Competencies and Characteristics for Teaching Gifted Students: A Comparative Study of Beijing and Hong Kong Teachers

This study examines the competencies and characteristics of in-service teachers who teach gifted students. A total of 511 in-service teachers participated in the study, 334 of whom were from Beijing and 177 were from Hong Kong. The scale developed by D. W. Chan was used as the instrument to examine the competencies and characteristics of the teachers. The Beijing in-service teachers gave significantly higher self-ratings for their characteristics and competencies than the Hong Kong in-service teachers. Beijing in-service teachers who taught in schools for the gifted (supernormal schools) gave the highest ratings for all the variables. This study analyzed the reasons behind why teachers in each city would have such ratings on competencies and characteristics for themselves, and why Beijing teachers (especially those who taught in supernormal schools) would have significantly higher ratings than their Hong Kong counterparts.