Relative age effects (RAEs) are independent of specific cutoff dates that can vary from country to country. However, the consequences of changing the selection cutoff dates within a national sport organization are unknown. Further, the transition from international youth to senior representation is yet to be explored in rugby union. Thus, the aims…

Socio-economic disadvantage can be a significant barrier to accessing high-quality dance training for young, talented dancers. Government policy and strategy relating to widening participation and talent development in the UK are premised on raising aspirations and meritocracy. This article uses Pierre Bourdieu's conceptual framework of field,…

The overrepresentation of independently educated athletes amongst Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics was described as 'One of the worst statistics in British sport'. Whilst the ensuing debate referred to independent schools "en masse," the sector is far from homogenous. Within the UK independent (private) sector, a small subset of…

Most studies on talent competition shows (e.g., Culpeper & Holmes, 2013; Garces-Conejos Blitvich et al., 2013; Tang, 2016) do not delve into the role of judges giving positive comments to contestants. This paper investigates Simon Cowell's compliments given to Golden Buzzer winners on America's Got Talent (henceforth AGT) and Britain's Got…

This article presents the results of a small-scale, comparative study on the perceived impact that having students enter Mathematics competitions has on Mathematics teachers in Puerto Rico, Switzerland and the UK and on their classroom practice. The study surveyed a small number of Mathematics teachers in the three countries who teach in both…

During the past 30 years, there has been a considerable amount of scientific attention dedicated to the reported age discrimination which occurs in youth and elite sport. The purpose of this paper is to examine the notion of relative age effects (RAEs) through a slightly different lens. This paper therefore presents a fictional conversation…

International evidence demonstrates the importance of engaging parents in the education of their "high-potential" children, yet limited research has focused on the involvement of parents from differing economic strata/backgrounds. The current study explored the dilemmas of parenting academically high-ability children from economically…

There is a general recognition of the lack of progression routes for dancers with disabilities. Alongside this, there is a lack of understanding of how best to identify and develop talent among young disabled dancers. The current study sought to address this gap in the literature by investigating criteria that might be appropriately applied when…

This study investigated differences in the characteristics of talented dancers in relation to age. Physical (handgrip muscular strength, leg muscular power, hamstring flexibility and external hip rotation), psychological (passion, self-esteem and anxiety) and social (the motivational climate) characteristics were assessed in 334 students enrolled…

This article reports on outcomes from a study funded by the National College for School Leadership designed to explore the factors that assist in the leadership development of teachers at a number of stages of their career development. More specifically, the study sought to identify issues associated with leadership talent identification,…

This article presents the findings of a set of Action Research projects carried out by practitioners in 14 Local Education Districts in collaboration with a team of university tutors over a period of three years. The aim of the project was to explore ways of nurturing the gifts and talents of children aged 4-7 years. The project was funded by the…

This study examines whether MidYIS and YELLIS cognitive ability tests (CATs) are appropriate methods for the identification of giftedness in Design and Technology. A key rationale for the study was whether CATs and able to identify those students with the aptitudes considered of importance to identifying giftedness in Design and Technology and…

The talent enigma juxtaposes the discourses of "talent" as an inherent individual quality to be sought out and recruited as against talent as inherent in organizations which grow their own. This article explores this issue in the context of an international "crisis" of school leadership, examining how that crisis is constructed…

This article reports on a study that was funded by the National College for School Leadership in order to explore practices, drivers and barriers to leadership talent identification, leadership development, leadership succession planning and leadership retention within a group of contextually different schools. The article offers two narratives…

This paper describes new approaches to assessment in dance and dance education. The first part examines assumptions behind traditional models of evaluation in academic and performing arts contexts. I consider whether it is useful to understand human ability as unitary or if it is meaningful to evaluate people according to a single dimension of…