This article draws on evidence from interviews with directors of a diverse group of international gifted education organisations. The business models with which they operate and their obligation to satisfy various stakeholder expectations are found to compromise philosophical tenets and organisational aims, particularly those concerned with cultural diversity and multivariate identification criteria. Considering these economic limitations in a sociological context highlights how intrinsic they are to the neoliberal educational marketplace. Interdisciplinary research can best equip gifted education practitioners to navigate the complexities and contradictions in practice that result.
AmbroseD (2009) Large-scale socioeconomic, political, and cultural influences on giftedness and talent. In: ShavininaL (ed.) International Handbook on Giftedness. Dordrecht: New York, pp. 885–904.
2.
ArroyoCGZiglerEW (1995) Racial identity, academic achievement, and the psychological well-being of economically disadvantaged adolescents. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology69(5): 903–914.
3.
BallSJ (2006) Education Policy and Social Class: The Selected Works of Stephen Ball. London; New York: Routledge.
4.
BorlandJH (2005) Gifted education without gifted children: the case for no conception of giftedness. In: SternbergRJDavidsonJE (eds.) Conceptions of Giftedness (2nd ed). New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–19.
5.
BourdieuPPasseronJF (1990/1977) Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture (trans. NiceR) (2nd ed). London: Sage.
6.
BroadfootP (2000) Comparative education for the 21st century: retrospect and prospect. Comparative Education36(3): 357–371.
7.
BrownPTannockS (2009) Education, meritocracy and the global war for talent. Journal of Education Policy24(4): 377–392.
8.
ClarkB (ed.) (2000) Worldwide Survey 2000: Cross-cultural identification of gifted students. Reported in World Gifted. The Newsletter of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children (WCGTC).
9.
DweckCS (1999) Self-theories: Their Role in Motivation, Personality, and Development. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.
10.
ErikssonG (2006) Introduction: applying multicultural and global education principles to the education of diverse gifted and talented children. In: WallaceBErikssonG (eds.) Diversity in Gifted Education: International Perspectives on Global Issues. London: Routledge, pp. 1–8.
11.
EyreD (2009) The English model of gifted education. In: ShavininaL (ed.) International Handbook on Giftedness. Dordrecht: New York, pp. 1045–1060.
12.
FreemanJ (1998) Educating the Very Able: Current International Research. London: The Stationery Office.
13.
HymerBWhiteheadJHuxtableM (2009) Gifts, Talents and Education: A Living Theory Approach. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
14.
KaufmanSBSternbergRJ (2007) Giftedness in the Euro-American culture. In: PhillipsonSNMcCannM (eds.) Conceptions of Giftedness: Sociocultural Perspectives. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 377–412.
15.
Mazzoli SmithLCampbellRJ (2012) The recognition of cultural bias in researching those labelled gifted: an overdue perspective. Gifted and Talented International27(1): 55–62.
16.
OgagakiLSternbergRJ (1993) Parental beliefs and children’s school performance. Child Development64(1): 36–56.
17.
PerssonRS (2009) The unwanted gifted and talented: a sociobiological perspective of the societal functions of giftedness. In: ShavininaL (ed.) International Handbook on Giftedness. Dordrecht: New York, pp. 913–924.
18.
PerssonRS (2012) Cultural variation and dominance in a globalized knowledge-economy: towards a cultural-sensitive research paradigm in the science of giftedness. Gifted and Talented International27(1): 15–48.
19.
PorterL (1999) Gifted Young Children: A Guide for Teachers and Parents. Buckingham: Open University Press.
20.
ReidNA (2006) The detection and nurture of the culturally different gifted and talented in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In: WallaceBErikssonG (eds) Diversity in Gifted Education: International Perspectives on Global Issues. London: Routledge.
21.
RoseSLewontinRCKaminLJ (1984) Not in our Genes: Biology, Ideology and Human Nature. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
22.
SchefflerI (1986) Human nature and potential. In: CooperDE (ed.) Education, Values and Mind: Essays for R. S. Peters. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, pp. 201–214.
23.
StrandS (2006) Identifying gifted students: an evaluation of the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth (NAGTY) procedure. Occasional Paper 10: University of Warwick.
24.
WallaceBErikssonG (eds) (2006) Diversity in Gifted Education: International Perspectives on Global Issues. London: Routledge.
25.
WarwickIMatthewsDJ (2009) Fostering ‘giftedness’ in urban and diverse communities: context-sensitive solutions. In: BalchinTHymerBMatthewsDJ (eds) The Routledge International Companion to Gifted Education. London; New York: Routledge, pp. 265–272.
26.
Yun DaiD (2009) Essential tensions surrounding the concept of giftedness. In: ShavininaL (ed.) International Handbook on Giftedness. Dordrecht: New York, pp. 39–80.
