Enabling ability and growing talent is central to our professional work with young people. This paper is a 'think piece' that draws on findings from two research projects from the Aotearoa New Zealand context to highlight elements that appear to be central to enabling ability and growing talent in young people. A dialogic process was used to…

This paper details the psychosocial changes in a group of gifted and talented middle-years students who engaged in solving a community-based problem--the lack of a teenage-safe space in their regional Queensland town ("N"). Supported by a Knowledge Producing Schools pedagogy, the young people worked with their local council, teachers, a…

Gagné's (1985, 2003, 2008, 2015, 2018) Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (DMGT) is one of the most widely used conceptual models in the field (Robinson, 2017), and as Merrotsy pointed out (2017), is claimed to be the most commonly applied conceptualisation in Australia. Merrotsy's recent article, published in the December 2017 issue of…

The purpose of this study was to examine mathematically able female adolescents' perceptions of their accelerated mathematics programs. To this end, eight female adolescents were asked to reflect retrospectively in response to a self-administered questionnaire on their perceptions and experiences of a secondary accelerated mathematics program and…

There is a need to identify young gifted children so that their cognitive and socio-emotional needs may be better met by teachers and schools. This study reports on Australian teachers' perceptions of the benefits and limitations associated with the use of a multiple assessment instrument process for identifying intellectually gifted 6- and…

Academic acceleration is used as an educational intervention within a majority of girls' schools in New Zealand that provide secondary education. This article reports on the findings of a national survey of single-sex girls' schools (N=40) that allows for a general overview of acceleration practices and provisions for this group. The findings of…

Despite significant evidence indicating its effectiveness in meeting the needs of academically gifted students, academic acceleration is not a popular provision in New Zealand schools. The literature suggests that parents and educators fear that removing students from their same-aged peers will damage their social-emotional development, although…

In the absence of any one single internationally accepted definition of giftedness, New Zealand has officially opted to advise schools to develop their own definitions. How wise is this for a policy? Can we come closer to a definition that is sound in terms of research and that also reflects what is uniquely and essentially New Zealand? This paper…

There is much contention surrounding the term 'gifted' within Aotearoa New Zealand and international literature. Five teachers who were identified as exemplary teachers of gifted infants and toddlers by surveyed gifted and early childhood communities participated in this study. Whilst the majority of the community members used the term 'gifted'…

Dynamic assessment methods, initially developed by Feuerstein in the 1970s, have been recommended as being more equitable for identifying the academic abilities of students who may not perform well on traditional assessments due to these learners' cultural, linguistic, or economic differences from the population for whom the traditional measures…

The case of a gifted and talented Catholic Dominican nun is described and analysed in the context of Renzulli's Three-Ring Conception of Giftedness and Gagne's Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent. Using qualitative methods, semi-structured interviews of relevant individuals were conducted and analysed. Based on the conclusions of this…

Karen B. Rogers has dedicated her career to serving gifted students. In this interview she outlines her major research studies, and explores some of her experiences in the field, with special emphasis on her time in Australia. She discusses her use of the meta-synthesis and meta-analysis methodologies, and outlines key areas of gifted education…

Gagne's (1985, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2013) Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (DMGT) has evolved in response to findings from the research in cognitive and developmental psychology and neuroscience. As the DMGT is commonly used in Australia, it is important that the model reflects our understanding of intelligence, what high potential is…

It is commonly stated that in Australia Gagne's Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent is generally referred to, applied, used, or adopted in most contexts related to the education and support of gifted and talented children and youth. To examine the extent to which this claim is true, an analysis was conducted of policy and related…

A three-session professional development (PD) program on planning for young gifted children was provided to sixty-six early childhood/early years educators, aiming to increase educators' professional knowledge and skills in this area. The program was grounded in a socio-cultural perspective that sees young gifted children as class members as well…