<p>The purpose of this study is to <a>understand</a> achieving and underachieving honors students’ perceptions and experiences of their talent development process. Students currently enrolled in the Honors College <a>at</a> research-intensive public university in the Midwest participated in this study. Gagné’s Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (DMGT, Gagné, 2009) was used as a conceptual framework with a sequential explanatory mixed methods research design. In the quantitative phase, the Academic Talent Development Factor Survey was redeveloped to measure honors students’ perceptions and experiences of their academic talent development in terms of four components of DMGT: gifts, intrapersonal catalysts, environmental catalysts, and developmental process. A total of 174 honors students were assigned to two groups: achieving (<i>n</i> = 143) and underachieving (<i>n</i> = 31) groups. The redeveloped survey showed an acceptable model fit but should be improved to accomplish reasonable reliability and validity. The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE, 2011) was used to determine whether honors students with underachievement are less exposed to good practices for undergraduate education (Chickering & Gamson, 1999) than their peers who maintain high academic performance. </p> <p>In the quantitative phase, discriminant analysis and chi-square test results did not yield appreciable differences in pre-college characteristics including gender, ethnicity, and SAT/ACT scores between two groups. In terms of four components of DMGT, discriminant analysis results revealed that developmental process, environmental catalysts, intrapersonal catalysts were statistically significant factors to determine differences between achieving and underachieving honors students in this study. Additionally, discriminant analysis results indicated that achieving and underachieving honors students showed high level of exposure to good practices. The differences between two groups were significant with good practices including (a) faculty interest in teaching and student development, (b) quality of non-classroom interaction with faculty, (c) academic challenge and effort, and (d) challenging classes and high faculty expectations. </p> <p> In the qualitative phase, in-depth interviews were conducted to investigate similar and different patterns between achieving and underachieving honors students. Interview data from eleven achieving students, four underachieving students, and three honors advisors/staff were analyzed. From the student interviews, four composite textural themes and four composite structural themes were identified. From the interviews with staff/advisors, four composite textural themes and four composite structural themes were identified. Qualitative analysis results supported the findings from the quantitative phase and provided detailed picture of participants’ perceptions and experiences. Both achieving and underachieving students confirmed their natural ability but understood the importance of effort, task commitment. Honors students in the achieving group showed clear purpose of being honors students, focused on benefits, and anticipated opportunities in their academic talent development in the honors college Underachieving honors students did not share the same expectations. Honors students in the underachieving group viewed benefits as either unimportant or as additional work. Since few studies exist related specifically to the talent development process of honors students, this study adds to the literature and understanding of underachievement in honors college.</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T16:44:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ligia Zotini Mazurkiewcz.pdf: 1985249 bytes, checksum: ec7b65a31f3cc7db851b88d1712b8508 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-05-18 / The aim of the present research is to analyze the culture of Global Talent Management in an IT multinational company, its processes, and the career expectations of those participating in this program. The study was motivated by the company's result in a survey on global leadership training, in which it was classified in 2009 by the consulting firm Hewitt Associates, as the global company that better developed leaders in the corporate world. This is a case study with exploratory and descriptive purposes. The data collection was done with 55 high performers from different areas, ages, and with long careers in business. In the end, 30 professionals completed the questionnaire, which revealed that the company's talents recognize GTM programs and have positive expectations regarding the growth of their international careers by being part of them. They also recognize that their careers rely heavily on their personal efforts, although highlighting that leadership plays a direct role in the evolution and maintenance of such positions over time / O objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar a cultura de Gerenciamento Global de Talentos em uma empresa multinacional de Ti, seus processos e as expectativas de carreiras dos participantes desse programa. O estudo foi motivado pelo resultado da companhia em uma pesquisa sobre formação de liderança mundial, na qual ela foi classificada, em 2009, pela consultaria Hewitt Associates, como a empresa global que mais forma lideranças de qualidade no mundo das corporações. Trata-se de um estudo de caso com finalidade exploratória e descritiva. A coleta de dados foi feita com 55 profissionais de alto desempenho de diversas áreas, idades e tempos de carreira na empresa. Ao final, 30 profissionais responderam o questionário que demonstrou que os profissionais de talento da empresa reconhecem seus programas de GTM e têm, de forma geral, expectativas positivas em relação ao crescimento de suas carreiras internacionais por fazerem parte deles. Reconhecem também que suas carreiras dependem muito de seus esforços pessoais, mas não deixaram de observar que a liderança direta exerce um papel fundamental na evolução e manutenção dessas posições ao longo do tempo