This research aims to highlight the importance of developing creativity in the school environment by promoting quality education to gifted students, with contributions from Vygotsky and Piaget. For Vygotsky creativity is inherent in the human condition, and it is the most important activity because it is the expression of consciousness, thought…

This paper stems from research in Australia examining pre-service teacher and mentor teacher experiences on the practicum. The paper focuses on findings from the research, highlighting the tendency among the pre-service teachers to either valorise or demonise their mentor teachers, reflective of what we describe, following Kristeva and Britzman,…

In the theory of positive disintegration (TPD), Dabrowski described overexcitabilities (OEs), manifestations of inner energy with a developmental purpose that appear more common in gifted individuals. Unfortunately, most studies present OEs outside of the context of the original theory as if they were standalone traits applicable to gifted…

Young children are keenly motivated to inquire into and make meaning about their worlds. This article discusses "working theories", one of two indicative learning outcomes of the New Zealand early childhood curriculum, "Te Whariki". Working theories occur as children attempt to find connections between their experiences and…

This chapter investigates digital methods of signification in order to examine the impact of the digital medium on poetic expression. Traditional poetry criticism is problematised with reference to its suitability for application to online works in order to develop a comprehensive ePoetry rhetoric that explores not only what is being said, but…

Science education researchers recently turned their attention to exploring views about nature of science (NOS). A large body of research indicates that both students and teachers have many naïve views about the NOS. Unfortunately, less attention has been directed at the issue of exploring the views of the scientists. Also, the little research in…

Imagined interaction (II) theory has been productive for communication and social cognition scholarship. There is, however, a yet untested assumption within II theory that the 8 attributes are related to all 6 functions and that II functions can be compared and contrasted in terms of II attributes. In addition, there is little research exploring…

Few studies have focused on the identity formation of non-native English speaking teachers (NNESTs) as legitimate speakers and teachers of English. Drawing on Norton's (2000) poststructuralist theory of identity as a process of struggling and changing, this study examined whether and how Asian international students studying for a Masters in…

This study investigated whether the types and amount of playful activity and thought exhibited from early childhood to adulthood are related to aspects of moral development, such as empathy, behavior, and reasoning. It explored whether the assertions of theorists such as Piaget, Vygotsky, and Erikson regarding the facilitative effect of games with…

In this article, the author draws on contemporary science to illuminate the relationship between early play experiences, processes of self-development, and the later emergence of the fractal self. She argues that orientation within social space is a primary function of early play and developmentally a two-step process. With other people and with…

During the past 20 years, a significant body of literature has emerged focusing on the application of Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration (TPD) to the study of gifted individuals. Although much of this literature is prescriptive, some research reports spanning this time period are available. A perusal of research on TPD's applicability…

Three studies are reported that address the often-described impoverished creativity in children with either autism or Asperger syndrome. Findings indicated both groups were more likely to generate reality-based than imaginative ideas. Results support both the executive dysfunction and the imagination-deficit hypotheses for the observed deficiency.…

One concern for teachers of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is how to balance academic study with a need for the development of the imagination. This article examines the subject at the heart of the IB Diploma, Theory of Knowledge, and looks at the contrasting philosophies of Spinoza and Hegel and their relationship with this…

Proposes the iii system as a theory to clarify how creative drama works. Explains how participants in an arts experience go through an internal process (iii system) of image, imagery, and imagination. Notes that those who experience the richest, most varied drama activity seem to complete this process. (PD)

An examination of the introspective evidence of artists and scientists on their creative processes suggests that determining the causes underlying the transformation of material in thought is the key for understanding creativity. A similar problem underlies the transformational process of understanding metaphor. T.S. Kuhn's view of scientific…