To Thine Own Self Be True: A New Model of Female Talent Development

Abstract

This article describes an innovative model of female talent development based upon the life experiences of gifted women from a wide variety of backgrounds and talent domains. The model was synthesized from original studies contributed by more than 20 scholars, psychologists, and educators, known collectively as Remarkable Women: Perspectives on Female Talent Development (Arnold, Noble, & Subotnik, 1996). Key issues addressed by this model are the personal, professional, and cultural challenges common to gifted females as well as strategies for coping with then, spheres of influence and achievement to which gifted women aspire, and ways to help gifted women and girls identify and actualize their talents and gifts.