The influences of social agents in completing a STEM degree: an examination of female graduates of selective science high schools

Background Women are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions. Even the most promising female students’ interest in STEM subjects often decreases during secondary school. Using the framework of the Social Cognitive Career Theory, the present study examined the influences of social agents in female students’ persistence in STEM. Specifically, the present study used a retrospective survey investigating the influence of parental education, teachers as mentors, and peer belonging for female students’ attainment of an undergraduate degree in a STEM field for a special population—female graduates of selective science high schools (n = 1425). Furthermore, the study examined the influences of these social-agent variables on female students’ STEM choices when mediated by high school research experiences. Finally, the present study also explored the influences of these social-agent variables on female students when it came to choosing math-intensive STEM fields (n = 723). Results Findings showed that parental educational level and having STEM teachers as mentors are positively related to female students’ later attainment of a STEM degree. In addition to the direct relationship, parental educational level and having STEM teachers as mentors are also positively related to female students’ high school research participation, which is associated with a greater likelihood of their completing a STEM degree. Female students’ sense of belonging to a peer group did not correlate with their attainment of a STEM degree. When it came to choosing math-intensive STEM fields, a higher sense of peer belonging was negatively associated with obtaining a math-intensive STEM degree. Conclusions Parental education and having STEM teachers as mentors play an important role for female students’ persistence in STEM and obtaining a STEM undergraduate degree for female students in selective science high schools. However, among the female students who graduated with a STEM degree, it is less clear whether social-agent variables influenced their math-intensive vs. less-math-intensive choices. Educational implications for promoting female students’ STEM interests and careers in STEM fields are provided

The Cultivation of Psychosocial Skills For High Performance Within Educational Programs

Gifted specialists recognize the importance of psychosocial skills to high achievement but rarely deliberately focus on them in their programming. We present case studies of systematic efforts to cultivate these skills in three different contexts: a K-12 gifted school, selective STEM high school, and community-based program. Participants learn effective ways to incorporate psychosocial skill training into their program models

Specialized Science High Schools: Exploring Contributions of the Model to Adolescent Talent Development Specialized Science

As the field of gifted education shifts much of its focus to domain-specific talent development, specialized science high schools are taking their place on the stage. Back in 1981,Bloom and Sosniak argued persuasively that talent development cannot take place exclusively in schools. They stressed that schools were not prepared to offer the required levels of expert teaching, time, and effort. Yet, specialized science high schools, by design, are staffed with teachers with advanced degrees, offer relatively flexible schedules, interested peers,reasonable access to appropriate technology, and connections with research institutions to provide apprenticeships for the most motivated and interested students

Talent Development Research, Policy, and Practice in Europe and the United States: Outcomes From a Summit of International Researchers

The goal of this article is to convey a summary of research and conversation on talent development on the part of a small group of European and American researchers who participated in the Inaugural American European Research Summit in Washington. In the final hours of the summit, participants discussed the state of research on talent development and giftedness and a way forward that would benefit the field and, most important, children and educators. Collectively we identified four broad themes: (1) expanding our conceptual horizons through increased exposure to international scholars, (2) shifting the paradigm of gifted education toward talent development, (3) promoting key elements of talent development in research and practice, and (4) finding the most effective policy and advocacy strategies to promote talent development

Revista de educación

Resumen basado en el de la publicaciónMonográfico con el título: "Alta capacidad y desarrollo del talento : aspectos críticos"Título, resumen y palabras clave en español e inglésSe presenta una definición de altas capacidades y un modelo del proceso de desarrollo del talento basado en la investigación psicológica que pretende ser exhaustivo y aplicable a todos los dominios de la consecución de objetivos. Los principios fundamentales del modelo son que las capacidades específicas de cada dominio son relevantes: los dominios del talento cuentan con trayectorias de desarrollo únicas, las variables psicosociales son factores críticos en el desarrollo exitoso del talento, y la preparación para la eminencia es el resultado al que aspira la educación de personas con altas capacidades. Se delinea y discute sobre cuáles son las principales habilidades psicosociales que los sujetos necesitan adquirir cuando pasan de potencial a competencia, a la pericia y la eminencia, enfatizando que esas habilidades son maleables y pueden ser desarrolladas activa y deliberadamente por profesores, formadores, mentores y padres.ES

Theoretical approaches, societal issues, and practical implications for school-based and extracurricular talent development: Outcomes of the Inaugural European–North American Summit on Talent Development (Part II)

Gifted Child Quarterly and High Ability Studies collaborated on this pair of special issues resulting from the Inaugural European–North American Summit on Talent Development. The summit, held in Washington, D.C., in April 2016, had two main goals. The summit aimed, first, to increase researchers’ awareness of work on talent development being carried out in different countries by bringing together scholars working in Europe and the United States. The summit’s second aim was to initiate a new format for small, collaborative conferences at which participants present ideas they are working on—in medias res, so to speak—to all the other participants in order to receive feedback before they have completed their research. The event was made possible through the generous financial support of the American Psychological Association, the Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa, the Center for Talent Development of Northwestern University, and the Academic Talent Development Program at the University of California, Berkeley. The 2-day event consisted of clusters of presentations on eight topics. In each cluster, three researchers (two from American institutions and one from a European institution) presented their work and discussed future directions and possible implementations. Thanks to editors Betsy McCoach, Del Siegle, and Albert Ziegler, all participants were invited to submit articles for publication based on their presentation. The resulting articles on work presented in the first four talent development clusters (theoretical perspectives, societal participation, the context of school, and outside of school) make up the special issue of Gifted Child Quarterly. Articles arising from presentations in the final four talent development clusters (outcomes, psychosocial factors, adaptive and maladaptive learning, and high achievement and performance) comprise the special issue of High Ability Studies