Shona culture of Zimbabwe’s views of giftedness

In an exploratory study designed to investigate Shona culture of Zimbabwe’s views of giftedness, data were collected from sixteen Zimbabwean academics of Shona cultural background. Using questionnaire narratives, the study established that Shona culture views giftedness as an unusual ability blessed in an individual through ancestry which enables him/her to perform with unparalleled expertise even in challenging domains. The hallmarks of Shona culture’s views of giftedness are ability to succeed, solve problems, creativity, interpersonal relationships and spirituality. When values are held constant, Shona culture’s views of giftedness do not differ from views in contemporary psychology. The study recommends fusing together cultural and modern views of giftedness in the school curriculum in order to develop a diversity of talents in students.     

Fostering liberal views of giftedness: A study of the beliefs of six undergraduate education students

Conditions for the liberation of creative potential are intensely varied and intensely individual. This article describes the Creative Inventory, a means of finding out the conditions under which our own creative potential is liberated. Furnished with this knowledge individuals can seek out the conditions for creative liberation operative in their own lives. This will increase personal effectiveness. Exercises to discover these conditions are described and it is suggested that they can be beneficial for older children.     

The construct of giftedness

In this article, I assert that giftedness is not a fact of nature or something that educators and psychologists have discovered. Instead, it is a socially constructed concept, something recently invented. I review the evolution of this construction and discuss some of the practical implications of the construct's application in education. Last, I speculate about some of the possible ways in which the construct may evolve in the future.     

The etiology of giftedness

Many theories of giftedness either explicitly or implicitly acknowledge the role of genetic influences; yet, empirical work has not been able to establish the impact that genes have specifically on gifted behavior. In contrast, a great deal of research has been targeted at understanding the etiology of individual differences in general and specific cognitive abilities across the entire range of ability and to a lesser extent, high cognitive ability. This paper attempts to outline what we know and what we don't know about the etiology of giftedness as operationally defined as high g. We review studies selected to represent a variety of approaches that each address a different question about genetics and giftedness. These studies include quantitative genetic research which estimate heritability, shared and nonshared family environment – at the high and low ends of intelligence – as well as the heritability of group differences for general cognitive ability and specific cognitive abilities. We discuss the molecular genetic methods and mechanisms contributing to cognitive ability and suggest how epigenetic factors may operate. Quantitative and molecular genetic studies that include endophenotypes representing intelligence at a level closer to the genotype, are also included. This last group of studies represent a relatively new area of work that builds on and extends the extensive groundwork established by classic quantitative genetic studies of behavior.     

Visualisation and mathematical giftedness

Recent research findings are described which uncover the fact that visualisers are seriously under-represented amongst high mathematical achievers at senior high school level. Possible reasons for this phenomenon are discussed, and kinds of imagery which overcome some of the limitations of visual processing in mathematics are described.     

Cultural concepts of giftedness

Different cultures have different conceptions of what it means to be gifted. But in identifying children as gifted, we often use only our own conception, ignoring the cultural context in which the children grew up. Such identification is inadequate and fails to do justice to the richness of the world's cultures. It also misses children who are gifted and may identify as gifted children those who are not.     

Depth psychology and giftedness: Bringing soul to the field of talent development and giftedness

While the field of gifted education has relied on educational, cognitive, counseling, behavioral, developmental, and social psychology, the domain of depth psychology offers special insights into giftedness, especially with regard to individuation. The notion of passion, or the thorn (J. S. Piirto, 1999, 2002), the incurable mad spot (F. C. Reynolds 1997, 2001), the acorn (J. Hillman, 1996, 1999), the daimon (C. G. Jung, 1965); the importance of integration through the arts and through dreams; the existence of the collective unconscious; the presence of archetypes; and the transcendent psyche—all have resonance with the binary etymological idea of “gift” as both blessing and poison. Depth psychology offers a way of understanding that is physical, psychological, and spiritual.     

Identifying and developing creative giftedness

To a large extent, creativity is a decision. Children as well as adults are creative, not by virtue of an innate ability, but by virtue of a set of decisions. In essence, they decide for creativity, rather than an innate set of abilities deciding whether they are creative. Thus, creative giftedness is not a fixed trait, but a decision‐making skill that can be developed. In this article, I present ten decisions people can make to decide for creativity. Included are teaching examples of these decisions as well as teaching activities to facilitate students' learning how to make these decisions.     

Patterns of giftedness: A triarchic analysis

This article presents an analysis of patterns of giftedness based on the triarchic theory of intelligence. The analysis distinguishes among seven different patterns of giftedness, each involving a different combination of analytical, creative, and practical abilities. The seven patterns are the Analyzer, the Creator, the Practitioner, the Analytical Creator, the Analytical Practitioner, the Creative Practitioner, and the Consummate Balancer. Examples are given of each pattern and the strengths and weaknesses of each pattern are discussed.     

试析郭嵩焘西方文化观的特点和局限

在认识西方文化的过程中 ,郭嵩焘是以深厚的中学知识为基础的。由于他对中西文化有着广泛的了解 ,所以在对中西文化进行比较和选择时 ,能够较早地摆脱“中体西用”文化取舍模式的束缚 ,表现出开放性的特点 ,同时 ,近代中西文化交流初期的历史文化背景 ,也在一定程度上限制了他对西方文化的深入探索 ,从而导致了认识上的种种矛盾 ,体现出明显的时代局限性     

“文化生态与教育发展”论纲

近年来，文化与教育的关系成为教育理论研究中备受青睐的领域之一。“文化”源于拉丁文“cultura”，“cultura”又由“cultus”演化而来，两个词都与耕作、培养、教育、敬神等活动有关。也就是说，从文化一词的词源学意义上讲，含有人类物质活动与精神活动两方面的内涵，在这个意义上，我们可以说，“文化”与“自然”相对，是人类物质生产与精神生产活动及其产品的总和。从生态学的角度来看，人类的生存环境有三，即自然环境、社会环境和规范环境，文化生态环境主要由社会环境和规范环境构成。本文拟从教育生态学的立场出发，借助文化生态…     

The Finnish public discussion of giftedness and gifted children

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of research in which the Finnish public discussion of giftedness and gifted children, and conceptions of giftedness and gifted children presented in it, were examined. The research was conducted by analyzing articles from the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and the teachers’ periodical Opettaja, using the content analysis method. The results show that giftedness is seen as multidimensional, and both intrapersonal and environmental contributions are recognized as essential in talent development. The conceptions of gifted children were quite diverse, and gifted children’s possible problems were frequently discussed. Moreover, misunderstandings were revealed as well as areas that have not been adequately addressed.     

An exploratory study of early childhood educators' views on culture and play

Abstract

This study explored early childhood teachers’ views relating to culture and play by collecting information from them on cultural differences and parental perceptions of play, culturally appropriate play (CAP) practices and barriers in its implementation. The participants of the study were 14 early childhood educators working in long day care (LDC) or out, of, school, hours care (OOSH) settings located in Sydney, Australia. Children in the selected centers represented various cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Teachers in the present study reported noticeable differences in the play of children of diverse cultural backgrounds. However, they believed that the differences in children's play were attributable to the children's proficiency in English language and gender rather than to their culture. The teachers reported they had limited or no information on the children's cultural patterns of play at home. The lack of information on cultural patterns of play, perhaps, has led to difficulties in understanding the cultural origins of play or in accommodating cultural differences into programming. The results highlight the need for educators to have greater knowledge of the cultural bases of play to enable them to provide, in partnership with parents, culturally appropriate play experiences for children.     

Beyond the image: The giftedness of Jimi Hendrix

This article explores aspects of the life and character of electric guitarist Jimi Hendrix based on the review of literature on gifted achievers and Dabrowski's theory on developmental potential in the gifted. The influential environmental and personality factors in the development of Hendrix's musical gift, including the role played by imagination and autodidactism with reference to Vygotky's theory on play, are a primary focus. Issues raised include the value of different musical education forms as they relate to the varieties of musical expression, and the usefulness of motivational and creative attributes as indicators of gifted potential.     

Zimbabwe's educational miracle and the problems it has created

When ZANU (PF) came to power in 1980, it had promised to establish free and compulsory primary and secondary education for all children in Zimbabwe. The Ministry of Education has achieved remarkable increases in school enrolments, particularly at secondary level. It has also undertaken to allow all pupils to sit the O Level examinations after four years of secondary schooling. But by so doing it has encouraged a belief in the importance of academic qualifications and a crisis of expectation among pupils. There are insufficient places for those who wish to continue to Sixth Form (higher secondary) studies, a lack of alternative vocational training, and an inadequate rate of creation of new jobs for school leavers. There seem but three ways out: to cut defence spending in favour of education, to send students abroad for higher training, or to develop new employment and training schemes, perhaps after an imported model.

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Zusammenfassung Als die Afrikanische Nationalunion von Simbabwe, ZANU (PF), 1980 an die Macht kam, hatte sie zugesichert, eine allgemeine unentgeltliche Schulpflicht für die Primar- und Sekundarstufen in Simabwe einzuführen. Das Erziehungsministerium hat einen erstaunlichen Zuwachs an Einschulungen, besonders auf der Sekundarschulebene erzielt. Darüberhinaus hat das Ministerium Schritte eingeleitet, so daß Schüler die Mittlere Reife (O Level) nach vier Sekundarschuljahren ablegen können. Durch diesen Schritt wurde gleichzeitig die überzeugung von der Bedeutsamkeit akademischer Qualifikationen gestärkt und eine Erwartungskrise unter den Schülern ausgelöst. Plätze für Schüler, die die höhere Sekundarstufe (Sixth Form) weiterbesuchen möchten, reichen nicht aus, es mangelt an alternativen Berufsausbildungsmöglichkeiten und an neugeschaffenen Arbeitsplätzen für Schulabgänger. Nur drei Auswege scheinen möglich zu sein: die Verteidigungskosten zugunsten des Bildungswesens zu kürzen, Schüler zur höheren Ausbildung ins Ausland zu schicken, oder aber neue Berufs- und Ausbildungsprogramme gegebenfalls nach einem importierten Modell zu entwickeln.

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Résumé Lorsque le Front Patriotique (ZANU - PF) parvint au pouvoir en 1980, il avait promis d'établir un enseignement primaire et secondaire gratuit et obligatoire pour tous les enfants du Zimbabwe. Le Ministère de l'Education a réussi à faire progresser de manière remarquable le taux de scolarisation, en particulier dans le second degré. Il a également décidé de permettre à tous les élèves de passer les examens du niveau O après quatre années d'enseignement secondaire. Mais en agissant ainsi, il a encouragé une croyance en l'importance des titres scolaires et une crise d'attente chez les élèves. Les places sont insuffisantes pour ceux désirant poursuivre leurs études jusqu'à la 6e classe (enseignement secondaire supérieur), un système alternatif de formation professionnelle fait défaut et le taux de création de nouveaux emplois pour les jeunes quittant l'école est inadéquat. Trois issues semblent se dessiner: augmenter le budget de l'éducation en réduisant celui de la défense, envoyer les élèves à l'étranger pour y recevoir une formation supérieure, ou bien développer de nouvelles structures d'emploi et de formation, à l'instar d'un modèle étranger notamment.