Thor, TPS; (2016) An ecological approach to understanding highly able students' experiences of their academic talent development in a Singapore school. Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This study seeks to understand highly able students’ experiences of their academic talent development in a Singapore school, why they choose to do what they do in their talent development, and why some students thrive in their talent development while others do not. It uses an ecological approach that highlights the central role of the overall environment as it interacts with students. A working ecological system model drawn from Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory provides a framework to describe the environment of the students. Based on qualitative methodology, a case study research design was used to examine the experiences of students in an advanced talent development programme. The students belonged to the top 3 per cent of the national age cohort. The study employed semi-structured focus group interviews, individual in-depth interviews and document analysis. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings of this study suggested that the person characteristics of students and their multi-level ecological system environments are inextricably intertwined in the talent development process. Individual characteristics affect students’ experiences and their responses to experiences and these are themselves formed through interactions with environmental conditions. Immediate settings connect directly to students through their capacity to elicit participation and progression in the talent development process. Moreover, congruent messages within overlapping immediate settings amplify the developmental effects of individual settings, thereby sustaining the talent development process. Further, more distal influences such as the systemic and structural arrangements of schooling and talent development as well as national macro factors such as meritocracy and a highly competitive education system affect students’ decisions and interactions in their immediate settings. An important implication of this study is the need to reconceptualise talent development more holistically as nurturing the life of the mind rather than have a narrow focus on nurturing elite students.

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