Cognitive, behavioral, and social-environmental characteristics are essential foundations for career and talent development among gifted and talented students. This research examines how cognitive flexibility mediates the relationship between perfectionism, career and talent development self-efficacy, and whether socioeconomic status (SES) moderates this mediation among gifted and talented students. The study analyzed data from 382 gifted students enrolled in Turkish Science and Art Centers. Using SPSS and the PROCESS macro, mediation and moderated mediation analyses showed that cognitive flexibility significantly mediates the relationship between perfectionism and career and talent development self-efficacy. Furthermore, SES emerged as a moderator: higher SES amplified the influence of perfectionism while attenuating the effect of cognitive flexibility on career and talent development self-efficacy. These findings suggest that implementing differentiated career development programs, counseling services, interventions, and providing SES-sensitive, personalized career guidance may substantially enhance career and talent development self-efficacy among gifted students.

Creative giftedness gained a foothold in American K-12 schools with the inception of the Marland report. To understand the growth and direction of creative giftedness over a 50-year timeframe from an international basis, we selected 16 academic journals in the field of gifted education from the United States, Europe, Türkiye, Korea, and Oceania and conducted keyword search strings for creative and Marland . Our retrospective study found precursors on creative giftedness rooted in early psychological research (1900–1950); a transitional conceptualization through a global awakening from Guilford’s presidential speech (1950–2000); and new world interconnectedness with a democratization of creativity that contemplates cyber-creativity (2000–2025). Content analysis of 2,564 keyword article titles showed eight main topics, and we analyzed the distribution of work on these themes, over the three time periods. Trends are observed in terms of journal topics and trends over time across the set of journals.

The purpose of this study was to develop self-observation assessment metrics and rubrics for teachers in gifted education, with a particular emphasis on nurturing creativity. The objective of the developed metrics and rubrics is to facilitate systematic self-evaluation, promote reflective practice, and support continuous instructional improvement. A total of 65 metrics with preliminary expert validation, organized into three instructional stages (Preparation, Implementation, and Evaluation), were generated through a multi-phase process that included a comprehensive literature review, expert review, and iterative tool refinement. Based on these metrics, three tools were developed: a self-assessment checklist, an observer checklist, and a rubric. These tools are designed to support gifted education teachers in understanding student diversity, implementing differentiated instructional strategies, and enhancing creative instructional practices. This framework offers a structured model informed by theory and expert input, with the potential to contribute to instructional development for teachers and the creative growth of gifted learners. While the tools showed promising usability in a small-scale pilot study, further research is needed to conduct full psychometric validation and to examine their long-term impact on teacher effectiveness, student creativity, and applicability across diverse educational settings.

Much of the gifted movement is emphasizing, in its identification and teaching of the gifted, knowledge and skills that AI already can demonstrate at levels as high as or exceeding the levels demonstrated by humans. This persistence by much of the gifted movement in a century-old model of giftedness is doomed because the skills that it is emphasizing are being taken over by AI. Gifted education needs rather to emphasize skills that AI cannot match. These include transformational creativity, moral intelligence, and wisdom. At the same time, the development of vacuous transactional, dark, and toxic giftedness should be discouraged. The articles reviews what the future must hold if gifted education is to remain credible in the age of AI.

Traditionally, giftedness was perceived as a fixed trait, exclusively evaluated through cognitive testing. However, contemporary perspectives view it as a dynamic and socially constructed attribute reflected in many domains. As this paradigm-shift aligns with global movements emphasizing the importance of avoiding labelling students and enhancing the full potential of all students, rather than just a selected few, it puts a spotlight on the social-emotional and character development (SECD) competencies needed to reach one’s potential. What we propose is an educational challenge: to establish increasingly inclusive educational contexts that bring out the potential of all students and extend educational techniques to encompass social-emotional and relational capacities essential for inclusive contexts. This paper introduces teaching techniques that foster these competencies through an SECD framework. This approach not only aims to nurture the potential of gifted individuals but also to cultivate their roles as proactive, engaged community members, emphasizing a comprehensive educational paradigm that integrates SECD into everyday inclusive learning environments.

This article discusses concepts related to character strengths and positive youth development and how these ideas can be applied to improve outcomes among gifted young people. A theory with roots in public health, The Theory of Triadic Influence (TTI), is discussed with examples applied to gifted populations. Practitioners and researchers from several fields have used the TTI to better understand behavior and to inform program development/evaluation efforts that have improved young people’s outcomes including those related to substance use, dietary behaviors, and physical activity. The TTI may be helpful for researchers and practitioners intending to understand and change both cognitive and affective/emotional influences that play a role in shaping the behaviors of gifted young people. In addition, we review intervention/evaluation studies that seek to improve outcomes among young people (in general) and gifted young people (in particular) and share ideas for future efforts to improve outcomes among gifted populations.

This study explored factors impacting the decision for gifted females to pursue a career in computer science. The study used a phenomenological approach to delve into the experiences of ten gifted alumnae of The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science (Gatton), a residential STEM program, aiming to reveal nuanced insights into factors shaping their career development. Participants were selected based on their initial intentions to pursue careers other than CS before attending Gatton but changing to a CS focus afterward. Semi-structured interviews conducted via Zoom and coded using thematic analysis provided rich data on lived experiences and perspectives of participants. Findings shed light on the multifaceted factors influencing gifted women’s career intentions before attending Gatton, the transformative effects of the residential STEM program on their decisions to pursue CS careers, and the evolution of their perceptions of CS over time.

Gifted education should focus on gifting rather than on being gifted. That is, it should focus on what one offers from one’s gifts, not just on what gifts a person has, one way or another, accumulated. Gifted individuals should consider choosing careers that are a good fit to them, that enable them to give back, and that give them a sense of meaning in their life. They should be ready to move on if their career choice proves to be mistaken, or no longer to be a fit. They should avoid temptations brought on by outside pressures to choose careers that may be much less than fulfilling. In the end, what matters most is one’s passion and motivation for a career rather than grades, test scores, or external pressures.

Talent developmental experiences of economically disadvantaged students of Specialized STEM Talent Residential High Schools (SSTRHS) were investigated. Nine students who were preferentially admitted to SSTRHS due to their families’ economic disadvantage were interviewed twice on their experiences from early childhood to college. The data were verified by checking with survey data, national gifted education data and interviews with master teachers. A thematic analysis revealed that STEM talent was recognized early by parents and acknowledged through competitions. However, there were limited resources and opportunities for them to study advanced mathematics systematically and intensely until they entered SSTRHS. At the SSTRHS, they struggled with an extremely accelerated math curriculum. However, with support from advanced peers and teachers, they could cope with their weaknesses caused by limited dosage of STEM learning. Experience conducting research with peers and mentors were the most critical catalysts for their planning for future careers as research scientists.

The current study conducted an online survey to understand the challenges and needs teachers face for identifying and nurturing students with twice exception. Among 896 respondent schools, 179 schools were reported to have 277 identified 2E students. The results indicated that schools with both gifted and disability classes/programs or services identified more 2E students than did schools without a special education program. Although increasing the awareness and knowledge of general education teachers is beneficial for the identification of 2E students, most of the respondents reported that they need gifted education teachers to get involved in developing students’ talents. Obvious opportunity gaps existed between schools with only disability education and with gifted and disability education. An effective support system with manpower and financial assistance from governments is also essential for closing opportunity gaps and meeting the needs of both learners and teachers.