Introduction to the Special Issue on Rethinking Human Potential: A Tribute to Howard Gardner*

Abstract

Imagine that you live in an education utopia where resources are abundant and the system encourages and supports a variety of advanced learning and talent development opportunities. Would you expect everyone to reach a comparable level of achievement and make an equivalent share of contributions? Or, alternatively, supposing that resources are limited, would you invest more resources on those who have demonstrated “high promise”? The point of these hypothetical scenarios is that education is predicated on some articulated or tacit assumption of human potential. This special issue is devoted to “Rethinking Human Potential” precisely because articulating our assumptions in education in general and gifted education in particular becomes crucial for fashioning a sound education policy and guidelines for education practice. “Rethinking” human potential also implies that some of the deep assumptions and convictions that have undergirded gifted education since Terman’s (1925) work should be subjected to scrutiny in light of new research findings and the changing understanding of the nature and development of human potential. 892101 JEGXXX10.1177/0162353219892101Journal for the Education of the GiftedDai research-article2019