Cultural Perspectives on Talent Development and Parenting

This manuscript-style dissertation presents four
essays that provide theoretical and empirical
insights on a systematic theme of cultural
perspectives on talent development and parenting.
Topics addressed include Western and Chinese
perspectives on concepts of giftedness, cultural
issues related to nature and nurture, and parenting
influence on talent development.

The first essay reviews Western and Chinese
literature on giftedness and introduces a
preliminary Chinese model of talented performance.
The second essay presents a reflective review of
Confucian philosophy on learning and achieving,
examines its influence in China and other Asian
countries, and discusses its implications for the
education of gifted and talented children. The third
essay explores the influence of parenting beliefs
and practices on children s talent development
through a specific perspective of Chinese American
families with gifted children. The last essay
investigates parenting beliefs and practices of some
Nobel Prize winners. A summary of the four essays
with a focus on the links between the topics among
these essays is presented at the end of the
dissertation.

Autorentext

Dr. Echo Wu is an Assistant Professor in the Hong Kong Institute of Education. She was born in China, and studied in Australia, Hong Kong and the US. Her research interests include gifted education, talent development, parenting of young children, curriculum differentiation, and qualitative research methodology. Email: echowu@ied.edu.hk

Klappentext

This manuscript-style dissertation presents four essays that provide theoretical and empirical insights on a systematic theme of cultural perspectives on talent development and parenting. Topics addressed include Western and Chinese perspectives on concepts of giftedness, cultural issues related to nature and nurture, and parenting influence on talent development.The first essay reviews Western and Chinese literature on giftedness and introduces a preliminary Chinese model of talented performance. The second essay presents a reflective review of Confucian philosophy on learning and achieving, examines its influence in China and other Asian countries, and discusses its implications for the education of gifted and talented children. The third essay explores the influence of parenting beliefs and practices on children's talent development through a specific perspective of Chinese American families with gifted children. The last essay investigates parenting beliefs and practices of some Nobel Prize winners. A summary of the four essays with a focus on the links between the topics among these essays is presented at the end of the dissertation.