A developmental view of mentoring talented students in academic and nonacademic domains

Rena F. Subotnik*, Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, Maha Khalid, Heather Finster

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

The role of mentors for talented students varies according to developmental level and domain. Domains differ as to when they begin, peak, and end. Therefore, mentoring at the beginning of a talent trajectory may take place in middle school for a science student and in elementary school for a violinist. In the later stages of talent development, mentors are more likely to select their protégés than to be organizationally matched with mentees. As mentees gain the requisite skills and knowledge, mentors place more emphasis on modeling and coaching for psychosocial skills and insider knowledge (access to networks of information, attitudes, and behaviors rewarded by gatekeepers) that allow their mentees to stand out and, if necessary, endure pushback derived from proposing creative ideas or performances that challenge the status quo. The conclusions reported here are derived from studies of mentoring talented students, with an emphasis on identifying similarities across domains, and recognition that mentors’ provision of insider knowledge is particularly important for low-income children and youth.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)199-207
Number of pages9
JournalAnnals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Volume1483
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 5 2021

Keywords

  • domains
  • gatekeepers
  • insider knowledge
  • psychosocial skills
  • talent development

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience
  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • History and Philosophy of Science

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