Beyond the canvas: a Delphi-driven rubric for unlocking artistic giftedness

The current study aims to provide a reference and methodological evidence-based tool with particular criteria for identifying artistically gifted students at the intermediate and secondary levels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

To achieve the study goals, a modified Delphi design was used, which combined qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to obtain a consensus. The study sample included 120 experts-including art professors, professional visual artists, and art critics-who took part in three rounds. The first round involved thematic analysis of open-ended replies using NVivo 12 software (with an intercoder reliability coefficient of κ = 0.88), resulting in an initial set of criteria. In the second round, experts rated each criterion on a Likert scale and provided qualitative feedback. They then re-evaluated the criteria in the third round using statistical indicators (agreement rates, median, and interquartile range). Written justifications were provided for scores below 4.

The pre-established consensus criterion was set at an agreement rate of ≥85%, defined as picking "agree" or "strongly agree". The "Gifted Rating Scale for Artistic Talent" (GRS-AT) was created specifically to identify artistic talent in visual arts within Saudi schools; as such, it is the first performance-based assessment tool developed through expert consensus that provides teachers with a structured means for the systematic identification of artistically gifted students-a population that has long been overlooked.

Future research is needed to empirically validate the scale through field testing, including an examination of construct validity, criterion validity, inter-rater reliability, and predictive validity.