Two implicit metaphors can be seen as having dominated the study of the gifted--the savings bank and the investment bank. In the savings-bank metaphor, people have differential levels of IQ or general intelligence, which is viewed as determining whether they are gifted. Their cognitive ability is their metaphorical "money in the bank."…

As every Montessorian knows, Dr. Montessori's pedagogy evolved through her work with "phrenasthenic," or disabled and neurodivergent, children in Rome (Trabalzini, 2011). This historical knowledge may lead to the assumption that Montessori education epitomizes inclusive education--that Montessori is indeed education for all children,…

Design as a construct has multiple meanings depending on context, function, and agenda. This paper proposes to set out functions of design as it manifests in the context of technological activity for the purposes of technology education. The importance of context and by association intention in technological and designerly activity is presented…

This article captures a convergence of its authors' life experiences and existent data, made possible by Complex Instruction (CI). There is a pressing need to study and support the foundational practice of "assigning competence," which requires that a teacher first recognise students' strengths and publicly name their academic…

Given the role of education in shaping social ideology, there is value in considering how learning spaces affect students' perceptions of inclusivity and social justice. This paper posits that ability as a central focus in education can intersect with marginalization arising from race, gender, class, and indigeneity, towards potential…

In considering the audition as a barrier to an entry into both music and music education, the question of excellence emerges as an important site of reckoning. "Excellence" in a music school audition encompasses Western classical music, the ability to read notation, and knowledge and execution of Western classical technique. Auditions…

This piece from the "FORUM" archive offers an early account of the Learning Without Limits project at Cambridge University Faculty of Education that is dedicated to developing approaches to teaching and learning that do not rely on determinist beliefs about fixed 'ability' and/or intelligence.

This article offers a reading of Kate Darbishire's novel Speechless Stickhouse Publishing, London, 2018), following Harriet, a girl with cerebral palsy. It examines her irritation, born of her resentful awareness of her disability, as well as how she grapples with her life as an ordinary schoolgirl. The novel presents Harriet as an everyday child,…

Higher education has defined merit largely in terms of speed. It rewards not those who learn the most or the best, but those who report their learning back by the deadline, whether that's the time limit for the test or the end of the semester. Resilient learning takes time. More time spent in study results in longer retention, and elapsed time…

Based on the authors' wide reading in the field, this article suggests the notion of the narrative as a fitting and meaningful way of conceptualising and mapping the field of comparative education. Four prominent narratives can be identified in not only the field of comparative education (and the scholarly discourse on education) but also the…

For educational developers (also called academic or faculty developers) to facilitate change toward effective teaching and learning practices at any level, they must build trust and communicate credible expertise, often while conveying 'second-hand' educational knowledge to academics who then act on that knowledge in their own work. In this…

Meritocracy is a rationality that has significantly shaped the lives of people in modern societies, and today we all more or less believe that those who are smart, capable and hardworking will succeed in life. This seems to be a rule that applies in more or less all areas of public life. In the Western world, evaluating and judging ourselves and…

The disruption of the pandemic underscored inequities in education systems and prompted educators to think beyond traditional measures of student achievement. However, as students returned to the classroom, conventional narratives of learning loss reemerged. Learning loss implies students, not systems, need to be "fixed," which misses…

Background: Normative motor skill assessments occupy a privileged position in physical education scholarship and practice. So much so, in fact, they manifest as commonsense cultural arrangements in most movement contexts, including adapted physical education. The proliferation of such tools has generally been uncontested, until now. Purpose: We…

Howard Gardner's longtime interest in the range of human capacities and talents was facilitated by his leadership role in the Bernard Van Leer Foundation "Project on Human Potential" carried out at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1979-1985. In this reflective essay, Gardner describes his early studies of human potential and…