The US golf academy system and the twenty first century talent tourists! Future lines of research to understand this new golfing talent pathway

This paper addresses the rapid growth, popularity, and structure of US Golf Academies. Specifically, we highlight a phenomenon from a non-US golfing community’s perspective; namely, that of the “talent tourist” (i.e., youth golfer) seeking to develop their playing skills and academic ability within a foreign talent pathway. With so much of these golfers’ futures at stake (e.g., large financial costs and time dedicated), there is a surprising lack of research attention paid to these academies’ talent development environments; for instance, their structure, position in the overall talent pathway, the quality of the approaches used, or reasons why golfers strive to enroll onto them. By addressing these issues, this paper will present the case for greater research interest and the development of more effective talent development pathways

Can You Use it in a Sentence? Defining Talent Management

Key Findings The term talent management has escaped a standard definition, and nearly every article written on the topic conclude that the concept of talent management is lacking in terms of definition and theoretical development and there is a comparative lack of empirical evidence on the topic. Perhaps the most salient criticism from researchers is that the use of the term talent management is often little more than a rebranding of a range of typical HR activities. A notable feature of much of the existing literature on talent management is that it continues to focus on practices associated with lifetime careers in corporations, despite the fact that the most profound shift over the past 30-plus years in how organizations manage their workforces has been an increase in dismissals and external hiring at all organizational levels. A definition that is consistent with traditional approaches and captures what academic researchers have been doing under the heading of talent management is as follows: the process through which organizations anticipate and meet their needs for talent in strategic jobs

Fostering college and career readiness: how career development activities in schools impact on graduation rates and students' life success

This paper sets out the recent evidence around career development. This evidence is examined within the context of the college and career readiness agenda. The argument is made that in order for young people to be genuinely “ready” for both college and career they need to have attended to their academic achievement, their aspirations and plans for the future, their ability to make transitions and their ability to direct their own careers. It is argued that career development offers schools a body of practice that has been shown to have a positive impact on young people’s readiness for college and career. The report acknowledges that the provision of career development has been in decline in many North American schools despite evidence of its effectiveness. Given the current instability of the labor market, the increasing complexity of the education system and the need to grow the skills base of the workforce in a competitive global market, failing to attend to young people’s careers seems shortsighted. As this paper shows, there is a strong body of evidence which demonstrates that career development activity in schools can help young people to experience academic achievement, successfully transition to the labor market and live happier and more productive lives. It is hoped that setting out the evidence in this area of research will provide policy makers and school leaders with the resources required to make informed decisions and to support the development of the future generations of talent. The paper explores the impacts of career development in relation to four main questions: • Does career development engage young people in their schooling and help keep them attending school? • Does career development positively impact on young people’s academic achievement? • Does career development assist young people in making successful transitions to college or the labor market? • Does career development have a positive effect on people’s career and life success?Career Cruisin

THE ROLE OF CRITICAL THINKING, ACADEMIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND TALENT IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

In general sense, the mission of universities has not traditionally involved a consciousness of the need to be wealth creating in the direct sense. However, the rise of the knowledge economy has forced them to become aware of the importance they have for the establishment of future regional ‘constructed advantage’. They have become vital actors in the knowledge society and economy. It is important however to take a broader view that includes use of university capabilities in support of economic development, public and social policy, cultural engagement. Cultural activity and industries are important for economic activity, science is part of our culture, the social sciences have roles in all three domains, and all three areas interact strongly. Consolidate links to different stakeholders (stakeholders include students as key members of the academic community, government at all levels, enterprise and business, different social and cultural actors), universities must respond to their needs through teaching, research and dissemination of results and knowledge transfer activities which serve to promote economic growth and competitiveness through creating and exploiting new knowledge.Constructed advantage; University; Talent; Critical thinking; Economic growth.

Developing social innovators and social entrepreneurs through a creative and innovative programme

In today's increasingly interdependent and rapidly changing world, understanding the transformations of the 21st century that are characterized by uneven development, accelerated globalization, economic uncertainty, entrenched and complex social problems requires an academic approach that is interdisciplinary and focused on both innovation and commercialisation. This paper will focus on the development of a Social Venture Builder (SVB) programme at the University of Northampton; an example of a course that aims to develop the skills of the innovators and entrepreneurs whilst at the same time developing sustainable social ventures. We will place this in a wider context of the University of Northampton’s institution wide strategy around social enterprise and how this is developing from one that concentrates on developing social enterprises to a more embedded strategy that develops creative and socially entrepreneurial students. Ultimately, as a University we believe we have to develop a creative learning environment that nurtures talent as well as engages with communities and neighbourhoods whilst connecting us with other local, regional, national and international networks

Qualitative perspectives on how Manchester United Football Club developed and sustained serial winning

Talent development in sport is well represented in scientific literature. Yet, the drive to protect ‘trade secrets’ often means that access to these high performing groups is rare, especially as these high level performances are being delivered. This leaves the details of high-end working practices absent from current academic commentary. As a result, clubs interested in developing excellent practice are left to build on personal initiative and insight and/or custom-and-practice, which is unlikely to yield successful outcomes. To address this shortfall the current study reports on prolonged engagement with a single high performing club, considering how their practice corresponds with existing sport talent development models. The paper ends by proposing an evidence-based, football-specific model for talent development, maintained high level performance and serial winning. This model emphasises four dominant features: culture, behavioral characteristics, practice engagement and the managing and guiding of performance ‘potential’. The study provides insights into the visceral reality of daily experiences across the life course of professional soccer, while advancing the evidence-base for understanding how Manchester United achieved their serial success

The Center for Talented Youth Identification Model: A Review of the Literature

This paper reviews the literature on the Talent Search identification model that was developed by Julian Stanley as the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth at Johns Hopkins in the 1970s and implemented by the Center for Talented Youth from the early 1980s through to the present. Other universities in the United States have also adopted this model for talent identification and development, and it has been adapted for use in other countries. To date, more than 3.5 million students have participated in Talent Search assessments, and hundreds of thousands of students have enrolled in specialized academic programs for able learners. Here we analyze the model’s founding principles, its universal characteristics, and its application and functioning in Spain. We conclude with some reflections about what we have learned and what could be done worldwide

How do school children and adolescents perceive the nature of talent development? A case study from Finland

This article examines how school children and adolescents (N = 607) perceive the nature of talent development.More particularly it is investigated whether students perceive intelligence and giftedness as developing or as inherent and how students’ perspectives on talent development are related to their learning outcomes. Participants were students in elementary (N = 200), lower secondary (N = 256), and upper secondary school (N = 151). The results showed that students perceived the nature of intelligence as more malleable than giftedness. Along with this domain-specific variance, there were also age and gender related differences in students’ perceptions. By examining the relation between implicit beliefs and students’ academic achievements, it was found that growth-oriented views about intelligence, but fixed ideas about giftedness, indicated higher math grades.The results suggest that the relationship between implicit beliefs and academic outcomes might not be as straightforward as previous studies have suggested.Peer reviewe

The Great British Medalists Project: A Review of Current Knowledge on the Development of the World’s Best Sporting Talent

The literature base regarding the development of sporting talent is extensive, and includes empirical articles, reviews, position papers, academic books, governing body documents, popular books, unpublished theses and anecdotal evidence, and contains numerous models of talent development. With such a varied body of work, the task for researchers, practitioners and policy makers of generating a clear understanding of what is known and what is thought to be true regarding the development of sporting talent is particularly challenging. Drawing on a wide array of expertise, we address this challenge by avoiding adherence to any specific model or area and by providing a reasoned review across three key overarching topics: (a) the performer; (b) the environment; and (c) practice and training. Within each topic sub-section, we review and calibrate evidence by performance level of the samples. We then conclude each sub-section with a brief summary, a rating of the quality of evidence, a recommendation for practice and suggestions for future research. These serve to highlight both our current level of understanding and our level of confidence in providing practice recommendations, but also point to a need for future studies that could offer evidence regarding the complex interactions that almost certainly exist across domains

THE QUEST FOR A WORLD CLASS UNIVERSITY: DEFINING THE GOAL FOR AN EMERGING ECONOMY

"In the past ten to fifteen years policy makers, scholars, development advisers, industry chief executives and academic leaders have all been grappling with how to create, develop and maintain a university that is recognised as one of the best in the world. Motivations for this pursuit revolve around increasing economic competiveness and diversity, being part of the global scientific community, national prestige or pride and talent creation and retention." -