What is the NERA network on Creativity, highly able students, and talent development?
The NERA network 27 is interested in research on educational opportunities, creativity, child development, giftedness and talent development, and social-emotional and psychological wellbeing of highly able children and students in preschool, preschool class, leisure-time center, compulsory school, secondary school and university.
The children and students can be termed precocious, gifted, highly able, talented or advanced learners, and can be bright, creative and task committed, to mention three examples of characteristics or traits. They are ahead of peers or have the capability to be ahead of peers with adequate education. Thus, they perform or can perform at higher levels compared to other children and students of the same age. They require educational opportunities to develop talents. A talent refers to a general academic field and/or a specific field such as mathematics, science, languages, aesthetics and athletics (motor skills).
The network’s research is based on various theories, such as the bioecological theory of development, the differentiated model of giftedness and talent, socio-cultural theory, self-determination theory, the talent development megamodel, transformational giftedness and others, highlighting the interaction between child and environmental (e.g., educational) factors for the individuals’ (talent) development and flourishing.
The topics and focuses of the network are recognition, identification of highly able children and students, as well as optimal educational opportunities such as quality acceleration, enrichment, differentiation and coaching as strategies for talent development. Another topic of interest is the understanding of how advanced learning processes occur and can be promoted in an educational situation when offering provisions to all students, and not only to the most advanced. The network also focuses on more distal factors such as policy, resources, student health team and home-school collaboration and teacher education, educational improvement and interventions, since these factors interplay and influence educational opportunities and talent development. Furthermore, it focuses on the perspectives of the children and students, and the parents’ views. Other concepts of relevance in this field are creativity, problem solving, metacognition, engagement, lifelong learning, the joy of learning, mixed ability classrooms, processes of learning, underachievement, twice exceptionality, excellence, expertise, wisdom, leisure time, and psychological wellbeing.
The network relates to the United Nations’ seventeen Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and Goal 4 (Quality Education, inclusion, and lifelong learning opportunities).
The network offers Nordic master students, PhD students and researchers a much-needed platform for research presentations, discussions, exchanges of experiences, comparisons and collaborations. It also offers a platform for reflecting on and improving teacher education.
It embraces qualitative, quantitative and mixed method research approaches and welcomes teacher educators and researchers in general didactics, subject didactics, literacy, mathematics, science, technology, art and music, physical education, pedagogical work, special needs education, educational psychology, neuroscience, and related fields.
NNGE
This network, NERA network 27, is part of Nordic Network for Gifted Education (NNGE). NNGE aims to establish and grow a sustainable centre of connectedness for people interested in Nordic gifted education research. This is a growing field of research in educational sciences in the Nordic context.
The NNGE is a Nordic initiative, connecting and supporting people interested in gifted education research across all five Nordic countries, from preschool and school to higher education.
For example, Nordic research initiatives in gifted education research include the following:
- NNGE Seminar series, arranged by Karlstad University and NNGE country coordinators valerie.margrain@kau.se
- This Nordic Educational Research Association (NERA) network 27 on Creativity, highly able students, and talent development
- Swedish Gifted education doctoral programme (Gifted) for teacher educators: Karlstad University valerie.margrain@kau.se and gisela.priebe@kau.se, Mälardalen University johanna.lundqvist@mdu.se and Stockholm University mara.allodi@specped.su.se
- Barn med stor laerningspotensial research group NLA Högskolan Norway – coordinator Gila Hammer Furnes gila.furnes@nla.no