Gifted education in Zimbabwe

Despite making tremendous progress in education since independence to become a leader in literacy in Africa, Zimbabwe lags behind other nations in providing special programming for its gifted children and youths. Not only do gifted and talented students exist in Zimbabwean schools and colleges, gift...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Constantine Ngara
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2017-01-01
Series:Cogent Education
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2017.1332840
Description
Summary:Despite making tremendous progress in education since independence to become a leader in literacy in Africa, Zimbabwe lags behind other nations in providing special programming for its gifted children and youths. Not only do gifted and talented students exist in Zimbabwean schools and colleges, giftedness has also been confirmed in research on indigenous cultures. This paper discusses a number of issues characterizing the discourse of gifted education in Zimbabwe. In this discourse, the paper examines indigenous conceptions of giftedness, types of giftedness valued, local beliefs about giftedness, challenges involved in educating gifted students and critical findings in local research on gifted education in Zimbabwe. The paper is informed by a number of studies conducted by this writer and other researchers on gifted education in Zimbabwe. Future directions for gifted education research in Zimbabwe are highlighted.
ISSN:2331-186X