Yolŋu Way and the DMGT (Talent Development): A Mismatch

Gagné’s Differentiating Model of Giftedness and Talents [DMGT] has enjoyed widespread uptake in Australia. Little work has been done, though, to determine if this popular model can account for the culturally diverse views of its fundamental concepts. This article reports a study that compared the talent development infrastructure of Gagné’s DMGT (with a particular focus on the DMGT 2.0) with talent development from a Yolnu (an Australian Aboriginal group) worldview. This comparison reveals that there is a tension between the DMGT’s formal process (D) and the Yolnu’s more responsive approach to talent development. There is greater alignment, though, when the DMGT 2.0’s catalysts are considered; however, both the Intrapersonal (I) and Environmental (E) catalysts are mediated by the Yolnu’s cultural context. Ultimately, the DMGT has some difficulty housing Yolnu approaches to talent development.