Embracing Liberating Worldviews in Gifted Education

Abstract

At a time marked by deepening socio-political divides and systemic inequities, this paper revisits findings from a previously conducted interpretive phenomenological research study and offers new critical reflections on the transformative potential of liberating worldviews, with Indigenous worldviews as a central example, in K-12 gifted education. Conversations with 14 Indigenous K-12 educators, researchers, and advocates revealed how liberating worldviews—rooted in relational, holistic, and community-centered perspectives—challenge dominant Western paradigms of giftedness that often perpetuate exclusion. Expanding on these findings, this paper proposes eight tenets to guide educators and researchers in embracing liberating worldviews that foster equity, creativity, and cultural responsiveness. Within the current political climate, where inclusion is increasingly under threat, these reflections underscore the urgency of reimagining educational systems to align with liberating worldviews that promote justice, sustainability, and collective well-being. The proposed tenets aim to empower practitioners and researchers alike to disrupt oppressive practices, affirm liberating ways of knowing and being, and engage in K-12 education spaces—particularly as White, non-Indigenous educators and researchers—in ways that respectfully and genuinely reimagine and advance education systems to embrace liberating worldviews.

Keywords

• liberating worldviews
• Indigenous worldviews
• culturally responsive gifted education
• critical reflections
• systemic inequities
• educational equity