Envisioning a New Foundation for Gifted Education: Evolving Complexity Theory (ECT) of Talent Development

This article presents a new theory of talent development, evolving complexity theory (ECT), in the context of the changing theoretical directions as well as the landscape of gifted education. I argue that gifted education needs a new foundation that provides a broad psychosocial basis than what the notion of giftedness can afford. A focus on talent development rather than giftedness should be based on a theory of talent development that is truly developmental, treating the developing person as an open, dynamic, and adaptive system, changing oneself adaptively while interacting with environmental opportunities and challenges. To introduce ECT, I first delineate the meaning and significance of four dimensions or “parameters” of talent development undergirding this new theory: domain, person, development, and culture. I then describe how ECT explicates the developmental processes and transitions as the result of human adaptations to environmental opportunities and challenges. More specifically, ECT uses the constructs of characteristic and maximal adaptation to elucidate how domain, person, development, and culture jointly shape a particular line of talent development, and how cognitive, affective, and social processes interact to push and sustain a critical transition from characteristic adaptation to maximal adaptation, eventually leading to high-caliber performance and creative productivity. I finally discuss the theoretical contributions and practical utilities of ECT for future research and practice.

Download Full-text

Developing Leadership Talent in Adolescents and Emerging Adults: A Systematic Review

Gifted Child Quarterly ◽

10.1177/00169862211007556 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 001698622110075

Author(s):

Melanie S. Meyer ◽

Anne N. Rinn

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Emerging Adults ◽

Gifted Education ◽

Talent Development ◽

State Standards ◽

Database Search ◽

Future Research ◽

Review Of Literature ◽

Leadership Programs ◽

Service Models

Leadership talent development has been identified as a priority in national and state standards for gifted education. However, leadership programs in schools are not always supported by mandates or funding in individual states and implementation is not always feasible within the constraints of local gifted service models. Although some research has been devoted to leadership for gifted and high-ability adolescents and emerging adults, a limited number of studies on the identification, measurement, and development of leadership talent have been conducted. This systematic review of literature examined existing research on leadership talent development for adolescents and emerging adults. A database search identified 38 quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies that were screened, summarized, and synthesized for discussion. The review highlighted research contexts, definitions of leadership, and themes that captured the recommendations researchers made across studies. Implications for developing leadership talent and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Download Full-text

An Examination of the Empirical Literature: Gifted Education in the Australian Context

journal for the education of the gifted ◽

10.1177/0162353218816498 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 64-84 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ivan Luburic ◽

Jennifer L. Jolly

Keyword(s):

Empirical Research ◽

North American ◽

Gifted Education ◽

Empirical Literature ◽

Future Research ◽

Future Directions ◽

Research And Practice ◽

Current Trends ◽

Australian Context ◽

Research Themes

Gifted education as a field of research in Australia is relatively young when compared with its North American counterparts. A reflection of how the field of gifted education has developed from 1983 to 2017 in this context allows for observations of previous research and current trends, and how these may influence future directions for the field. Empirical research published in peer-reviewed journals is one metric that can be used to undertake this reflection, including the individuals responsible for the research, the setting where the research is undertaken, and outlets where resulting findings are published, as well as the research themes that dominate research agendas. Longitudinally, these metrics are part of the narrative that construct Australian gifted education. Reflecting on how the field developed provides an understanding of how research and practice have evolved and what future research and innovations are possible.

Download Full-text

Unlocking Creative Productivity: A Talent Development Approach

Journal of Modern Foreign Psychology ◽

10.17759/jmfp.2021100402 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 17-32

Author(s):

R.F. Subotnik ◽

P. Olszewski-Kubilius ◽

F.C. Worrell

Keyword(s):

Social Skills ◽

Gifted Education ◽

High Performance ◽

Development Process ◽

Talent Development ◽

Mental Skills ◽

Seven Principles ◽

The Arts ◽

Creative Productivity ◽

Development Approach

In 2011, the authors published a synthesis of the psychological literature available in English related to giftedness, talent, eminence, high performance, and creativity. This synthesis led to the development of the Talent Development Megamodel, which is an evolving tool to promote policies and practices that support giftedness in domains such as academics, the arts, sport, and the professions. The model focuses on seven principles and has recently added an eighth. The principles include: (1) giftedness is malleable and manifested in domains; (2) opportunities must be offered to develop abilities into competencies, expertise, and sometimes eminence; (3) different domains begin, peak, and end at different times; (4) opportunities to develop talent must be offered inside of school, outside of school, and beyond the school years; (5) opportunities have to be taken by talented individuals; (6) mental skills like screening out distractions can be taught and become increasingly important in the talent development process; (7) social skills like being able to promote oneself tastefully become increasingly important in the talent development process; (8) if talent development and gifted education are to become more equitable, accessing insider knowledge associated with the process of talent development needs to be widely available to all schools and families.

Download Full-text

Talent Development Research, Policy, and Practice in Europe and the United States: Outcomes From a Summit of International Researchers

Gifted Child Quarterly ◽

10.1177/0016986217701839 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 61 (3) ◽

pp. 262-269 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Rena F. Subotnik ◽

Heidrun Stoeger ◽

Paula Olszewski-Kubilius

Keyword(s):

Gifted Education ◽

Research Policy ◽

Talent Development ◽

The United States ◽

Development Research ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

Research And Practice ◽

Effective Policy ◽

Advocacy Strategies ◽

State Of Research

The goal of this article is to convey a summary of research and conversation on talent development on the part of a small group of European and American researchers who participated in the Inaugural American European Research Summit in Washington. In the final hours of the summit, participants discussed the state of research on talent development and giftedness and a way forward that would benefit the field and, most important, children and educators. Collectively we identified four broad themes: (1) expanding our conceptual horizons through increased exposure to international scholars, (2) shifting the paradigm of gifted education toward talent development, (3) promoting key elements of talent development in research and practice, and (4) finding the most effective policy and advocacy strategies to promote talent development.

Download Full-text

Studying Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Global Higher Education: Evidence for Future Research and Practice

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3622751 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Roy Y. Chan

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Future Research ◽

Research And Practice

Download Full-text

An Interview with Professor Wilma Vialle

Australasian Journal of Gifted Education ◽

10.21505/ajge.2020.0005 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 52-62

Keyword(s):

Gifted Education ◽

Effective Teachers ◽

Talent Development ◽

International Study ◽

Chief Editor ◽

Research Association ◽

Social Emotional ◽

South Wales ◽

Australian Association

This is an interview with Dr Wilma Vialle, Ph.D, Professor in Educational Psychology and Gifted Education in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Dr Vialle is the author of several books, articles, and chapters on gifted education and child psychology. Her research interests are centred on giftedness and talent development and she is predominantly interested in issues concerning social justice. Recent research projects include an international study of effective teachers of the gifted, a longitudinal study of adolescent academic and social emotional outcomes, the development of expertise in competitive Scrabble players, popular culture and giftedness, and the development of spiritual understanding in children. Dr Vialle is the chief editor of the journal Talent Development and Excellence and is on the editorial board of several international journals. She is also on the Executive Board of the International Research Association for Talent Development and Excellence (IRATDE). In 2006, Dr Vialle was awarded the Eminent Australian award by the Australian Association for the Education of the Gifted and Talented (AAEGT) for her contributions to gifted education.

Download Full-text

The Decision Process of Contracting in Supply Chain Management

The Oxford Handbook of Supply Chain Management ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190066727.013.16 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jens K. Roehrich ◽

Beverly B. Tyler ◽

Jas Kalra ◽

Brian Squire

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Supply Chain Management ◽

Decision Process ◽

Interorganizational Relationships ◽

Future Research ◽

Theoretical Frameworks ◽

Chain Management ◽

Research And Practice ◽

Future Developments ◽

The Relationship

Contracts are a formal mode of governing interorganizational relationships. They specify the terms and conditions of the agreement between two parties, interpret and adapt the relevant legal and industrial norms, serve as framing devices, and establish the rules and norms underpinning the relationship. The objective of this chapter is to synthesize the extant literature on interorganizational contracting to guide future research and practice. This chapter focuses on the three phases of contracting: (1) designing the contracting portfolio; (2) negotiating initial contracts; and (3) managing the relationship using contracts. The chapter explores the key decisions in each phase and the criteria involved in making these decisions. In doing so, it draws on existing research and theoretical frameworks that have contributed to the development of the contracting literature. The chapter also identifies some important and interesting directions for future contracting research and offers suggestions regarding how selected theoretical lenses might guide these endeavors. The principal conclusion is that while the existing research has primarily focused on the structural issues guiding contracting design, a more processual, social, and behavioral focus is required in future developments of the contracting literature.

Download Full-text

Influences on Academic Talent Development of Black Girls in K-12: A Systematic Review

Journal of Advanced Academics ◽

10.1177/1932202x211013806 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1932202X2110138

Author(s):

Brenda K. Davis

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Racial Identity ◽

Thematic Analysis ◽

Systematic Approach ◽

Talent Development ◽

Academic Development ◽

Black Girls ◽

Personal Attributes ◽

Future Research ◽

K 12

Black girls experience numerous challenges to their academic development. This study examines the literature from the last 30 years related to the influences on the academic talent development of school-aged Black girls. Environmental and intrapersonal influences to Black girls academic talent development are explored. Using a systematic approach, 43 articles are reviewed and summarized. Thematic analysis conducted on the results and findings sections from each article reveal four major themes related to personal attributes, racial identity, relationships, and institutions. The themes expand the understanding of the complexity of talent development of Black girls and identify several intrapersonal and environmental influences that can promote or hinder academic achievement. Implications for future research are discussed.

Download Full-text