Enabling Ability and Growing Talent: The Contribution of Self, Place, and Belonging

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 identify and explore commonalities from projects from two distinct fields of study: giftedness and talent, and outdoor education. This paper explores the three interrelated elements of sense of self, sense of place, and sense of belonging. Vignettes drawn from each of the research projects are used to provide insights into young people's experiencing of each of these elements. We speculate about self, place, and belonging as important constituents for enabling ability and growing talent in a range of educational settings.