Improving Gifted Talent Development Can Help Solve Multiple Consequential Real-World Problems

Abstract

Fully developing the talents of all students is a fundamental goal for personal well-being and development and ultimately for global societal innovation and flourishing. However, in this paper we focus on what we believe is an often neglected and underdeveloped population, that of the gifted. We draw from the cognitive aptitude and gifted education research literatures to make the case that solutions to consequential real-world problems can be greatly enhanced by more fully developing the talents of the intellectually gifted population, which we operationalize in this paper as roughly the top 5% of cognitive talent. Should well-supported high achievers choose to solve them, these problems span health, science, economic growth, and areas unforeseen. We draw from longitudinal research on intellectually precocious students and retrospective research on leaders and innovators in society, showing that mathematical, verbal, and spatial aptitudes are linked to societal innovation. We then discuss two remaining fundamental challenges: the identification of disadvantaged and marginalized groups of students who have traditionally been neglected in selection for gifted programming suited to their current developmental needs, and the building of skills beyond academic ones, specifically in the related areas of open-minded thinking and intellectual humility.

Mutual benefits for research and practice: Randomized controlled trials in the Hector Children's Academy Program

“…In the present article, we described how rigorous empirical research can contribute to the development of gifted programs, and we outlined an ambitious attempt to achieve the important goal of bringing together research and practice in the field of talent development. 1 The strategy of developing the Hector Core Courses implements an integrated approach to putting interventions into practice, ranging from identifying the needs of a target group to scaling-up using RCTs. A huge advantage of this approach is that educational practice is provided At the same time, research can also greatly benefit from such a close research-practice collaboration.…”

“…Talent development programs are part of the education system in many countries around the world. They are typically based on the assumption that such programs are needed to adequately challenge gifted students to develop their full potential 1 and that by nurturing such gifted students, society will also prosper. Along with internal differentiation within classrooms, grouping, and acceleration (e.g., skipping a grade), so‐called enrichment programs are conceptualized as a central pillar of support for talented students 2 .…”

Mental health of intellectually gifted individuals: Investigating the nonlinearity of the relationship between intelligence and general mental health

“…Understanding the psychosocial problems of the intellectually gifted and the underlying mechanisms behind these problems will allow the development of educational programs, as well as prevention programs for psychological issues and therapies designed specifically to fit 14 the unique experiences of this More integrated theoretical models explaining potential causes of issues that affect mental health among intellectually gifted are needed alongside systematic empirical studies. This is particularly important as highly intelligent individuals have a larger potential to have a positive impact on the functioning of the whole society, and this potential might be wasted due to experiencing certain psychosocial difficulties (Wai & Lovett, 2021).…”

Do Faculty Members Apply the Standards for Developing Gifted Students at Universities? An Exploratory Study

“…Therefore, the response of the faculty members came in a similar framework, whether in the scientific or humanities colleges. We should, therefore, benefit from the etiquette of cognitive competence research and the education of talented people when considering such aspects and trying to deal with them [ 43 ]. The presence of statistically significant differences between faculty members in scientific and humanities faculties in the field of cooperation with talented students tends in favor of scientific faculties; moreover, it justifies the nature of educational activities that are often practical and include greater rapprochement and cooperation than other educational activities that take the individual approach in the faculties of humanities.…”