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Towards an Iranian conception of giftedness

University of British Columbia

Using a grounded theory approach (Lichtman, 2013) to the study of historical texts and an expert interview, this study investigates culturally embedded conceptions of giftedness as evidenced in the Iranian literary canon, The Gulistan, in order to guide the development of education and programming for gifted and talented students in Iran. Historically, The Gulistan has provided guidance to gifted and wise individuals regarding how to live life. Investigating these conceptions in The Gulistan’s stories gives us significant insight into what historically has counted as giftedness in the Iranian culture. Main themes arising from this study include: Saheb Ferasat, Shukhdideh, Dana & Aghel, Kheradmand, and Hakim. These themes are discussed in terms of their qualities, and through a detailed comparison between them. This study is an exploration of an approach to developing an Iranian conception of giftedness that is embedded in the culture. The framework and findings may be of interest to scholars, policy makers, and educators in various roles. This perspective on gifted education could be a compass for policy maker to help to distinguish a culturally appropriate definition of giftedness in Iran that is different from Western conceptions of gifted, and to design programs with an understanding of how to adapt research and programs to an Iranian context.

Text

2013-10-01

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/45171

Education

University of British Columbia

UBCO

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/