Overview of Special Educations for Gifted Students in Mathematics

Special educations for gifted students have not been given enough attention in Japan with a little exception. Indeed, such educations were sometimes despised in Japan by teachers and parents as well as by boards of education, because one of the features of postwar education system in Japan was an excessive egalitarianism. The other is cramming of knowledge in school education, which is necessary for high school graduates to pass entrance examinations for famous universities such as University of Tokyo, or Kyoko University. However, in 1997, some trials of special educations for gifted students started. The Ministry of Education, Sports, Culture, Science and Technology admitted 'skipping a year to enter universities.' In this paper, the following three topics would be discussed. 1. Enrollment of high school students aged 17 into Chiba University. 2. Summer seminars conducted by Japan Mathematics Foundation of Olympiad. 3. Super Science High School Program funded by the Ministry of Education.