Talent, Teaching and Achievement

The papers in this collection cover a wide range of topics on the theme of talent, teaching and achievement, providing a variety of approaches, methods and theoretical standpoints. The British and Norwegian authors present a variety of perspectives on the theme of talent and teaching, and how these interact to produce achievement. The authors range from primary school through higher education specialists and include Nobel prize winners. They draw on experimental, biographical, sociological and historical evidence. There is currently a surge of interest in the conditions for achievement - partly because it is increasingly recognized that it is vital to make the maximum use of human resources in these problematic times - and partly because research is showing in much more detail than ever before exactly what conditions foster the development of talent, and how the individual reacts under these conditions. The themes running through the book are the importance of the individual learner and the individual teacher, education as part of the self-created human environment, new research showing in detail how individual and environment interact, individual development as a total process involving intellect, emotion and motivation, and the extent of individual potential for achievement, given favourable circumstances. The book is intended to be of interest to all who are concerned with education, both professionally and more generally, or with teaching and research in the area of human development.