Policy clarity and implementation challenges in Saudi gifted education: A structural model of stakeholder perceptions

This study examined cross-sectional associations among stakeholder perceptions of gifted-education policy in Saudi Arabia. A national online survey obtained responses from 1,515 stakeholders. Descriptive analyses used the full sample, whereas the primary structural analysis included 1,314 education professionals because parents were not administered several focal items. Policy clarity was represented by one observed rating, perceived effectiveness by a three-item latent factor, and implementation challenges and improvement pathways by formative indices reflecting the breadth of policy domains endorsed across multi-response items. The hybrid structural model showed excellent fit, χ2(8) = 13.60, CFI = .995, TLI = .991, RMSEA = .023, and SRMR = .018. Policy clarity was strongly associated with perceived effectiveness (β = .728). Perceived effectiveness was negatively associated with challenge breadth (β = −.355), and challenge breadth was positively associated with pathway breadth (β = .106). The direct clarity–challenge association was small (β = .109) and sensitive to alternative operationalizations. Scalar invariance was supported for the effectiveness factor, and constraining structural paths to equality did not worsen fit across teachers of gifted students and nonteacher education professionals. The results suggest that stakeholders’ evaluations of policy clarity, implementation quality, constraints, and reform options form a systematic pattern.