International Journal for Talent Development and Creativity

From the Editor's Desk: Cosmopolitan Education

Karen Magro — 2023-09-21

Leadership for Flourishing in Educational Contexts

Sandra Linke — 2023-09-21

John Dobson — 2023-09-20

Extending Knowledge and Learning through the Prism of Cosmopolitan Education: International Perspectives

Karen M. Magro — 2023-09-21

As educators we continue to explore new pathways in curriculum design, creative teaching and learning, and talent development. We are challenged to extend our roles and responsibilities. We can inspire and encourage creative learning that can lead to more enriching life experiences. In one sense, we are all on a journey to find meaning and fulfillment in life like the self-taught painter Edward Hicks (Figure 1). Edward Hicks (1780-1849) was an American self-taught folk painter and minister. He painted at least sixty-two versions of The Peaceable Kingdom. Drawing on biblical verses from Isaiah, Hicks’ paintings are optimistic in portraying a world where people from different faiths and backgrounds interchange and where the animal and natural world are in harmony with the world of children and adults. His idyllic version highlights a world of tranquility and order. Hicks saw his paintings as a personal undertaking of faith and aspiration rather than income or fame. As we reflect on recent global events in 2022, we can draw inspiration from Hick’s positive vision of hope, compassion, redemption, and reconciliation.

Cosmopolitanism or Multiculturalism? Towards an Anti-Colonial Reading

George J. Sefa Dei — 2023-09-21

Using Multiculturalism as an entry point, the paper interrogates conventional ideas and themes of Cosmopolitanism from an anti-racist and anti-colonial read. The discussion is informed by how the anti-racist and anti-colonial lens has shaped an understanding of multiculturalism and its convergences and divergences with Cosmopolitanism. My goal is to advance a rethinking' cosmopolitanism' from an Indigenist anti-colonial democratic lens highlighting a philosophy of educational practice geared towards new educational futurities for particularly [but not exclusively] Black, Indigenous and racialized bodies in the school system. It is argued that cosmopolitanism is about Land and relationships. This offers possibilities of learning from the ‘geographies of schooling’. The pedagogies of the Land, for example, require examining the narratives and encounters taking place in these 'geographies of schooling' to unravel colonial structures of education and ways we validate contending or competing for multiple knowledges for decolonizing and anti-colonizing education. In the context of the cosmopolitan, institutions like schools, as carceral projects, must acknowledge that anti-Black racism is ‘pervasive throughout the system’ and not simply assert rhetorically that 'anti-Black racism has no place in our school'! Critical educators in their practice of teaching training and preparation, must be able to name institutional silences, erasures, negligence, and complicities around race, anti-Black racism, and Indigeneity in order to create inclusive learning communities and schools as ‘working communities’.

Cosmopolitanism and Decolonization: Contradictory Perspectives on School Reform to Advance Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples

Terry Wotherspoon — 2023-09-21

Canadian school jurisdictions have taken steps to accommodate objectives to advance cosmopolitan education reflecting principles such as global citizenship, compassion, tolerance, responsibility, and respect within school curricula and educational practice. At the same time, a parallel set of reconciliation-related educational reforms, aligned with the Calls to Action that accompanied the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission final report, have also gained urgency. Elements of reconciliation processes complement visions of cosmopolitanism, including objectives to foster dialogue and understanding between groups and advancements towards more holistic orientations to pedagogy and knowledge. However, conceptually and in practice, several tensions emerge, especially in a context in which educational priorities are contested. In this paper, we explore these connections and tensions with reference to findings from our research examining public perspectives on educational reforms to support reconciliation.

Teaching Global Citizenship: A Teacher Reflects on a Learning-Teaching Event and Implications for Global Citizenship Education

Lloyd Kornelsen — 2023-09-21

In narrative style, this paper looks at how a particular teaching-learning event, a meeting in 2003 between Canadian high school students and their Costa Rican host families in Pedrogosso, Costa Rica, unveils pedagogies of global citizenship. By interweaving insights obtained from scholars of education, experiences of students, and reflections by teachers, the author shows how learning for world citizenship often happens in unexpected and unscripted circumstances, when teachers are absent—although, not without responsibility.

Diverse Insights Revealing Nuances of the Culture-High Ability Nexus: An Interdisciplinary Search

Don Ambrose — 2023-09-21

Discovering the cultural dimensions of high ability is analogous to a large-scale creative problem-solving initiative. Just as the early phases of the creative-problem-solving process require broad-scope searches through diverse data sources, understanding the culture-giftedness nexus requires broad-scope excursions through interdisciplinary scholarly sources that can enable deeper understanding of culture. Here, we engage in such an excursion and borrow insights from leading thinkers in cultural anthropology, English studies, political science, ethical philosophy, and history, and use these insights to generate new ways of thinking about the cultural aspects of giftedness. The foreign concepts analyzed include anti-anti-relativism, mythological archetypes, the artificial reification of culture, distant proximities that influence personal identity, ethnocentrism and particularist morality, differing views of nature, and the influence of critical communities and motley coalitions in a globalized world.

Educating for a Cosmopolitan Ethos in Education: Adapting Expectations to Reality

Roland S. Persson — 2023-09-21

Cosmopolitanism is an ancient Greek notion which in modern times has found its way into educational practice. It expresses a moral responsibility toward everyone irrespective of cultural background, looks or ability. However, it is an ideology difficult to operationalise and convey in education if the objective is to change learners’ attitudes for the future benefit of mankind. There are several obstacles standing in the way such as concurrent but incompatible value systems, the rise of individual empowerment for global economic growth and most important perhaps, the evolutionary basis of human nature. It is, for example, not possible to encourage competitive behaviour and simultaneously aim at imparting moral values. It is difficult to effectively teach a cosmopolitan mindset, but this is not to say that we should not try. Drawing from the research of multiple disciplines the conclusion of this article is inevitably paradoxical. While the effort to strive for moral cosmopolitanism is a good one, it is also not a one that is entirely possible. We must adjust expectations rather than trying to find miraculous methods by which to enable a better World through general tolerance and acceptance everywhere. Sadly, the latter is not possible. We can at best expect to have a local impact made possible by dialogue.

On Intercultural Interactions

Humam Bishara Ghassib — 2023-09-21

In this article, physical models and ideas are invoked to describe some overall aspects of intercultural interactions. It is emphasized, however, that actual intercultural interactions are much more complex than any physical or mathematical model can encompass. They constitute, in fact, just one more example of what scientists call complex systems. These ideas are applied to the following examples: (1) Stuart Hall’s The West [versus] the Rest and Samuel Huntington’s weltanschauung; (2) interactions through Science and Technology as well as Science Diplomacy, focusing on Silk-Road interactions. The article is concluded with a partial list of necessary conditions condusive to constructive intercultural interactions, although these cannot possibly be sufficient. The wider implications for Cosmopolitan Education are also underlined.

Pathways into Creativity and Place for Adult Learning: A Dialogue Between a Researcher and an Artist

Stephanie Mason — 2023-09-21

The purpose of this article is to share how two friends approach creativity in their professional lives in research and in the arts, and what we have learned through insights into places that impact this work. Our different approaches are reflected in our positionalities: one author is an emerging arts-informed researcher and university instructor, and the other author is a practising fine arts craftsperson and part-time faculty member. Our close friendship and ongoing conversations serve to connect our approaches to working with the arts, even as our attitudes to creativity and learning are demarcated. Relayed in the form of dialogue in response to guiding questions, this article is an expansive discussion of what work in the arts can look like, and how the interplay of creativity and place afford as-yet-untapped pathways of understanding that better suit contemporary conditions of life and study.

Thinking Relationally and Pedagogically about Commemoration: A Critical Inquiry into Charlottetown’s Macdonald Statue

Kay Johnson — 2023-09-21

In this article, I provide a critical reading of the now-removed statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. I bring together my own experience visiting the statue with understandings from Indigenous scholarship and public pedagogy theorizing to think about commemorations as public pedagogies that are foremost relational. I consider how the Macdonald statue works narratively, discursively, and as a site of embodied encounter to create a harmful relationality. Thinking relationally, and pedagogically, about colonial statues suggests possibilities not only for understanding how these commemorative practices produce bad relations but also for envisioning and enacting good relations.

Travelling in a Cosmopolitan Milieu: An Intercultural Exchange of Two Artists as Educators in Conversation at a UK University

Beverly Hayward — 2023-09-21

By travelling in a cosmopolitan milieu in a UK university, pedagogies of possibilities are explored. Over a period of five years the exploration narrates the journeys of, what Clover (2010) calls, “artists as educators,” documenting conversations and creative pedagogic practises. This is despite the closure of the university campus in 2023, due to an overt neoliberal agenda. The findings of two feminist cosmopolitans in conversation, illustrates that when stories require repetition, that is the retelling of a certain narrative as well as stories that are whispered, they are of a particular significance. Represented are resistance, resilience and rebellion. In addition to the tone and context of conversations being important, the findings in the research suggest that by adhering to a feminist cosmopolitan ontology, encouraged is a sensitive, ethical encounter with others. This approach suggests that those marginalised in the academy and the artworld, then are seen and heard. Their voice and artwork are visualised as challenges to the norms of the academy.

Teaching Spectacle: The Cultural Relevance of a Global Phenomenon

Francisco LaRubia-Prado — 2023-09-21

After 30 years of deadly sectarian violence in Northern Ireland known as “the Troubles” (1969-1998), the British nonprofit Artichoke decided to build a church-like, non-denominational structure aimed at healing the pain that Protestants and Catholics had inflicted up on each other. The “Temple” was built at Kelly’s Field, a former scene of violence, located between the Catholic and the Protestant cathedrals in Derry. Architect David Best designed the structure, the construction of which was carried out by local Catholics and Protestants working collaboratively. This work of art, “built to burn; designed to heal” (Artichoke, “Temple”), was visited by over 60,000 members of the two traumatized communities. At the “Temple,” visitors left messages in honor of loved ones lost during the Troubles.

Emergent Properties of an Art Talent Environment: An Empirical Study of Young Artists’ Experiences Within a Talent Development Program

Jakob Nørlem — 2023-09-21

This article presents a study regarding a school for young talented artists. Within this context and based on systems thinking and a holistic ecological approach to talent development, the researchers seek to identify emergent contextual properties that enhance talent development. The research question of the study was “Which emergent properties support and influence talent development in the context of the Danish Talent Academy (DTA)?” The study is based on interviews with six young artists within different fields of art and five instructors. Furthermore, 12 hours of participant observation were conducted. Through a generic thematic analysis, six broad categories describing different emerging properties of the environment at DTA were identified. The paper argues that knowledge about emergent properties can help organizations improve artistic talent development and presents two specific strategies: 1) the organization’s ability to orient itself towards the emergent properties occurring every day; and 2) the organization’s ability to assist young artists in learning to reflect upon how emergent properties, at a certain point in time and in a certain context, may further liberate their artistic potential.

Developing Creative Teaching Skills in Pre-Service Teachers

Rachel Simpson — 2023-09-21

Teaching is an interactive process as teachers respond to diverse interests and needs of learners, alongside the changing demands of education systems. Giving teachers the opportunity to develop competence in creative teaching may enable them to prepare and improvise teaching to maximise learning. A package to foster creative teaching through various learning experiences was constructed and tested on pre-service teachers. The effect of the package on seventy-two pre-service teachers was assessed, largely by quantitative pre and post-tests and qualitative responses. This was supplemented by data from similar teachers who did not have this opportunity. There was strong evidence of worthwhile increases in the pre-service teachers’ understandings and use of creative teaching approaches following their completion of the development package. Interview data suggested that a beneficial impact extended into the teachers’ first year of teaching, and that creative teaching can become a part of teacher identity. The article describes evidence that creative teaching can be fostered and it concludes with a recommendation that teacher training and development should give it explicit attention. Some challenges and potential solutions are described.

What is [or Should be] the Pedagogy of Gifted Education Programs

Joseph S. Renzulli — 2023-09-21

Many people view education systems around the world as places for knowledge acquisition and skill training. This approach led to a highly controlled curriculum and a prescribed and presented pedagogy that was based mainly on the acquisition, memorization. and repetition of information. The continued use of this pedagogy minimizes the kinds of 20th Century thinking skills that promote innovation and creative productivity. Many of today’s progressive educational leaders, employers, and the corporate and business community are expressing their lowest level of confidence in public education in history. And many teachers also experience various levels and types of frustration because excessive control limits their freedom to teach in more creative and engaging ways.

Film’s Transformative Potential with Gifted Adolescent Girls

Julie Delgado — 2023-09-21

Films touch our emotions, ignite our imagination and curiosity, and establish lifelong memories. They transport us to new worlds, help us recognize differing perspectives, and suggest positive change. Films engage students in social and emotional awareness and can open a portal into ways that smart young people can better understand themselves. Some academically talented students face challenges above and beyond typical developmental issues faced by peers due to their exceptionalities (Dole & McMahan 2005; Hébert & Hammond, 2006; Milne & Reis, 2000; Wilson, 2004). Some of these challenges include perfectionism, motivation, emotional sensitivity, empathy, resilience, advanced moral maturity, asynchronous development, twice exceptionality, and underachievement (Hébert & Hammond, 2006; Hébert & Speirs Neumeister, 2002; Milne & Reis, 2000; Reis, 2018).

Referral, Identification, and Retention of Underrepresented Gifted Students

Saana Hemingway — 2023-09-21

Research shows that the percentage of Culturally and Linguistically Different (CLD) students identified for participation in gifted education programs does not correlate with the percentage of minority students in the classroom. Black and Brown students are underserved and underrepresented in gifted programs and Advanced Placement classes, when compared to their White and Asian peers. CLD gifted students are at a greater risk for underachievement, dropping out of school, and incarceration. This article review focuses on referral, identification and retention of CLD students to address the problem of underrepresentation in gifted education. The central argument is that the referral process and identification for gifted students must be culturally and linguistically sensitive and teacher training must be incorporated into professional development to achieve this goal. Once students are identified as gifted, culturally sensitive gifted programs must be utilized to increase retention.

Neurodiversity is Human Diversity, an Equity Imperative for Education

Colleen Dawson — 2023-09-21

This article discusses historical system structures in education that have impeded on inclusion and present pertinent historical challenges, pedagogy and beliefs that are foundational in cultivating inclusive environments today. It explores Neurodiversity, an equity imperative, as critical to shifting the culture of teaching and learning by offering a potential framework for overcoming historical systemic barriers to inclusion. Next, it discusses shared attributes of epidemiology of teacher beliefs, neuroscience and Teacher self-study as potential foundational components, complimenting Neurodiversity paradigms. Lastly, a proposed theoretical framework and suggested future research which could lead to the development of an inclusive pedagogy. Education is the cornerstone to fostering talent and creativity of each individual and it is only when the system is truly inclusive of all human diversity, can individuals flourish developing their talents.

Knowing What Works: Creating Circles of Courage

Steve Van Bockern — 2023-09-21

Early attempts to help children experiencing academic or behavorial problems were based on an eclectic mix of inconsistent and sometimes harsh and punitive strategies. Drawing from Indigenous cultures, the Circle of Courage embodies four key growth needs that are essential to human wellbeing in any culture: Belonging, Mastery, Independence, and Generosity. This paper analyzes some of the diverse interventions that would support these four components.

Making the Case for Cosmopolitan Pathways for Canada’s Diversity

Ghada Sfeir — 2023-09-21

This article seeks to develop the argument that it is time for a national roundtable negotiation among Indigenous peoples, the two English and French settler nations, the BIPOC communities and the various immigrant groups to consider the merits of cosmopolitanism as a moral and cultural framework of our interrelated relationships and intercultural encounters in Canada. In an interdependent globalized world that is becoming “superdiverse,” I argue that it is time to shift from the language of “tolerance” of the “Other” to the language of “engagement” with “fellow human beings” guided by the moral and cultural cosmopolitanism for social and global justice, equality and equity, and inclusion through the fulfillment of human rights. The purpose of this public discussion is to urge the Canadian Council of Ministers of Education as well as the federal government to put this question on their agenda for consideration as a new framework for Canada’s educational, social, economic and political policies. This argumentative paper has the potential to benefit policymakers, curriculum designers, educators, and ministries of education across Canada and beyond to consolidate moral and cultural cosmopolitanism as a national and international approach to harmonious human coexistence.

We are all Human Beings

Helen Lepp Friesen — 2023-09-21

This article describes a teacher’s journey into prison where she delivers university writing classes. The author explores techniques and strategies that foster empowerment in prison classrooms. Based on the author’s experience and secondary research on critical pedagogy and transformative learning, she explores what it means to treat university writing students in prison like human beings and how to inspire emotionally and socially engaged learning.

Asynchronous Posting and Reading both Reflect Communities of Inquiry

Juss Kaur Magon — 2023-09-21

This descriptive case study explored the presence of a community of inquiry among 4492 secondary learners enrolled in four asynchronous online discussion forums over a full year. The forums (Ethics and Philosophy, Reading, Astronomy and Space, and General Debates, among others not studied) were external to the students’ schools across England. The data had been archived by the sponsoring organisation. We coded 3,113 transcribed messages posted or read by students using Garrison’s Community-of-Inquiry model and coding tools--addressing social, cognitive, and teaching presence within the interactions, plus 307 online questionnaire responses from a cross-section of participants about reasons for posting or not and overall participation plus representative quotes were also presented. Of the 4,492 enrollees, 1,523 (34%) posted messages, 1,748 (39%) only read or viewed posts, and 1,222 (27%) never logged in. This posting rate was almost quadruple the rate previously reported for online communities. Participation was also wider. The largest numbers of messages reflected community-of-inquiry social presence, especially following-up others’ messages. Cognitive presence particularly reflected sharpening thinking skills and knowledge. Teaching presence included asking stimulating questions and providing encouragement. Students who only viewed others’ messages logged in frequently, reported stimulation and strong benefits in learning skills, and only occasionally reported shyness or intimidation. Active student participation and engagement include more than posting messages; they also include reading or viewing others’ posts. Community of inquiry was highly evident in the asynchronous, secondary, online setting. An asynchronous platform, with effective teaching presence, can support important qualities of a community of inquiry.

Submission Guidelines

Karen Magro — 2023-09-20

From the Founders

Taisir Subhi Yamin — 2023-09-21

Front Matter

John Dobson — 2023-09-21

Jack Naglieri

Taisir Subhi Yamin — 2023-09-21

Dr. Jack Naglieri has held faculty positions at Northern Arizon Univeristy, The Ohio State University, and George Mason University. He is currently a Senior Research Scientist at the Devereaux Centre for Resilient Children. Dr. Naglieri is also Emeritus Professor of Psychology at George Mason University. Dr. Naglieri has made exceptional contributions in developing many assessment tests that continue to be used by psychologists and educators. He is well known for developing the PASS Theory of Intelligence and its application using the CAS2 for the identification of specific learning disabilities. A number of the tests that Dr. Naglieri developed emphasize the importance of fair and equitable assessment of neurodiverse learners.

Bruce M. Shore

Taisir Subhi Yamin — 2023-09-21

After two years as a secondary-school mathematics teacher, Bruce M. Shore joined the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in January 1971. He played a guiding role in creating three graduate programs: the MEd and PhD in Educational Psychology and the PhD in School/Applied Child Psychology. He was Chair for nine years, President of the McGill Association of University Teachers, and McGill’s Dean of Students for five years. For 21 years he was also in the instructional improvement unit, now called Teaching and Learning Services. He is a licensed teacher and psychologist in Quebec. Following 39 years on faculty, in 2010 he became Professor Emeritus of Educational Psychology and he remains active in publishing, as Co-Advisor to the Golden Key International Honour Society Chapter at McGill, and as a professional psychology accreditation site visitor and site-visit chair for the American and Canadian Psychological Associations.

Kirsi Tirri

Taisir Subhi Yamin — 2023-09-21

Dr. Kirsi Tirri is an internationally renowned leader in gifted education and talent development. Her research initiatives in Finland and worldwide explore important scholarly themes in teacher education, school pedagogy, moral and religious education, talent development, gifted education, and cross-cultural studies. Dr. Tirri is a Full Professor of Educational Sciences at the University of Helsinki. She is also a Visiting Professor at St. John’s University, New York, USA. Dr. Tirri has been the President of ECHA (European Council for High Ability) for the years 2008-2012, the President of the SIG International Studies at AERA (American Educational Research Association) for the years 2010-2013 and the President of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters for the years 2016-2017. She was a Research Director at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies for the years 2017-2019. She has published widely in international educational journals and books on teacher education, moral education and gifted education. She also serves on the Editorial Boards of 13 educational journals.

International Journal for Talent Development and Creativity

From the Editor's Desk: Cosmopolitan Education

Leadership for Flourishing in Educational Contexts

Table of Contents

Extending Knowledge and Learning through the Prism of Cosmopolitan Education: International Perspectives

Cosmopolitanism or Multiculturalism? Towards an Anti-Colonial Reading

Cosmopolitanism and Decolonization: Contradictory Perspectives on School Reform to Advance Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples

Teaching Global Citizenship: A Teacher Reflects on a Learning-Teaching Event and Implications for Global Citizenship Education

Diverse Insights Revealing Nuances of the Culture-High Ability Nexus: An Interdisciplinary Search

Educating for a Cosmopolitan Ethos in Education: Adapting Expectations to Reality

On Intercultural Interactions

Pathways into Creativity and Place for Adult Learning: A Dialogue Between a Researcher and an Artist

Thinking Relationally and Pedagogically about Commemoration: A Critical Inquiry into Charlottetown’s Macdonald Statue

Travelling in a Cosmopolitan Milieu: An Intercultural Exchange of Two Artists as Educators in Conversation at a UK University

Teaching Spectacle: The Cultural Relevance of a Global Phenomenon

Emergent Properties of an Art Talent Environment: An Empirical Study of Young Artists’ Experiences Within a Talent Development Program

Developing Creative Teaching Skills in Pre-Service Teachers

What is [or Should be] the Pedagogy of Gifted Education Programs

Film’s Transformative Potential with Gifted Adolescent Girls

Referral, Identification, and Retention of Underrepresented Gifted Students

Neurodiversity is Human Diversity, an Equity Imperative for Education

Knowing What Works: Creating Circles of Courage

Making the Case for Cosmopolitan Pathways for Canada’s Diversity

We are all Human Beings

Asynchronous Posting and Reading both Reflect Communities of Inquiry

Submission Guidelines

From the Founders

Front Matter

Jack Naglieri

Bruce M. Shore

Kirsi Tirri