hypotheses. The results indicate significant differences between the two groups on study motivation; the Regev students attained higher scores on study motivation than the students in the regular academic program. No significant differences were found on the teaching self-efficacy or study satisfaction variables; both groups exhibited high to very high levels on both measures. We conclude with an explanation of the results and proposed practical recommendations and suggestions for future research on the Regev program at the Michlalah - Jerusalem Academic College.