Tanzanian Teachers and Students’ Conceptualizations of Giftedness and Talent

This article explores how the teachers and students in Tanzania’s special secondary schools conceptualize giftedness and talent. It draws on focus group discussions and interview data from a sample of 30 teachers and 73 students and analyzed through a reflexive thematic analysis procedure. The findings revealed commonalities in conceptualizing giftedness and talent between the teachers and students while suggesting the need for more information on the constructs among the participants. It implies that the development of students’ academic talents in the schools is at stake despite the efforts put in place. The study recommends training teachers on giftedness and talent to improve their understanding and promote a growth mindset among teachers and students to develop the students’ academic potential adequately. Further, the findings suggest the potential to embrace the students’ prior knowledge to develop their academic talents and as an essential resource for improving their provisions in Tanzania.