Explore the vast range of titles available.

A perennial topic of research on giftedness has been individuals’ perceptions of and attitudes towards giftedness, the gifted, and gifted education. Although giftedness is a culturally constructed concept, most examination of the term’s meanings and implications has used reactive measures (i.e., surveys) to tap respondents’ giftedness-related perceptions and attitudes within the context of formal education. To provide a better understanding of the cultural meanings associated with giftedness—the term’s cultural framing—we investigated the depiction of giftedness within a professional cultural product removed from education, namely, a large corpus of US fictional texts. We examined patterns of word usage in the vicinity of the term gift* , when used in the dictionary senses related to giftedness, in a large corpus of US fictional texts of recent decades, consisting of 485,179 text samples and 1,002,889,754 word tokens. Via inductive methods of quantitative text analysis, we explored themes occurring in the vicinity of gift* ; and with an existing lookup dictionary, we assessed deductively the overall emotional valance of the writing near gift* . Our investigation revealed ways in which the literary exploration of giftedness coheres with and distinguishes itself from the outlooks on giftedness noted for survey-based research in education settings. In fictional texts, giftedness evinces special associations with humanities domains and beauty and, on balance, correlates positively with emotionally positive words.

There is a growing consensus that we must look beyond IQ to understand the mechanisms of talent development. Grounded in the Actiotope Model of Giftedness, this study adopts a resource-based approach and examines the incremental and interactive contributions of educational and learning capital to STEM achievement beyond IQ. Data were collected from 318 German secondary school students (grades 6–10; Mage = 12.08; 50.3% male) using domain-specific measures of educational and learning capital, a nonverbal matrix intelligence test, and STEM grades. Robust regression and mediation analyses showed that learning capital significantly predicted STEM achievement beyond general intelligence, whereas educational capital exerted no direct effect. Instead, the relationship between educational capital and achievement was fully mediated by learning capital. Moreover, the interaction term of educational and learning capital predicted achievement. A further interaction indicated that the positive effect of learning capital on STEM achievement was stronger for students with higher intelligence, consistent with an intelligence utilization (Matthew) effect. These findings support a systemic interpretation of achievement in which intelligence reflects prior resource utilization and functions as a catalyst, while current learning resources constitute the proximal determinants of STEM performance.

Context plays a critical role in talent development, yet most national analyses continue to rely on individual-centered talent concepts. This paper highlights the limitations of traditional models for assessing how countries support talent and proposes a resource-oriented, systemic alternative. Building on the Educational and Learning Capital Approach (ELCA), this study argues that national talent development depends on the availability, accessibility, and orchestration of both endogenous and exogenous learning resources across systemic levels. By analyzing the clumping patterns of excellence in STEM, the arts, sports, and innovation, this paper illustrates the unequal global distribution of talent-supportive environments. Seven key principles for effective resource orchestration are outlined, offering a framework for evaluating and strengthening national talent ecosystems. The paper concludes that systematic assessment and strategic enhancement of national resource landscapes are critical for sustainable talent development and for ensuring that human potential can flourish more equitably across countries.

In-school–out-of-school collaborations are increasingly recognized as a key mechanism for enriching STEM education. Guided by conceptual frameworks on boundary crossing and STEM learning ecologies, this scoping review maps and synthesizes findings from 470 studies and 469 programs published between 2014 and 2024, focusing on how such partnerships are reported, structured, and distributed across educational contexts. Approximately 73% of the programs reported some form of collaboration, although often in general terms. The most common forms included shared infrastructure, recruitment coordination, and personnel involvement. More pedagogically grounded forms, such as curricular alignment and co-development of instruction, were rarely described. Collaboration patterns varied across program types, durations, subject areas, and participant target groups. A typology of seven collaboration categories was developed to organize the findings. Notable gaps include the near-total absence of collaboration in medicine-related programs and the underrepresentation of research from low- and middle-income countries. Although collaboration is frequently mentioned, it is seldom described in enough detail to support systematic analysis or theoretical insight. The review recommends more precise definitions, stronger reporting practices, and enhanced theoretical engagement with collaboration as a pedagogical and systemic component of STEM education. The proposed typology provides a foundation for more coherent future research and comparative studies.

Background While individual STEM identity and self-efficacy are well-established predictors of girls’ and women’s engagement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), their conceptual equivalents at the organizational level remain understudied. Out-of-school STEM education providers are key actors in addressing gender disparities; however, little is known about how their institutional values and perceived capacities influence program design and delivery. Purpose Grounded in theories of organizational identity and collective efficacy, this study investigates whether out-of-school STEM providers’ organizational identity and efficacy related to the promotion of females in STEM predict five theoretically derived indicators of program success after controlling for program characteristics. Methods A nationwide survey was conducted among out-of-school STEM education providers in Germany ( N  = 209). Respondents rated their organization’s identity and efficacy in promoting females in STEM. Outcome measures included inclusive program planning, long-term focus, environmental integration, engagement in networking and professional development, and self-assessed success. Results Organizational identity significantly predicted all five success indicators, with the strongest effect for inclusive program planning and engagement in networking and professional development. Organizational efficacy predicted four of the indicators, with the strongest effect for perceived program success. After controlling for program characteristics, the effects of both constructs remained robust, although slightly weaker, suggesting that contextual factors partly account for their influence. Conclusions This study reveals how organizational-level beliefs shape gender-inclusive practices in STEM education. The findings contribute to research on gender equity in STEM by introducing and validating institutional-level predictors of effective program practice, with practical implications for STEM networks and policy development.

Our study is the first exploration of students’ situational perceptions of STEM lessons based on the DIAMONDS approach. This approach postulates eight perceptual dimensions: Duty, Intellect, Adversity, Mating, pOsitivity, Negativity, Deception, and Sociality. Three research questions were investigated in a validation study involving 447 eighth graders, each based on a distinct validation strategy. (1) Convergent validation strategy: How do students perceive STEM lessons regarding the DIAMONDS dimensions? (2) Criterion-related validation strategy: Are these perceptions associated with STEM education outcomes? (3) Explanatory validation strategy: Do gender differences also appear in the perception of STEM lessons? Data were collected via an online questionnaire. The main results indicated that (1) students associate STEM lessons mainly with Duty and Intellect; (2) their situational perception of STEM lessons was linked to STEM education outcomes; and (3) there were substantial variances in how students perceive STEM lessons. Male students perceived STEM lessons more positively (pOsitivity), while females associated them relatively more with negative attributes (Adversity, Negativity, or Deception). All three validation strategies produced results confirming the validity of the DIAMONDS approach. In this way, the results of our study offer a promising start for the DIAMONDS approach in STEM education research.

BackgroundWomen are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions. Even the most promising female students’ interest in STEM subjects often decreases during secondary school. Using the framework of the Social Cognitive Career Theory, the present study examined the influences of social agents in female students’ persistence in STEM. Specifically, the present study used a retrospective survey investigating the influence of parental education, teachers as mentors, and peer belonging for female students’ attainment of an undergraduate degree in a STEM field for a special population—female graduates of selective science high schools (n = 1425). Furthermore, the study examined the influences of these social-agent variables on female students’ STEM choices when mediated by high school research experiences. Finally, the present study also explored the influences of these social-agent variables on female students when it came to choosing math-intensive STEM fields (n = 723).ResultsFindings showed that parental educational level and having STEM teachers as mentors are positively related to female students’ later attainment of a STEM degree. In addition to the direct relationship, parental educational level and having STEM teachers as mentors are also positively related to female students’ high school research participation, which is associated with a greater likelihood of their completing a STEM degree. Female students’ sense of belonging to a peer group did not correlate with their attainment of a STEM degree. When it came to choosing math-intensive STEM fields, a higher sense of peer belonging was negatively associated with obtaining a math-intensive STEM degree.ConclusionsParental education and having STEM teachers as mentors play an important role for female students’ persistence in STEM and obtaining a STEM undergraduate degree for female students in selective science high schools. However, among the female students who graduated with a STEM degree, it is less clear whether social-agent variables influenced their math-intensive vs. less-math-intensive choices. Educational implications for promoting female students’ STEM interests and careers in STEM fields are provided.

Based on the Actiotope Model of Giftedness, this article introduces a learning-resource-oriented approach for gifted education. It provides a comprehensive categorization of learning resources, including five exogenous learning resources termed educational capital and five endogenous learning resources termed learning capital. Evidence from the literature is presented that supports the validity of each of the categories. Finally, 12 implications of a learning resource orientation for gifted education are discussed in relation to four areas: gifted education orientations, gifted identification, gifted education principles, and gifted learning resources management. (Orig.).

Formalized mentorship programs are an important tool for developing qualified STEMM professionals. Despite an increasingly global STEMM workforce there is little research on how the power distance dimension of national culture may influence the initiation of mentoring relationships. This study explored differences in how mentors from cultures with different power distance orientations started their mentoring relationships with talented adolescents in an online talent development program focused on STEMM. Thirteen mentors were interviewed using teleconference software for this qualitative study. Analysis of the interview transcripts involved a combination of structural and hypothesis coding methodologies. National power distance influences the initiation of mentoring, who drives the relationship, and some aspects of mentor–mentee collaboration. Contrary to expectations, the initiation of mentoring in this STEMM-focused program did not rely on building rapport. During the first few months of mentoring, mentors from greater power distance countries more frequently made decisions and less frequently sought mentees’ opinions than mentors from smaller power distance countries. Notably, mentors did not perceive cultural differences as important or topics worthy of discussion, despite being paired with a mentee from a different country and being asked by the program to address how such differences may influence their mentorship. This study highlights a need for effective education about how cultural differences manifest and influence mentorship and collaboration.

Background Despite extensive efforts, females remain underrepresented in STEM fields. Out-of-school programs have demonstrated the potential to address this problem. However, to ensure sustainability and maximize the impact of these programs, researchers emphasize the importance of combining out-of-school offerings with school offerings and investigating the effectiveness of such combined programs and their success criteria (Dahn et al., 2023). We developed a combined program that integrates an online mentoring program for girls, which adheres to key principles of effective mentoring and has been proven effective in previous studies, with offerings at school (i.e., teacher-led STEM clubs). In planning this combined program, we incorporated essential bridging principles for collaboration between out-of-school and school settings (Fallik et al., 2013). We investigated (a) whether the positive effects of the exclusively out-of-school online mentoring program identified in previous studies could be replicated, (b) whether participation in the combined program yielded more positive effects than participation in the mentoring-only program, and (c) which variables are related to the effectiveness of the combined program. Results We employed a pretest–posttest control group design, comparing four groups: girls who exclusively participated in the out-of-school online mentoring program ( n  = 212) and girls in the combined program ( n  = 323) as well as a control group of girls ( n  = 1234) and boys ( n  = 1501) who did not participate in any of the programs. Participants were weighted using propensity score estimation based on age, school type, and baseline values of the evaluation variables (measured at pretest). Both programs positively impacted participants’ elective intentions in STEM, engagement in STEM activities, confidence in their STEM abilities, and STEM grades. The combined program did not generally demonstrate greater effectiveness than the mentoring-only program. However, the effectiveness of the combined program was related to the degree of bridging between the out-of-school and in-school offerings, the quality of the combined program, and the perceived value of STEM among the participants. Conclusion This study is the first to demonstrate that combining out-of-school online mentoring by female STEM experts and teacher-led STEM clubs can effectively promote girls in STEM. However, several success criteria must be considered to realize added benefits compared to exclusively out-of-school online mentoring.