Orbiting Two Worlds: Shifting Conceptions of Giftedness Amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article investigates conceptions of giftedness amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. It adopts a qualitative case-study methodology involving 14 participants associated with a scholarship program aimed at developing the academic potential of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth from remote and disadvantaged communities. Using semistructured interviews and a grounded-theory analytical approach, a number of themes were identified. These included an egalitarian basis to the construct, an avoidance of the gifted label, an understanding of giftedness as having learned and innate dimensions as well as a relative view of giftedness. Associations with achievement motivation also were highlighted amongst participants suggesting that views of giftedness have been shifting away from traditional associations. Results further revealed a perception of giftedness linked more to leadership and progress than to previously identified associations with elitism, individualism, and broader Australian societal ideals.