The person-centered typological approach to personality enables researchers to explore configurations of traits within individuals (i.e., personality types), and the ways these types are related to specific outcomes. The objectives of the present study were twofold: (1) to explore personality types or profiles among the sample of gifted…

Assessing giftedness is one of the inevitable processes in the identification of gifted schoolchildren which involves all the actors included in the direct contact with schoolchildren. Since the assessments are regarded as a subjective opinion of the assessor, our aim is to determine the level of certainty that we can take into account when…

This special issue presents a sample of modern work on self-regulated learning (SRL) among high ability and gifted students. It includes diverse views about the construct per se, and gifted students' and their teachers' accounts about SRL and factors they believe moderate it. Zeidner and Stroeger (this issue) set the stage with a sketch of an…

Despite the likely relevance of socio-cultural context, very few studies have examined the influence of cultural values on teachers' perceptions of gifted students' leadership development. This study chose three nations representing collectivistic to individualistic contexts and compared how 478 teachers from these countries (South Korea = 176,…

The Actiotope Model of Giftedness (Ziegler, 2005) and the systemic theory of gifted education (Ziegler and Phillipson) shed light on the difficulties faced by gifted education in practice all over the world. The Actiotope Model emphasizes the importance of actions of gifted individuals and the interactions between individuals and their…

In the article "Towards a systemic theory of gifted education", A. Ziegler and S. N. Phillipson present an interesting approach to gifted education. The actiotope model explains giftedness in light of systems theory where constant interchange occurs between the gifted person, his/her actions, and the environment in which he or she evolves. The…

In their target paper, "Towards a systemic theory of gifted education," A. Ziegler and S. N. Phillipson present a long awaited call for a paradigmatic shift in thinking within the field of gifted education. The paper considers how educators and researchers within the field could bring about such a change. They challenge the prevailing…

Ziegler and Phillipson (Z&P) have provided a valuable discussion of the identification and development of giftedness under a systemic umbrella, including issues of differing theoretical approaches and efficacy. This commentary considers their discussion within a novel systemic framework that links also individuals and environment, but in terms of…

In their introduction to the idea of a systems approach to understanding talent and giftedness, Ziegler and Phillipson broach the larger issue of the positivistic or mechanistic mindset to knowing and understanding that pervades much of what is called educational research. This worthy tactic brings to light the need to move away from the status…

The field of giftedness and gifted education is about 100-years (plus/minus) old. Whether traced back to Stern or to Terman, or to anybody else, it has encompassed a millennium of thinking about and studying the intellectually gifted and educating them. In their centerpiece for this issue, Ziegler and Phillipson take these 100 years of research…

As an alternative to the current paradigm of gifted education, Ziegler and Phillipson proposed a systemic approach and argued that factors in the current mechanistic model of giftedness are not good predictors for exceptionality. They pinpointed that a single factor identified as an indicator of giftedness, ineffective measures, inappropriate…

In "Towards a systemic theory of gifted education," A. Ziegler and S.N. Phillipson have proposed a systemic approach to gifted education. For this approach, they built a model that they call an "actiotope" model. As they explained in the article, an actiotope consists of the acting individual and the environment with which he or she interacts. The…

In "Towards a systemic theory of gifted education", Ziegler and Phillipson offer a useful critique of current research and the current paradigm in gifted education. They provide an interesting and useful merging of systems theory with their actiotope model, and using this paradigm they suggest many fruitful areas for future research. However, the…

Eight years ago, the authors carried out a study on scientific creativity. Thirty-four eminent scientists, who had gained great creative scientific achievements in five fields--mathematics, physics, chemistry, geography and life science--were chosen and interviewed. In the study, the authors tried to find out what made a person demonstrate…

Without a doubt the authors' proposal of viewing gifted education in systemic terms is a promising one. In fact, it is most refreshing to read something eclectic like this with an aim to synthesize a field of research and practice which for too long has lacked consensus in both practice and theory. The author agrees with them that a mechanistic…