The Impact of School Environment on Talent Development: A Retrospective View of Gifted British and Polish College Students

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine gifted British and Polish college students’ ( N = 30) retrospective perceptions of their school environments in relation to talent development using a semi-structured, in-depth interview. Qualitative analyses revealed how school and teachers influenced gifted students’ talent development. Findings indicate that, according to both the British and the Polish students, teachers play an extremely important role in their talent development. The environment in English schools was depicted as considerably more facilitative than the Polish school environment, although both have their advantages and disadvantages. Although this research study does not claim universal representation, the findings may be of significance to school, educational, and psychological practices on preventive, teaching, and interpersonal levels.

The Role of Teachers and Coordinators of Gifted Students’ in Developing their Students’ Leadership Abilities in High Schools

“…These results generally agree with several studies such as those of Dai and Li (2020) and Gierczyk and Pfeiffer (2021) on the role of teachers and the educational environment as effective exogenous factors of talent development in different fields.…”

“…Focusing on the talent development paradigm and the contributions of its theories, this development process is based on the dynamic interaction between many endogenous and exogenous factors. Internal factors are associated with individuals, including their different abilities such as leadership abilities, whereas the latter is associated with the environment; the most important of which is the educational environment, including teachers and educators as its most important components (Dai & Li, 2020;Gagne, 2021a, b;Gierczyk & Pfeiffer, 2021;Paik et al, 2018;Swanson et al, 2020). Recent studies are shifting towards talent development and exploring the aspects related to it.…”

“…For Dai (2017), the individual is a system, interacting with the surrounding environment with its diverse factors. These studies have concluded that endogenous factors such as individual abilities, skills, and personal traits, along with the environmental factors found in the field of education, especially school and teaching staff, interact to develop talents and nurture them to reach the maximum possible level (Dai & Li, 2020;Gierczyk & Pfeiffer, 2021).…”

The Leading Wisdom Development Framework: An Integrated Roadmap for Cultivating a Sense of Purpose and Meaning

“…Effective leaders create a stimulating and psychologically safe learning environment that enables talent development (Hertzog, 2017), and encourages young learners to take interpersonal and intellectual risks in the development of their talents. Schools with highly motivated students tend to possess environments where the students feel connected to their teachers and feel valued for making individual efforts in enhancing their learning (Gierczyk & Pfeiffer, 2021; Patrick et al, 2006). Further, when school connectedness is strengthened, student outcomes improve (Blum, 2005).…”