Potential needs to be enticed and encouraged into full expression

Potentially great

All children have potential, but what can parents do to ensure it flourishes? Dena Michelli and Richard Scriven explain how

We don’t need research to tell us that all children have potential, but we may need to draw from its conclusions to ensure that it flourishes.

Richard Scriven, an expert in the identification and development of talent, undertook a broad piece of research to isolate the recognisable components of potential in young children and to determine how these may be developed. The outcome of his research highlights the importance of the primary carer’s ability to create the conditions in which a child’s potential may be made fully accessible. From time to time, we meet people who we know have high levels of potential. Almost intuitively, we recognise something within them that gives us this conviction. These people are likely to be lively and alert to new ideas and experiences as well as being vital, curious and engaged in what is going on around them. They may also be seen to be in the centre of things, enjoying healthy “give and take” relationships and orchestrating events. All these attributes serve as signals of potential; they are signs of what’s in store for the individual in the future.

Indeed, they are indicators of the person’s capacity to learn, and to learn fast. As parents, teachers or carers, we are no doubt interested in where this learning capacity comes from and how we can encourage it to flourish. It is clear that one component of talent is held within the child’s genetic code. We often see talent running through a family line in academic and creative expressions. However, this is not the sole component of talent – it is also “grown”, to a greater or lesser extent, in the environments of home and school. It is in the home and at school that the inherited propensities can be nurtured and enhanced and active interest taken in the child’s development. The qualities that are demanded of parents and teachers to create a “talent-growing environment” are largely intuitively informed. However, they also include having a watchful and attentive eye and a commitment to present a range of opportunities for exploration and knowledge building.

All people have potential and, whether it sits within a child or an adult, it needs to be enticed and encouraged into full expression. But enticement and encouragement in themselves are not enough. We also need to ensure that the opportunities exist for potential to be brought to the surface. We have all seen television programmes that highlight the experiences of children in developing countries who are bright, but don’t have the same development opportunities as their counterparts in economically developed cultures. These children have the potential to learn, but its growth is prevented because opportunities are limited and resources are scarce. It was in such an environment that Richard Scriven conducted his research to understand the nature of potential and how it develops in children.

The approach he took was to talk to two groups of teachers about the children they taught. One group was practising at the time and the other was retired. Taking the retired group first, he asked them to reflect on the children that they had taught years ago who had gone on to become successful adults with degrees and fulfilling careers (it is interesting to note how strong teachers’ memories are of children they have taught as long as 30 years ago; particularly those with high potential and well developed learning skills). In respect of the group of teachers that was currently practising, he asked them to select a group of children that they considered to be bright and reflect upon them. The teachers were asked to compare their memorable and bright groups with others in the class – and to identify the behaviours that distinguished the two groups. He did this without suggestion, interference or coercion so that no preconceived ideas or expectations were projected on to the teachers’ responses.

Using a technique from psychoanalysis, the attributes that differentiated the two groups of children were analysed and identified. This confirmed that children who were considered to have “high potential” were indeed markedly different in certain respects from the others. What also emerged was the fact that these qualities were shared by both groups of children; those from 30 years ago and those from the present day. The findings revealed five qualities that were associated with success in school and later life and, the more of these qualities a child had, the more successful she or he would be likely to become. These five qualities are shown below:

The core attribute of a child with high levels of potential is possession of a “Sense of Self-confidence”. This does not imply that the child is necessarily an extrovert, nor does it mean that she or he is socially skilful. Neither is it to be confused with the brashness that some children display as a result of having been given an excess of positive strokes that are not strictly warranted. It is rather an inner sense of security and autonomy; perhaps more commonly understood to be a feeling of self-worth or a high level of self-esteem.

There were two qualities that both groups of teachers regarded as inputs to this quality of “Sense of Self-confidence”. The first of these was “Purposeful Curiosity”. This is an attitude that encourages the child to explore and look beyond the self. It is seen as an urge to experiment with new ideas and to interact with the world. Teachers associated this quality with children who asked intelligent questions, sought information and were alert to the ideas of others, as well as generating their own. The second input was identified as “Achievement Motivation” – the desire to see a job through and to get a result. A child demonstrating this attribute would also want to do things well and would keep going even when they encountered barriers or obstacles. Children that possess this quality bring vigour and enthusiasm to their tasks.

When a child starts school, they learn the ability to tackle a task, to set a standard and to work with others to achieve it

In addition to these two inputs, there were two other qualities that were regarded as outputs to the core quality of “Sense of Self-confidence”. The first of these was “Mental Alertness”. This is related to having an enquiring mind and placing attention on thoughts, ideas and concepts. Children that displayed this attribute would spend considerable time reflecting on things, making connections and developing an understanding of cause-and-effect relationships. A child doing this characteristically displays an interest in finding information that is further elaborated and built upon. Using their imagination, they enter enquiry with a sense of awe and are rewarded by “eureka” moments that are experienced as exciting, or even magical.

Empathy, which underlies the ability to relate to other people, was the second output from the core quality of “Sense of Self-confidence”. People with empathy are able to put themselves in another’s shoes and generally treat others with respect. They are sensitive to other’s points of view and have a desire to build relationships. They also seek to create understanding and win agreement with those in their circle. A child with empathy has an ability to listen to others and to recognise the differences between themselves and those they are relating to. Although not a strongly correlated indicator, these children are likely to be seen in the midst of a social whirl and enjoy a high level of popularity amongst their peers.

These five qualities form the bedrock for further development throughout life and all of us display all of them to some degree, albeit in different amounts and combinations. Our personal potential, then, is reflected by our own unique cocktail of these qualities but, perhaps more interestingly, the research suggested that our potential is the same when we are adults as it was when we were children. Current research into how children develop emphasises that the relationship between nature and nurture is much more complex than had been originally thought. This fact alone reinforces the importance of “good” parenting, teaching or caring skills in bringing out the natural abilities of a child. Quite simply, this means creating opportunities and giving the child encouragement at the right times.

For instance, just before or around the age of two, a child will naturally begin to develop language skills. You can’t make them speak before they are ready, but you can prepare them for it by exposing them to rich and interesting language and encouraging their efforts. The effect of encouraging a child’s language at this time is that he or she will be inclined to talk much better than if left to their own devices. Also, the foundation upon which a child builds his or her language skills will be much stronger. This encouragement can come in the form of demonstrating language; reflecting back sounds, offering new vocabulary and repeating words and phrases until they are received and remembered.

In this way, when nature “presses the button” the child is ready to learn and will go on to speak fluently. If this opportunity is ignored, however, the child will be deprived of a rich language experience and may be delayed in their language development. More alarmingly, there is evidence to suggest that if a child is not encouraged in this way, he or she will not develop the same level of fluency as might have been attained if encouraged and prompted at the “right” time. In the first year of life, when a child needs to build a sense of trust, the quality of the relationship with “significant others” is critical. If the relationship is consistent, supportive and caring, then the child has the best opportunity to learn to trust, both him or herself and others. Later in life, this ability will appear as the empathic quality that enables the building of reciprocal relationships.

When a child reaches the age of two, there emerges a strong drive to do things unaided. He or she is consumed by a need to take control, to eschew help and find out about the world and the things in it. This capability is often developed at the expense of precious and valuable possessions. The parental challenge is to channel this desire for autonomy into “Purposeful Curiosity” by helping the child to focus on things that are safe to explore. So, rather than putting things out of reach and commanding “Don’t touch!” these are instead put in the child’s reach so that they can be picked up, examined and played with.

A parent can assist this exploratory process by asking questions and providing a framework for the child to understand what their environment is like. For instance they can ask: Is it hard or soft? Does it taste good or bad? Is it loud or quiet? Such questions can channel the child’s natural energy into this quality called “Purposeful Curiosity”; one of the building blocks of potential.

This is also the period when the child is asking Why? Why? Why? It is a phrase and phase that is well known to drive adults mad, especially as the child isn’t apparently interested in the answer. Instead of getting frustrated, however, a parent could pick up on some of the questions and engage the child in a purposeful enquiry about them. Something like this: “That’s an interesting question. Let’s have a look at it and find out more about it.” In this way, the child is rewarded for asking exploratory questions and they learn that these questions lead to rewards – focused interest and attention. This helps to harness the child’s enquiry and creates the foundation of “Purposeful Curiosity” for later development.

At a later stage of development, perhaps around the age of four, the child tries to establish itself outside the family environment. Typically, this is when a child “packs its bags and leaves home” after a row with Mum or Dad. We have all seen images of a small but purposeful being clutching a bag of valued possessions and marching off down the road to start life anew. When this happens, the parent shouldn’t be overprotective or feel guilty, but recognise it as a natural process the child has to go through. Of course, it is important to keep an eye on the child to ensure his or her safety, but it is equally important to welcome them home at the end of their adventure and to refrain from chastising or ridiculing them. Otherwise, they won’t learn to separate themselves from their parents.

When a child starts school they learn a sense of industry. This is the ability to tackle a task, to set a standard and to work with others to achieve it. Pre-schooling is a powerful force in encouraging the process of working together which leads to peer comparison and important self-knowledge. Returning to the research for a moment, it was found that parents in cultures as diverse as Europe, Africa and Asia demonstrated the same “good” parenting skills. Even though they were doing different things, they were intuitively tapping into the natural developmental stages of their children and were responding appropriately. Alert parents in any culture, therefore, have the instinctive tools to know when to challenge the child and when to be satisfied with their behaviour. They know when to insist on a higher standard, when to expose the child to risk and when to push the child out into the world.

In the final analysis, the formation of qualities of potential in children is quite natural. It is possible to influence them, but it is not possible to change the mix of these qualities to any great extent. In all cases, though, it is possible to make things better for the child. Don’t be daunted therefore, rather be intuitively spontaneous as you nurture your child. In doing this, you will be creating the foundation upon which they can build their talent and uniqueness and learn to flourish in the world.

 

Richard Scriven is an expert in the identification and development of talent in children and adults.

Dena Michelli, PhD, is a consultant specialising in the management of talent who has additionally researched and written about the transformative learning process that promotes personal and professional development.

 

 

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