Programa Talento Metrópole: identificação e desenvolvimento de talentos em tecnologia da informação

Abstract

The global issues have been challenging our ability to develop innovative solutions in order to prevent the advance of threatens to human life. Undeniably such solutions are expected to be produced within Science and Information Technology domains, specially by stimulating the development of subjects with high potential towards the creation and application of these innovations into various areas of knowledge. Therefore, considering that the support for the development of gifted young people emerge as an important strategy to answer the complex problems faced by humankind in the 21st century, this dissertation aims to shed light on the importance of educational and scientific stimulation of gifted young people, focusing on characterizing the proposition and development process of Programa Talento Metrópole (PTM) throughout three studies: 1) Developing Talents: the experience of Programa Talento Metrópole (PTM); 2) New developmental paths for gifted youth and; 3) Precursors for the detection of gifted adolescents in Information Technology (IT) domain. The first investigation described the development of PTM, in terms of methodology for identifying and developing talent in IT. Study 2 conducted a clinical-qualitative analysis of three cases, resulting from narrative interviews regarding the different trajectories underlying the development of talent. Finally, study 3 investigated the predictive value of cognitive parameters used to detect the high potential profile for the talent development in IT. In sum, results indicated that programs devoted to the development of gifted young people such as PTM must consider the flexible nature of the potentials, the variety of developmental routes that can be taken towards excellence, as well as the need to comprehend this phenomenon from a dynamic and processual theoretical frame. Furthermore, the detection and stimulation of gifted subjects require an approach which is aligned with the cultural context of the diverse domains of activity. Narrative analysis made it possible to subjects to relate their experiences of suffering, especially due to the sense of maladjustment they experiment in a traditional school context, which in turn highlighted the need of public policies focused on the development and inclusive education of this population. It is expected that these results subsidize the development of specific IT programs, with a view to the full development of talent under research and innovation in this area, aiming not only the subjects’ personal achievement, but also the development of outstanding contributions and solutions to the serious problems faced by current and future generations.