2. The Problem
For several decades, the negative correlation
between an ethnically-diverse population of
students in the public school systems and the
recommendation and participation of minorities
in gifted education has become increasingly
more noticeable.
Dr. Ford
Professor of Special Education at Vanderbilt University
3. The outstanding gap between the growing rate of
minorities represented in the public school
system and stagnant, low participation of
minorities in gifted and talented programs might
lead one to question the definition of “giftedness,”
the process by which students are identified as
gifted, the validity of instruments used for
identification, and the attitudes of various ethnic
groups toward gifted education.
4. What does it mean to be
gifted?
“Students, children, or youth who give evidence of
high achievement capability in areas such as
intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity,
or in specific academic fields, and who need
services and activities not ordinarily provided by
the school in order to fully develop those
capabilities”
-National Association for Gifted Children
5. According to Dr. Ford,
this definition has
changed five times since
1970.
6. Past Definitions
The first gifted children were identified
solely by an IQ score of 130 or higher.
Two years later, U.S. Commissioner of Education
Sidney P. Marland, Jr. proposed that the definition be
expanded to include students who excelled
creatively or in a specific field of academia.
At the time, the number of individuals receiving
gifted education services was relatively low.
-Dr. Kaufman (Professor of Psychology at NYU
7. Yet Another Shift
In the early 80’s, developmental
psychologist Howard Gardner
developed the Theory of Multiple
Intelligences.
Eight Facets of Intelligence:
linguistic, logic-mathematical,
musical, spatial, bodily/
kinesthetic, interpersonal,
intrapersonal, or naturalistic
In the late 90’s this research was used to expand the
definition of giftedness and include students who
expressed intelligence in each of these areas.
8. What Does the Morphing
Definition Suggest?
It is difficult to define intelligence.
Many psychologists suggest that
intelligence is merely a social
construct, manipulated to meet diverse
purposes in given situations.
(Ford, 2003)
9. What Process is Used to
Identify Students?
The identification process varies from state to
state. As of 1998, only 27 states had clear policies
on due process for students who are considered
“gifted.” (Ford, 1998)
Generally, entrance into a gifted program requires a
referral from a teacher or parent, an I.Q. of 130 or
greater, and a minimum score on a checklist of
characteristics of gifted children.
(Dr. Shaunessy, Assistant Professor of Special Education at the
University of Florida)
10. The subjectivity of the qualifications for
identification may explain part of the
disconnect between the percentage of
minority students in the public school
system and the percentage of minority
students participating in gifted education
programs.
(Ford, 2003)
11. According to Sternberg,
who created the
Triarchic Theory of
Intelligence, what one
culture may value as
giftedness, another may
not recognize.
If this is the case, teachers
may find that they are
insensitive to the
attributes of giftedness in
his or her ethnically-
diverse students.
12. How Can Teachers More Accurately Identify
Gifted Students?
-Participate in professional development opportunities
with gifted learners in mind.
-Constantly engage in critical self-examination
and explore personal attitudes and perceptions
toward achievement and opportunities of
minority students.
-Gather and study reliable information to
understand various cultural groups and integrate
multicultural perspectives into instruction.
13. Are the Assessment Tools Valid?
Ford (2003) infers that as ethnic diversity
became more prevalent in public school
systems, the pull toward biased standardized
assessments increased.
When widely given to a multicultural sample,
results of the assessments used to measure I.Q. of
individuals often illustrate deficits in intelligence
from various ethnic groups. This does not indicate
that an ethnic groups as an entirety is lacking in
intelligence, but may speak to the fallible nature of
the instruments being used.
(Edwards,2006: The University of Central Florida
Department of Child, Family, & Community Sciences)
14. Dr. Kelly Rodgers of University of Texas
at San Antonio and many other scholars
are currently advocating for the
implementation of alternative
assessment tools or an additional
multicultural component that accurately
highlights the “giftedness” of students
from multicultural backgrounds.
15. Alternative Assessments
-Fraiser Talent
Assessment Profile
-Portfolios of
student work
-Combinations of
diagnostic instruments
Dr. Mary M. Fraiser, who
developed the Fraiser
Talent Assessment Profile
16. How Do the Attitudes Toward
Giftedness Affect Participation?
In some cases, ethnically-diverse
students are identified as “gifted,”
but choose not to participate in
gifted programs.
17. In Shaunessy’s study with Latino students, he noted that
students habitually made statements relating race or
ethnicity to certain behaviors or expectations in the
academic setting.
One student made the statement that students who
were noticeably bright and talented were seen as
“acting White.”
The Latino students who were gifted also reported
comments or actions taken by teachers that displayed
a sense of surprise that they would exceed the
success of their Caucasian counterparts.
18. Rather than being recommended for gifted services,
Latino students are being retained at a rate that far
exceeds their counterparts. While many attribute
this to a language barrier, scholars propose that the
continual retention may affect society’s attitudes
toward ethnically diverse students. According to
Ford, Caucasian teachers have a tendency to view the
behaviors and characteristics of white students as the
norm in the classroom and may view the
characteristics and behaviors of minority students as
unfavorable.
19. The underrepresentation of minorities in
gifted education is evident.
To combat this injustice, we as educators must...
- seek and find the most accurate definition of “giftedness
- employ the most culturally unbiased instruments for identification
- constantly assess our own understanding of giftedness in various cultures
- destroy stereotypes that hold certain groups to a higher or lower
standard
