Ability climates in Europe as socially represented notability

The objective of this research was to study whether ability climate was a useful construct in exploring the possible pattern by which abilities were valued in the countries and cultures of Europe. Based on Moscovici's theory of social representations lists of famous and notable individuals publ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:High ability studies 2011-06, Vol.22 (1), p.79-101
Main Author: Persson, Roland S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ability climate
Big Fish Little Pond
Cognitive Ability
Content Analysis
Cross Cultural Studies
cultural clusters
cultural patterns
Cultural Traits
Electronic Publishing
Encyclopedias
Europe
fame
Foreign Countries
Gifted
gifted education
implementation
implimentation
notability
Psychology
Psykologi
Reliability
SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
social representations
SOCIAL SCIENCES
Socialvetenskap
Wikipedia
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Summary:The objective of this research was to study whether ability climate was a useful construct in exploring the possible pattern by which abilities were valued in the countries and cultures of Europe. Based on Moscovici's theory of social representations lists of famous and notable individuals published by the Wikipedia Encyclopedia were analyzed. In all, lists of 29 European countries representing 20,516 individuals perceived to be notable were subjected to a content analysis and a subsequent frequency analysis. The reliability of data derived from a database such as the Wikipedia will be discussed at length. Results suggested that as based on dominant ability clusters there appeared to exist three types of European ability climates: a uniform ability climate; a divergent ability climate, and a diverse ability climate; each of which was characterized by clusters of abilities that seemed to be particularly valued in a given European country. The possible implications of the result will be discussed.
ISSN:1359-8139
1469-834X
1469-834X
DOI:10.1080/13598139.2011.576086