| Purpose. The purpose of my research was to investigate the development of specific talent areas and personal development among gifted young women of five ethnicities, including African-American, Anglo, Asian, Hispanic and Middle Eastern.; Methodology. The methodology for my study is a phenomenological multiple-case design, carried out through semi-structured individual interviews. My study included a purposive sample of 30 gifted and talented college age women (18-22 years old). The young women were identified through Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, including linguistic intelligence, logical/mathematical intelligence, visual/spatial intelligence, musical intelligence, kinesthetic intelligence, and interpersonal intelligence. The participants represented 18 colleges and universities, identified through a snowball sampling procedure.; Findings. (1) Influences included (a) mothers, (b) other family members, (c) teachers, (d) competition, and (e) extracurricular participation. (2) Leadership traits included (a) collaborating, (b) leading by example, (c) acting as a taskmaster, and (d) a tendency toward altruism, including a sense of social justice. (3) Barriers included (a) perfectionism, (b) shyness, (c) lack of confidence, (d) procrastination, (e) burnout (f) financial barriers, (g) others' expectations, (h) programming limitations, and (i) medical problems. (4) Networks of support included (a) teachers, (b) groups of teachers, (c) other educators, (d) bosses. (e) programs, (f) gifted and talented programming, and (g) friends. (5) Ethnic influences included (a) the value of family, (b) perception of stereotyping, and (c) ethnic perceptions of gender roles. (6) The strongest theme across African Americans, Hispanics and Middle Eastern young women was the role of faith. (7) The gifted and talented young women demonstrated a range of talents, related to the phenomenon of multipotentiality, making the categorization of a single intelligence somewhat artificial.; To date, this study has not been done, and this information has not been available.; Key words. gifted and talented young women, multiple intelligences, five ethnicities, talent development, personal development, leadership, millennial, barriers. |
