The health of children in affluent economies has become closely tied to the ideal of a normative body weight achieved by monitoring and balancing diet and physical activity. As a result, the education of young people on how to avoid becoming fat begins at an early age through the language and practices of families, the messages embedded in…

The notion of "competitive excellence" is an enduring cornerstone of UK educational policy. Most recently, expanding and adapting New Labour's Academy project with the introduction of free schools, the Coalition's approach advances and embeds competitive market-based forms of community engagement in education. Responding to…

This article discusses findings from an Economic and Social Research Council-funded study exploring non-disabled children's ideas about disability. This represents the first in-depth sociological investigation of children's ideas about disabled people as members of wider society. Data are presented from focus group discussions with…

Sociological work on high ability is framed by social constructionist theorising and/or takes a social justice approach, and hence particular analytical intellectual traditions are foregrounded. Whilst these approaches have contributed the main critique of essentialist psychological understandings of high ability, they can eclipse normative…

Gifted education is leading an interdisciplinary paradigm shift moving education out of its historic role of entrenching systemic inequities. It is a crucible for pioneering investigations of optimal human development and provides a vehicle for increasing social equity. We review changing conceptions of intelligence, motivation and creativity, and…

This paper proposes the development of an enhanced sense of social responsibility in the use of talents and the creation of programmes and services that focus on the promotion of these traits among a wider student population. Selection of students for these offerings should not mirror the rigid identification of academically or intellectually…

This paper offers a conceptual analysis of ability discourse using the theoretical lens of critical whiteness studies and the methodological framework of critical discourse analysis. From its origins in the Progressive Era to contemporary debates on tracking, the concept of giftedness has been formed through racial projects throughout US history.…

The label "gifted" has been a source of contention for decades, possibly because it seems to imply a desirable status that is mysteriously granted to some yet remains unavailable to others. Some writers have suggested that the term should be abandoned altogether, though a replacement that retains the same utility for classification…

Over the second half of the twentieth century, changes occurred in parent reports of their engagement in cognitive activities with their young children in the United States. This article argues that the growing trend of "parenting for cognitive development" in young children in the latter half of the twentieth century is associated with the…

Promoting marriage, especially among low-income single mothers with children, is increasingly viewed as a promising public policy strategy for improving developmental outcomes for disadvantaged children. Previous research suggests, however, that children's academic achievement either does not improve or declines when single mothers marry. In this…

Teenagers working more than 20 hours per week perform worse in school than youth who work less. There are two competing explanations for this association: (1) that paid work takes time and effort away from activities that promote achievement, such as completing homework, preparing for examinations, getting help from parents and teachers, and…

Despite increases in the representation of African American and Hispanic youth in advanced math courses in high school over the past two decades, recent national reports indicate that substantial inequality in achievement remains. These inequalities can temper one's optimism about the degree to which the United States has made real progress toward…

Drawing on a year and a half of ethnographic research in three New York City small high schools, this study examines the role of the school in managing school choice and asks what social processes are associated with principals' disparate approaches. Although district policy did not allow principals to select students based on their performance,…

Research in the industrialized world shows that the influence of family background on educational attainment has remained stable or declined over time. In contrast, very little is known about the developing world. Using high-quality data sets and a standard protocol, this article offers a comparative analysis of trends in educational…

In reaction to the disasters of the first half the 20th century and World War II, a dramatic world movement arose emphasizing the human rights of persons in global society. The contrast--celebrated in international treaties, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, and much cultural discourse--was with narrower world emphases on the…