What contributes to gifted adolescent females’ talent development at a high-achieving, secondary girls’ school?

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research was to examine what contributes to gifted adolescent females’ talent development at a high-achieving girls’ school. Using Kronborg’s (2010) Talent Development Model for Eminent Women as a theoretical framework, this research examined the conditions that supported and those that hindered the participants’ talent development in the setting of their secondary girls’ school. In this qualitative study, semistructured interviews were conducted with six gifted females, 17–20 years of age, who were all identified as gifted and who achieved highly in one or more talent domains during their years at their former high-achieving secondary girls’ school. The findings of this research support the theoretical framework. The themes found to support these participants’ talent development were psychological qualities, individual abilities, opportunities to achieve in talent domain(s), allies in the family, allies beyond the family, passionate engagement in talent domain, and feelings and experiences of difference. These findings add support to the themes Kronborg (2010) found in her Talent Development Model of Eminent Women.

KEYWORDS:

• gifted adolescent females
• talent development
• high achiever

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Charlotte Tweedale

Charlotte Tweedale spent 11 years teaching and leading learning in New Zealand secondary schools before joining the GATE consultancy team at Cognition Education in 2015 as a Gifted and Talented Education Facilitator. She was previously the Head of Advanced Learning at an all-girls’ high school where she created and imbedded a holistic GATE program, working to meet gifted and talented students’ learning and social and emotional needs. Charlotte graduated with a Master’s of Education, specializing in Gifted Education, from Monash University in 2013.

Leonie Kronborg

Dr. Leonie Kronborg is senior lecturer and coordinator of postgraduate and undergraduate studies in gifted education in the Faculty of Education, Monash University, Victoria, Australia. Her research interests and supervision of higher degree research students have focused on education of gifted students, teacher education, talent development, gender, and twice-exceptionality.