This case study investigates the practical and methodological challenges associated with conducting interviews with high-ranking public figures ("elites") in politically fragile environments, with a particular focus on education and gender issues in Turkey. The original research utilised a qualitative methodology, emphasising an…

The purpose of this study was to understand the literacy practices of individuals in Africa and the Americas who had between one and seven years of schooling. The questions investigated included: "In what literacy practices do adults with limited or no schooling engage for personal fulfillment? and (2) What do these practices reveal about the…

This case study presents a study in the field of education with children from a socially vulnerable sector of Santiago, Chile. My specific research interest was the discourses that children express about their learning experience. I consider the learning process to be a socially situated phenomenon rather than an individual and generic one. Some…

Drawing from Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory, Tschannen-Moran, Woolfolk Hoy and Hoy (1998) proposed an integrated model of teacher efficacy to aid the understanding of this complex construct. This framework, despite its richness and usefulness in framing teacher efficacy research within the education landscape, is barely examined in the…

In this commentary, the authors contend that Persson's (2012a) paper, Cultural Variation and Dominance in a Globalised Knowledge-Economy: Towards a Culture-Sensitive Research Paradigm in the Science of Giftedness, lacks conciseness in defining the connections between the significance of cultural dominance and the definition of giftedness. However,…

In 2007, I embarked on a PhD study to explore diverse students' experiences, representations and understandings of personal development and personal development planning at one British university. The timing of this project was critical because universities were charged with a responsibility to provide opportunities for students to engage with…

To view giftedness research in a global context is an important and desirable attempt. Roland S. Persson (2012a), in the target article entitled Cultural Variation and Dominance in a Globalised Knowledge-Economy: Towards a Cultural-Sensitive Research Paradigm in the Science of Giftedness, delivers thought-provoking views in the cultural influences…

In this commentary, the author finds that the target article, "Cultural Variation and Dominance in a Globalised Knowledge-Economy: Towards a Culture-Sensitive Research Paradigm in the Science of Giftedness", has three substantial failures: (1) an unproven, even incorrect assumption about the existence of bias in the "science of giftedness" due to…

Persson's (2012a) article is concerned with giftedness research in the light of cultural bias with a view to cultural dominance that derives from ethnocentricity. He questions the validity of current research that appears to ignore or sidestep cultural difference and proposes that an agenda for amelioration of such bias lies in greater awareness…

Persson's (2012a) article offers a timely contribution to the science of giftedness through questioning the validity of research emerging from within this paradigm. Using evidence from a number of disciplines he demonstrates that what is regarded as gifted behaviour in one culture could be regarded as quite ordinary within another. He therefore…

Roland S. Persson's (2012a) argument is that there is a dominant research culture in the field of gifts and talents, which must of necessity distort research and practice in cultures which are different. He ties this to the dominance of the global economy and points to the need for more cross-cultural studies. In this commentary, the author points…

The author finds Roland S. Persson's (2012a) paper to be timely, fascinating, important and powerful. At risk of mixing metaphors, it provides much food for thought and a penetrating lens through which all those vested in the optimal realisation of human potential would be prudent to review their own perceptions, boundaries of belief and…

The author recognises the fact that knowledge of cultural diversity and its implications is growing in the field of giftedness research and practice. In some ways, the target article could therefore be considered "old news." The author contends that his effort to address culture variation and its problematic impact on research, however, is not to…

This contribution documents the author's lived experiences in his fieldwork for his PhD research in the field of English as a second/foreign language in a familiar social setting in Bangladesh. The account suggests that insider researchers can helpfully draw on their tacit knowledge of local social and cultural norms and values to understand their…

Based on a qualitative study on young Korean immigrant children's interpretation of American popular culture, this paper reflects on the researchers' role by examining the research challenges faced. Prior to discussing the research obstacles in conducting the study, we begin with briefly describing its methodology and design. Next, we discuss the…