World-view entrapment: Moral-ethical implications for gifted education

Root-metaphorical world views strongly shape our thoughts and actions at th e implicit level. The mechanistic world view provided the conceptual founda tions for unprecedented technological progress throughout the modem era; ho wever, its basic tenets have serious moral-ethical implications. Sociopolit ical trends and issues reinforced by this world view include technological determinism, social Darwinism, and androcentrism. Educational practices rei nforced by mechanism include positivistic approaches to curriculum, instruc tion, and research. The moral-ethical implications of these trends and prac tices are explored, along with recommendations for developing awareness of loot-metaphorical influences on the field of gifted education.