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Despite the likely relevance of socio-cultural context, very few studies have examined the influence of cultural values on teachers' perceptions of gifted students' leadership development. This study chose three nations representing collectivistic to individualistic contexts and compared how 478 teachers from these countries (South Korea = 176, 36.8%, Australia = 169, 35.4%, U.S. = 133, 27.8%) differed in their beliefs about the prevalence and development of gifted students' leadership talent. Differences were found between the individualistic (Australia and the U.S.) and collectivistic (South Korea) settings in their beliefs regarding which students have leadership potential; their judgments about effective leadership styles and leader qualities; their perceptions of gifted students' qualifications as future leaders; and their preferred criteria for recommending students for a leadership education program. Although unable to identify causal relationships, this study nevertheless cautiously suggests that leadership and leaders are intertwined with culturally mediated values and practices. Future studies should continue examining these differences in cross-cultural comparative contexts.

Duoethnography and narrative inquiry are used to investigate the perspectives of two experienced teachers from contrasting curriculum specialties, one in music and the other in mathematics within a primary school setting. Initiated by the music teacher, research focuses on the usefulness of embodied and participatory forms of music-making for students in the upper primary school (generally 10-12 year age group). Themes emerge from the research that inform subsequent dialogue including the relationship between accessible participatory experience, minimising tedium for students, self-paced learning and student agency, psycho-social well-being, community of practice and life-long learning. Through a dialogic process, emergent ideas provoke dissonance that leads to re-framed thinking about the teaching and learning of music in the upper primary school context.

This study investigates the careers of 28 classical pianists in Australia to develop greater understanding of skills needed to build professional music careers and to highlight implications for higher music education training. Semi-structured interviews were analyzed for emerging themes using Subotnik and Jarvin's scholarly productivity or artistry (SP/A) model, looking for connections between distinct skills developed during education and their role in the building of professional careers. Participants in this study began learning to play the piano at an early age and pursued lessons during primary education, developing their technique, learning numerous works, and participating in competitions. In high school, the pianists learned to play other instruments, studied more complex and demanding piano solo repertoire, and participated in extra-curricular music activities. During performance-focused undergraduate study, all concentrated on improving technique, building solo and collaborative repertoire (including contemporary music), and exploring other music-related areas. Postgraduate study overseas and concertizing broadened their understanding of world-class standards. The participants undertook casual music jobs at the start of their careers, but eventually many achieved permanent full-time employment. Hard work, ability to learn quickly, natural gifts/talent, and passion for music helped these pianists build successful portfolio careers. The findings reveal that today's tertiary music graduates will require diverse music and entrepreneurial skills, and a positive attitude. The implications highlight the need for the development of wide-ranging playing skills beyond solo performance and entrepreneurial competency as important factors for music careers.

The aim of this study was to determine what kind of performance characteristics distinguish between different skill levels at different development stages in field hockey using a multi-dimensional testing battery. A total of 100 players identified as "talented" (51.0% girls) and 105 recreational level players (41.0% girls) divided over three age groups (U13/U15/U18) performed anthropometric, physical capacity, sport-specific technical skill and decision-making tests and completed self-regulation and sport history questionnaires. Gender specific multivariate analysis with playing level and age group as factors and age as a covariate were performed. Results revealed that experienced selectors and coaches select players for representative teams predominantly based on their dribbling skills, passing/hitting skills and speed and endurance. Furthermore, it is clear that selection for such a representative team is strongly influenced by maturational status and accumulated field hockey specific training hours. Interestingly, no differences were found between the self-regulatory skills of state and club level players for either gender. This study highlighted the performance characteristics deemed to be important by selectors and coaches and emphasized the need to consider the strong influence of maturational status and practice history when selecting "talented" players as these factors don't translate to future sporting success.

In order to supply a future Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce, Australia needs to engage its most capable and gifted secondary students in quality STEM learning, either within school or through extra-curricular opportunities, so that they will continue into STEM-based tertiary degrees. High-achieving students in rural communities may face additional barriers to STEM learning that can limit their ability to pursue advanced STEM studies and occupations. This small-scale research project sought to explore a group of gifted lower secondary students' engagement and experiences in a STEM programme designed around a local rural knowledge model as reported by Avery (2013), which uses local knowledge as a vehicle for science learning. This multi-method study was conducted with 26 students years 7 and 8 in a rural school. Information about students' general science class experiences were collected quantitatively. These experiences contrasted the local rural knowledge programme, where the students worked with an ecologist and experienced science educators to rehabilitate small plots of damaged land close to the school site. Qualitative data were collected throughout the programme to determine its influence on students' engagement and learning in STEM. The research found that the local rural knowledge model enhanced students' engagement in STEM learning and they felt that they retained knowledge better as a result of the authentic learning experience. Students also engaged the wider community in the process, leading to broader translation of the STEM learning.

Moral development in gifted education is an issue of imperative importance due to the potential of gifted students to change the world. In consideration of this issue and the lack of research on the topic, this study examined the extent to which moral development was present within the senior secondary English curricula at an academically selective gifted and talented school. Due to multiple criticisms of the Stages of Moral Development theory, which is commonly used in educational research on morality, this study was guided by an alternative framework - Rest's Four Component Model of Morality. The findings of the study indicated that moral development was reflected only to a limited extent within the English curricula offered at the academically selective gifted and talented school.

This study investigated the provisions and other support measures available to gifted students in rural and remote Queensland high schools through a systematic website and document analysis. The aims of the study were to identify those provisions and measures being implemented for identified gifted students in rural and remote Queensland high schools, to identify the provisions and supportive measures that are being implemented most often, and the attitudes in rural and remote Queensland high schools toward provisions and supportive measures for gifted education. One of the recommendations of the study is the need for further in-depth research on provisions and supportive measures for gifted students living in rural and remote areas of Queensland.

Young people are rarely consulted about what and how they are taught in sexuality and relationships education (SRE) at school. The reasons for this are complex and relate to adults' reluctance to acknowledge the need to take account of students' perspectives on personally sensitive matters. In this article, we provide a brief rationale and justification for enabling students to have a greater say in the design and development of teaching approaches in SRE. We outline, in practical ways, how we used participatory research methods to engage young people in researching and developing innovative teaching and learning resources that utilised their musical, design, artistic, technological and literacy talents. In reflecting on some of the benefits associated with using participative research approaches, we discuss higher levels of student engagement and 'playfulness', an enhanced acceptance of, and respect for, difference and diversity, and the greater use of critical thinking during the research process. The challenges we faced were due to difficulties gaining ethics approval for an emergent research design from a human research ethics committee which insisted on pre-specified research protocols, and due to the pervasive effect of the taken-for-granted practices and ways of doing things in secondary schools that preserve existing power relationships and limit innovation and change. Despite these challenges, we remain positive about the potential of participatory research to provide students with a greater say in their sexuality and relationships education.

The study investigates the practices of academic staff talent management at international branch campuses, with the aim of identifying a range of practical strategies that may address the unique challenges of managing talent in campuses located far away from the home country. These strategies are intended to improve service quality and add value to institution profiles. Based on an online questionnaire, ad hoc email correspondence and publicly available information, five case studies are presented. Talent management emerges as a key strategic area, directly managed at dean/president level. Referrals and online portals are commonly utilised as channels to attract talent, and the need to sometimes uplift local packages to recruit and retain talent is recognised. It is concluded that the development of academic staff should be viewed as an investment, and the availability of research funding and teaching awards on campus may be used to attract, develop and retain talent.

Students must be taught to understand the ethical issues associated with engineering and technology, which includes microethics and macroethics. This research examined the influence of cultural environment by comparing ethics-related education outcomes between educators in (1) the United States, (2) non-US Anglo, and (3) Western European countries who teach engineering students. In an increasingly globalised world where companies and projects draw from talent across countries, it is important to understand how different cultures educate future engineers about their ethical responsibilities. Survey results revealed that a majority of educators in all three groups viewed undergraduate and postgraduate education on ethics as insufficient. A higher percentage of non-US Anglo and Western European educators taught sustainability and environmental issues in their courses compared to US respondents. US educators taught codes of ethics, ethics in design, and safety more than those in Western Europe. Open-ended responses illuminated challenges and opportunities to improve ethics education.

Two alternative versions of a model of the cognitive decision-making processes of gifted and talented adolescents associated with occupational or career indecision were tested in this study. A psychometrically rigorous survey instrument was used to collect data from 664 adolescents attending three academically selective high schools in Sydney, Australia. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling procedures. The superior model suggested that idiocentric orientations toward the future and social influences from the family are likely to direct gifted and talented adolescents away from a state of occupational amotivation, which is a likely predictor of occupational indecision. The findings may be used to more clearly understand and to better assist gifted and talented adolescents experiencing difficulty with their occupational decisions.

Globally, education policy reforms are increasingly aimed at attending to excellence in education. This is mainly expressed as attempts at raising educational standards generally, but also of identifying intellectual elites and making special provisions for them. Denmark, which is otherwise considered an exponent of an equality-oriented tradition in education, is now pursuing strategies of developing talent throughout the educational system, which is to cater more to the needs of so-called gifted and talented students. This policy is claimed to have found inspiration from Australia, where some of the states have been pursuing such policies for several years and where we find a more developed tradition for this. The paper is focused on understanding what concept of excellence such education policies imply; we aim to analyse the targeted groups with respect to means of identification and development, and to analyse the wider implications of such policies. The analysis is empirically focused on education policy documents on gifted and talented educational provisions at national/state level. Beginning with the political discourse of talent development in education as it has appeared in Denmark, we analyse this in relation to the policies and curricular provisions for the gifted and talented in England and Australia.

A cohort of female adolescents from 11 to 18 Years of age (n = 325) completed a questionnaire based on Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1999) to examine their perception of their talents as they progressed through secondary school. Results showed that the highest ranking talents were Physical and Sport Activity, and Language and Communication. The perceptions of total talent declined from Year 7 to Year 9 and then remaining relatively stable from Year 10 to Year 12. Analysis of the nine talents by the two year level groups (the younger group of Year 7 to Year 9, and the older group of Years 10 to 12) showed three trends but there was no significant difference for individual talents. Cluster analysis of the nine talent scores revealed two groups of students with one group significantly higher (n = 156) in all talents and a second group significantly lower (n = 169) in comparison. A MANOVA comparing nine talents between year levels (younger/older) and cluster (low/high) showed only one interaction in which the low perceived talent, older students were problematically low on self-awareness. The findings are discussed in reference to students' developing accurate perceptions of their performance and enhancing the salience of past and future learning. (Contains 5 tables and 5 figures.)

This study explores the career paths, employment, business opportunities and community contributions made available through the provision and development of the contemporary performance bands' culture in the State of Victoria. It is framed with the support given to live music performers by Arts Victoria, Small Business Victoria and Music Victoria. Central to this study are two foci, first the identification of the issues and challenges of running a successful music business, which in turn leads to a contemporary performing musician being able to build a sustainable career. And second, companion employment and professional opportunities--not specifically aligned with the music industry--that also provide a variety of career paths, and enable the development of successful businesses, whilst supporting musicians' career development. Excellence in musical skills alone is not sufficient for a musician to achieve and sustain financial security from a career in the music industry. This study highlights the success of the government financial activity that supports the contemporary live performance bands' culture in Victoria. In 2009-2010 the live music industry contributed more than $AUD500 million to the Victorian economy. The Victorian Government has supported a suite of programs such as FReeZA, Contemporary Music and Live Development, "Face the Music" conference, a small business festival and targeted mentoring for musicians playing in bands and their businesses have all played a significant role. These programs have contributed to the development of sustainable practices for performing musicians.

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 "Australasian Journal of Gifted Education," stated an intention to "examine the extent to which this claim is true" through an analysis of "policy and related documents, as well as websites and grey literature, published or made public by key educational bodies and by associations whose concern is the gifted and/or the talented" (p. 29). This article, written in response to Merrotsy's article, addresses a perceived lack of academic rigour in Merrotsy's article, seeks to provide a more balanced insight into both the application of the DMGT and the Australian gifted associations, and calls for all scholars to maintain a respectful tone in their academic critiques. [For "Gagne's Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent in Australian Education," see EJ1169284.]

As the number of globally mobile students has expanded, governments are assumed to be consistently and intentionally competing for talent, in what has been called a "great brain race". While the notion of competition has become dominant, there is little evidence on long-term policy dynamics in this field, not only across jurisdictions but also over time. We seek to address this gap in this paper through a longitudinal analysis of the politics and public policies impacting international students in four major recruiting countries--Australia, Canada, England and the USA. Through this comparative analysis of the period 2000 to 2016, we demonstrate that international student numbers across the jurisdictions have grown steadily but that this appears to be decoupled from political and policy changes. We also discuss how "internationalization" initiatives provide an insufficient policy umbrella for policy action on the recruitment and retention of international students. Public policy impacting international students spans multiple government agencies or ministries, encompassing different policy fields. This requires greater policy coordination, which remains elusive for the most part.

To date questionnaires that measure Multiple Intelligences (MIs) have typically not been systematically developed, have poor psychometric properties, and relatively low reliability. The aim of this research was to define the factor structure, and reliability of nine talents which are the behavioural outcomes of MIs, using items representing Approaches to Learning. Variability in talents based on the sex of respondents was also analysed. Analysis of the data from self-report questionnaires provided by 241 adolescents showed nine clear and reliable factors. The highest rated factors were Physical and Sport Activity, Musical and Rhythmic, followed by Construction and Spatial Design. Weak sex effects showed that males rated themselves higher on Mathematical and Logical, and Construction and Spatial Design factors and females rated themselves higher on the factors of Self-awareness, and Nature and the Environment. The factor structure and high internal consistency of factors of this instrument indicate that linking Approaches to Learning and MIs is a promising approach for further research. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

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 considered to be, and how high intellectual potential might be "measured" (if in fact that is the correct term). This paper will outline the development of the DMGT that has led to its current manifestation, before concluding with a recommendation on the optimal version of the model to be used by practitioners and researchers.

Three key documents are being used for the revision of the NSW Policy for the Education of Gifted and Talented Students and its associated implementation strategies (originally published in 1991). These documents post-date the 1988 report by the Senate Select Committee on the Education of Gifted and Talented Children. The three documents which are the focus of this paper are the Australian Association for the Education of the Gifted and Talented national position paper (1996); the NSW Ministerial paper on the Quality of Teaching (1999); and the 2001 Australian Senate Enquiry report.

The aim of this research is to systematically categorize terms describing the means used by talented individuals to develop and maintain their skills in relation to nine talents. One hundred and fourteen participants provided terms describing the acquisition and maintenance of talent in reference to nine talents, during a structured interview. The terms were ordered into seven categories of approaches to learning. The seven categories comprise: effort, understanding, interest, natural ability, performance, pre-occupation and ease. The results show that effort, natural ability, and performance contributed to the acquisition and maintenance of different talents. Males indicated that the acquisition and maintenance of the nine talents were associated more with understanding and performance while women identified more with natural ability in the development and maintenance of talents. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

Assessment is a crucial component of gifted education. Not only does it facilitate the recognition of the potential and specific needs of gifted students, it also monitors the progress and growth of gifted students, and allows for the evaluation of gifted education programs. In the present review, we synthesize the literature on assessment in gifted education published in the period from 2005 to 2016. We suggest that gifted assessment research has witnessed notable advances, which are apparent in both the extensive range of assessment instruments/methods that now exist and the diverse ways in which assessment data are now used. Future research attention nevertheless appears to be necessary on the optimal approaches to (a) use multiple criteria in gifted identification, (b) address the disproportionate representation of disadvantaged groups in gifted programs, and (c) promote the development of guidelines for gifted program evaluation.

Australia attracts international nursing students from China to maintain its economic advantage and to alleviate the projected nursing shortage; conversely, China needs its best and brightest citizens who have trained abroad in nursing to return to cope with current challenges within its healthcare system and nursing education. This paper explores whether China can lure its foreign-trained nurses home to achieve its goals; whether China or Australia will win the nursing talent war; and do Chinese nursing students want to remain abroad or return home. The insight gained can support the development of successful human capital investment for all parties involved.

Grade-based acceleration is when high-ability children progress through school at a rate faster than typical by being placed with older classmates. This educational practice can help meet the learning needs of high-ability children. In this study, 56 parents of high-ability children who underwent grade-based acceleration in Australian schools shared their experiences through an online questionnaire. We posed the following research question: "What are the experiences of parents whose children accelerate into classes with older classmates?" Our findings revealed that parents perceived successful academic, social, and emotional outcomes of acceleration for their children. However, parents encountered some resistance towards acceleration among teachers, which may have interfered with the availability of accelerative options. For some parents, ill-informed attitudes among other adults placed a strain on parents' social relationships. Parents also described their accelerated children's educational needs, which were not universally met within their respective schools. Practical implications for parents and teachers considering acceleration are discussed.

Despite calls over the past several decades for increased attention to the needs of gifted and advanced learners, little is known about how South Australian schools currently identify and provide for these students. An online questionnaire was sent to all schools in the state and was completed by participants from 71 schools. Findings suggested inconsistency between schools in the combinations of measures used to identify gifted students and in the nature and content of educational provisions. Low rates of teacher professional development in gifted education were reported, despite most schools expecting classroom teachers to differentiate for gifted students and recommend students for advanced learning opportunities. Responses revealed a perceived tension between addressing the needs of gifted learners and catering for more disadvantaged groups. Few schools reported formally evaluating their provisions for gifted students. Recommendations are made for a renewed focus on the purpose and place of gifted education in South Australia (SA).

Working from an agenda of school improvement, Australia's implementation of National Assessment Program: Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) in 2008 and the MySchool website in 2010 appears strongly influenced by the mechanisms that have driven the reform/accountability movement in the United States and the United Kingdom (Lingard, 2010; Polsel, Dulfer and Turnbull, 2012). While high-stakes tests such as NAPLAN are often executed under the pretence of creating greater equity and raising standards in schools, their unintended consequences often have the potential to impact negatively on students of all abilities, socioeconomic strata, and cultural backgrounds. A group of students often overlooked in this discourse are those with gifts and talents and of high ability. The United States' 30-year history with high-stakes testing has had a deleterious impact on these students, particularly under the federal legislation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) enacted in 2002. As Australian researcher Lingard has cautioned against such wholesale "policy borrowing" from countries such as the United States and advised that along with policy borrowing, Australian educational policy makers should also heed "policy learning" (Lingard, 2010). This article introduces the difficult lessons learned regarding high stakes testing and gifted learners in the U.S., emerging research regarding NAPLAN, and the implications for gifted learners in the Australian context such as shifting resources away from existing gifted programs, placing arbitrary ceilings on student performance, and the narrowing of curriculum.

This paper examines the promises made in education policy regarding people's future education, employment and social mobility. Specifically, the paper analyses how the term "potential" functions in education policy texts and discourses to make tacit promises at an affective level. Contemporary education policies often invoke the need to realise personal and national economic potential, and speak of the risk of "wasted potential," when justifying reform agendas directed at both increasing human capital investment and reducing educational inequity. Drawing on the work of Gilles Deleuze, the paper develops a philosophical concept of potential that provides a theoretical framework for the analysis. The aim of the paper is to analyse how the term "potential" functions in policy to: (a) couple economic and equity purposes for education; and (b) imply a relationship between talent, opportunity and aspiration, and particular a distribution of responsibility between governments and citizens for "realising potential." While primarily theoretical, the paper is informed by analyses of interview data and documents in two research projects: (1) a small pilot study of higher education equity policy in England and Australia since the mid-1990s and (2) a study of the expansion of human capital theory and large-scale educational assessments to include non-cognitive skills. The paper diagnoses the potential of "potential" as a key word in policy and raises questions about the risks of becoming invested in the promises of education to "realise potential."

The limited literature on the gifted and talented in university education reveals the importance of investigating relevant issues and directions, given that this human resource should be nurtured for both individual and national development. This review investigates issues relating to definitions, methodologies, and theoretical interpretations, highlighting issues that need to be resolved and considering future research directions. The changing nature of the definition of gifted and talented over time and the limited inclusion of adults in university education in such definitions are highlighted, and it is noted that a uniform definition may not be the most useful option. Whereas comparative studies have been prevalent in the literature, it is argued that there is a need for construct validity regarding gifted and talented in university education, and for the methodologies that investigate the contextual nature of giftedness and talent. It is noted that theories have evolved to explain the various definitional boundaries set for giftedness and talent over the years. This study encourages interdisciplinary approaches that have been used to explain giftedness and talent contextually. Researchers should embrace the changing nature of research into giftedness and talent.

Gifted children who do not achieve often have problems with motivation and socioemotional adjustment and may also have learning disabilities. This article examines factors such as attachment difficulties and maternal depression as these may contribute to underachievement. The article reviews past and current practices of gifted identification and argues that schools have an important role in the early identification of socioemotional problems and learning difficulties, as these can create barriers to learning and achievement. Although Gagne did include underachievers in his Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent, he has also argued that only achieving children should be included in academic talent development programs, and he supports a separate pathway for gifted underachievers. This article demonstrates that such a pathway can be achieved through an inclusive model for gifted achievers and underachievers. A model involves the early triaging of children through identification of giftedness, socioemotional problems, and learning difficulties. (Contains 1 figure.)

This article reports on a case study that inquired into the influence of the New South Wales Primary Schools Sports Association competitive swimming structure on the development of talented 12-year old female swimmers. The study focused on ten 12-year old girls in the New South Wales team that contested the 2009 national swimming championships with results considered within the framework of Cote's Development Model of Sport Participation.

In the global era, transnational flows of highly skilled individuals are increasing. In the much-touted global knowledge economy, the contribution of such diasporic individuals and the knowledge networks that they sustain are recognized as being of increasing importance. Brain circulation is of critical importance to the "giant periphery" of China, which is increasingly seeing its knowledge diaspora as an important resource that is keen to deploy, in the interests of the development of the motherland. But the benefits can be mutual, as highly skilled Chinese help build knowledge bridges between China and their country of residence. At the same time, not all such efforts meet with success. The article examines the phenomenon of Chinese academics at Australian universities, as part of a larger project on the Chinese knowledge diaspora.

This article presents latent growth modeling, a particular application of multilevel modeling, to examine the development of adolescents' math- and English-related talent perceptions and intrinsic values which are emphasized by Expectancy-Value theory as important precursors to a range of achievement-related outcomes. The longitudinal cohort-sequential study included participants in 3 overlapping cohorts, together spanning Grades 7 to 11 (N = 1,323). In this paper, I focus on the application of latent growth curve modeling to the accelerated longitudinal design and the interpretation of the growth parameters and their correlates in evaluating students' developmental trajectories across 2 key academic domains. Talent perceptions and intrinsic values were found to decline through adolescence in both math and English, and gender differences favored boys for math and girls for English consistent with gender stereotypes. (Contains 5 figures, 3 tables, and 3 notes.)

This research investigates the use of cognitive organisers as a self-regulated learning strategy by gifted and talented science students in a Year 9 class at a metropolitan high school in Perth, Western Australia. The case study research design incorporates three primary methods of data collection including participant observation in classrooms, surveys of student learning approaches and two cycles of in-depth student interviews. Findings indicate the students' use of cognitive organisers to complete an academic task is dependent on the nature of the task and prior exposure to cognitive organisers aligned with the task rather than the students' learning approach. The immediate significance of this research is that it provides a model of factors that facilitate or hinder autonomous student use of cognitive organisers. Recommendations for classroom implementation of cognitive organisers are included. (Contains 2 figures and 8 tables.)

As educators it is crucial to cater to and meet all learning needs of students, including the needs of gifted and talented students. It is highly probable that each year in their classrooms teachers will have students that are advanced in mathematics and this will pose a challenge for them as teachers to meet their learning needs. Johnson (2000) states that, due to the sequential nature of mathematical content, pacing becomes a problem. If the situation does not change it is possible that gifted and talented students' interests in mathematics may be snuffed out and their talent may not be developed if they are not challenged. It is incorrect to conclude that they do not require special attention since it is easy for them to learn what they need to know. On the contrary, their needs dictate curriculum that is deeper, broader, and faster than what is delivered to other students. This article seeks to examine studies conducted to find the best approach to cater to advanced mathematics students, and based on the findings, to suggest possible solutions for meeting their learning needs. (Contains 4 tables.)

This article presents an interview with Dr. Miraca Gross, Professor of Gifted Education, and Director of the Gifted Education Research, Resource, and Information Centre (GERRIC), at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Dr. Gross is a leading international authority on the education of gifted and talented children, particularly in the areas of ability grouping, acceleration, socioaffective development, and the highly gifted. She has won several international research awards. In 2003, Dr. Gross was awarded the Sir Harold Wyndham Medal for service to Australian Education. In the interview, Dr. Gross shares her experiences that led her to the field of gifted education.

Discusses development of an Australian distance-education cosmology course that employs an interactive design model and an extensive communication system. The way the model is used to organized, sequence, and deliver the course is explained. Discussion addresses how the model might be used to design other courses. (Author/CR)

Provides vignettes of three Australian gifted elementary students who attended a grade 2/3 class of gifted and talented students and discusses the class's curriculum and activities. The role of the teacher in challenging, motivating, and encouraging the development of each child's individual interests is highlighted. (CR)

Australian Aboriginal adults (n=74) and children (n=103) were interviewed regarding their perspectives on giftedness. Aboriginal culture was found to view giftedness as a consequence of individual ability, commitment, and environmental factors. Research is reported on the specific talents valued by the Aboriginal culture. Suggestions are given for more culturally relevant ability identification constructs. (Author/PB)

This article describes the establishment of a mentor program in New South Wales (Australia) as one initiative in the education of gifted and talented children. The program focuses on linking motivated students with mentors through development of a mentor database, interviews with student applicants, on-going monitoring, and program evaluation and expansion. (DB)

An Australian survey found that early childhood teachers were very supportive of early identification of gifted and talented children, though many had only a fuzzy definition of giftedness and suggested teacher observation as the best identification technique. Teachers who had been involved in gifted education recommended more specific identification techniques. (DB)

This paper examines possibilities in allowing accelerated progression of talented students in the New South Wales (Australia) education system. The concept of acceleration is supported by a review of the research evidence showing that accelerated students have usually been more successful than nonaccelerated peers. (DB)

An overview of Australian policy on the education of gifted and talented children is followed by analysis of specific state and territorial policies on definitions and programing. The need for community liaison meetings and adequate perservice and inservice teacher education is emphasized. (CL)

There is considerable interest in the education of gifted and talented youth in countries around the world. Gifted programs in Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, and Israel are described, as examples of the approaches used globally. Identification procedures, teacher education, and general educational principles for gifted education are also discussed. (RM)