Public images of gifted programs in China: A 38-year analysis of Chinese news reports on gifted education

Abstract Gifted programs are an indispensable component of gifted education, and have drawn much academic attention in the recent years. However, the public images of such programs are still under-examined. In this study, we employed semantic network analysis and content analysis to uncover the public images of gifted programs in China and their change over time. Based on 1,486 Chinese news reports between 1978-2015 on gifted education, our analysis revealed four different images of gifted programs and their participants in China: “successful graduates”, “early ripe, early rot”, “superb intelligence”, and “all-around development”. The co-existence of two common stereotypes, “the chosen ones” and “Mad genius”, can be concluded from the emerging process of these four images and the correlations between them. In addition, the rise and fall of different images show how the public opinions of gifted programs change over time, influenced by both institutional interventions and culture shifts. The change over time is indicative of the social-constructive nature of public opinions towards gifted education.