Although the development of creativity is an oft-stated goal for students, it is seldom infused into school curricula, nor are teachers explicitly trained on how to promote it within their classrooms, even in the context of selective programs. We have several goals for this chapter. The first is to describe our view of the current status of creativity education for advanced pre-university students, noting its minimal presence except in artistic domains. Second, we differentiate the concepts of gifted education and talent development, favoring the latter as the direction of the future for enhancing the role of creativity. Third, we address some challenges for applying creativity in the gifted and talented classroom.

In this chapter, we begin with an overview of the achievement gap, highlighting differences by gender, ethnicity/race, and socioeconomic status. We then discuss the complexities of dealing with culture, ethnicity, and race in school psychology and review several studies that have used these constructs. A brief overview of the association between mental well-being and achievement outcomes is next, followed by a brief discussion of grit as a cautionary tale. We conclude with some general recommendations for the field.

In this chapter, we address identifying and serving students with academic potential and promise. We briefly review the literature on racial and socioeconomic gaps at the highest levels of achievement (i.e. excellence gaps) and how schooling does little to close them. We then present a framework for talent development that moves gifted education from a singular focus on the identification of children already displaying high levels of accomplishment to a greater focus on providing services that develop potential talent in the form of increased opportunities to learn. We review promising identification practices and program models that serve a broader range of gifted learners.

School psychology fills a unique and important niche in education. Falling at the intersection of learning, academic achievement, and behavioral, emotional, and social well-being, school psychology plays a role in helping students, families, educators, and school systems meet the goals of a free and appropriate education for all youth, with or without a special education classification. In this chapter, we briefly review the purpose of education and discuss the groups that are not well served by education. We then provide an overview of the chapters that make up this text, including those on the important recent contributions to education and schooling from social psychology.

Children and youth under the age of 18 make up more than half of the world’s 25 million refugees, putting pressure on school psychologists to provide targeted psychoeducational services. Schools are inadequately prepared for the growing enrolment of refugee youth, due to lack of professional expertise and limited resources. This chapter begins with an overview of the preflight, flight, and resettlement experiences that impact the child’s development, learning, and well-being. Next, we draw upon cognitive-developmental theory as a foundation for school-based service delivery. We then appraise trauma-informed care (an approach that has been well regarded in clinical practice), and review the evidence base of school-based mental health interventions. Given that the majority of refugee youth may be affected in ways that might not be adequately explained by symptomatology, we recommend that services address broader psychoeducational concerns. We conclude with suggested guidelines for effective school-based service delivery.