- Title
- Gifted education in Western and Islamic scholarship: a synthesis for Saudi education
- Creator
- Alawfi, Adel Mahel
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2016
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- Saudi Arabia is a relatively young country, founded less than a century ago; therefore, the distinctiveness of its education system is still evolving. A challenge facing Saudi education is to be found in its current reliance on mutually exclusive educational paradigms. On the one hand, there is a strong focus on the provision of Western style formal science education and, on the other hand, the traditionalist focus on Islamic studies concerned with religious and spiritual education. Initially founded on a British paradigm, yet continuing to be locked into its conservative Islamic roots, Saudi education has experienced a conflict between a Western reliance on reason, rationality, and formal science, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, universal Islamic values such as religiosity, strong moral character, and spirituality. Neither of these paradigms is particularly disposed to prioritizing gifted education. Saudi Arabia, therefore, has an urgent need to resolve the tension created by these mutually exclusive paradigms, and especially to address more satisfactorily the need to prioritize gifted education, as the education of the most gifted is clearly a major strategy for advancing any nation. In an attempt to address this issue, this thesis will provide an analysis of the body of thought and research in both the Islamic and Western scholarly traditions, as they relate to the concept of giftedness, and how these might be applied practically to developing a stronger form of gifted education for Saudi students in the current era. The conjunction of these scholarships is considered necessary, granted that these are the two traditions that have influenced Saudi culture most obviously in recent times. The thesis will focus on the similarities and differences between the two scholarships concerning relevant and essential concepts such as wisdom, knowledge, intellect and intelligence, and the diverse forms of intelligence recognized nowadays, such as emotional, spiritual, and moral intelligences. By employing the Habermasian methodology of “three ways of knowing”, the researcher aims to uncover parallels and similarities in the seemingly conflicting Western and Islamic scholarships in order to develop an integrated approach to giftedness and education that can be derived from the reconciliation of these two traditions. Furthermore, the thesis will propose workable solutions for the Saudi Arabian educational system as to the efficient implementation of those ideas. The implications of this unified approach, the challenges for its practical implementation, and the consequences for teachers, students, and the overall educational structure of Saudi Arabia, are provided in the final sections of the study.
- Subject
- giftedness; gifted education; knowledge; intelligence; wisdom; emotional intelligence; spiritual intelligence; moral intelligence
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1312768
- Identifier
- uon:22460
- Rights
- Copyright 2016 Adel Mahel Alawfi
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Abstract | 206 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Thesis | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |