First, you should know . . .

• Black students represent 17.13% of the public school population, but only 9.15% of those are in gifted education.

• This represents a 47% discrepancy.

• Specifically, these unidentified students equate to over 250,000 Black students who are not participating in gifted education.

Gifted Education Press Quarterly SUMMER 2010 Vol. 24, No. 3

Reasons why African American students are under-represented in gifted programs:

1. Lack of clarity regarding a definition of giftedness, particularly regarding African American perspectives

National Definition

“The term “gifted and talented students” means children and youth who give evidence of high performance capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop such capabilities.”

State Definition

• Intellectually gifted children and youth are those who perform or who have demonstrated the potential to perform at high levels in academic or creative fields when compared with others of their age, experience, or environment. These children and youth require services not ordinarily provided by the regular school program. Children and youth possessing these abilities can be found in all populations, across all economic strata, and in all areas of human endeavor.

Clarification

• Capability: a feature or faculty capable of development : potentiality

• Potential: existing in possibility : capable of development into actuality

Reasons why African American students are under-represented in gifted programs:

2. Poor performance on achievement and/or aptitude tests

Minority students have cultural deficits that contribute to poor performance

Tests are culturally bias because they are normed on a sample of all White or predominately White students

What they need and what we provide.

• Research indicates that Black students tend to be field-dependent, visual, and concrete learners.

• Teachers tend to use methods of instruction that are more verbal, abstract, and decontextualized (to remove from a

context).One result of mismatched learning and teaching styles

is underachievement for gifted minority students.

Underachieving Gifted Students

Who are the underachievers?

Students who fail to achieve to his or her potential or does not do as well as expected.

Ford (1995) found that 46% of the gifted Black students surveyed were underachieving.

A student may be referred for consideration for gifted services by:

• Teachers

• Counselors

• Administrators

• Parents or guardians

• Peers

• Self

• Other individuals with knowledge of the student’s abilities

Reasons why African American students are under-represented in gifted programs:

3. Overreliance on untrained teachers’ input for identification processes

Effects of Teacher Perspectives on Gifted Referrals

• Numerous studies indicate that teacher expectations have a powerful impact on student achievement (e.g., Good, 1981).

• Using teachers to define underachievement presents some problems if teachers lack objectivity or training in gifted education and multicultural education.

• Teachers tend to have lower expectations for minority and low income students than for other students (Hale-Benson, 1986).

• Consequently, minority students may not be identified as either gifted or underachieving.

Effects of Teacher Perspectives on Gifted Referrals – cont’d

• Low teacher expectations for minority students may relate to a lack of teacher training in both multicultural and gifted education.

• Such unprepared teachers are less likely to refer minority students for gifted education services or to complete checklists favorably.

• When students do not have access to appropriate education, they have difficulty reaching their potential. The result may be underachievement due to disinterest, frustration, and lack of challenge.

Back to perspectives . . .

• Culture: the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group

• African American students’ perspectives of school performance and behaviors are products of their culture and life experiences.

• Teacher’s perspectives of instruction and student potential are products of their culture and life experiences.

Characteristics of Giftedness for African American students

• High nonverbal fluency and originality.

• High creative productivity in small groups.

• Adeptness in visual art activities.

• High creativity in movement, dance, and other physical activities.

• Ability to be highly motivated by games, music, sports, humor, and concrete objects.

• Use of language rich in imagery.

Be a part of the solution.

• Learn as much as you can about your African American students. What are their learning styles? How do their cultures effect their school performance?

• Look at your African American students through a new perspective. What potential are they trying to show you? Are you going to see his or her giftedness?

References:

• Bonner, F. & Jennings, M. (2007). Never too young to lead: gifted African American males in elementary school. Gifted Child Today, 30.2,

• Capability. (n.d.) In Dictionary.com Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/capability

• Castellano, J. (2003). Special populations in gifted education: Working with diverse gifted learners.Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon

• Culture. (n.d.) In Dictionary.com Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/culture

• Ford, D. & Thomas, A. (1997). Underachievement among gifted minority students: Problems and promises. ERIC Digests, #E544. Retrieved from

http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=156

• Ford, D. & Trotman, M. (2010). Under-representation of African American students in gifted education: Nine theories and frameworks for information, understanding, and change. Gifted Education Press Quarterly, 24 (3). Retrieved from http://www.giftededpress.com/GEPQSUMMER2010.pdf

References – cont’d

• Karnes, F. A. & Stephens, K.R. (2008). Historical perspectives in gifted education: In Achieving excellence: Educating the gifted and talented. (pp. 2-17). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

• Oakland, T., & Rossen, E. (2005). A 21st-Century Model for Identifying Students for Gifted and Talented Programs in Light of National Conditions: An Emphasis on Race and Ethnicity. Gifted Child Today, 28(4), 56-63. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.

• Potential. (n.d.) In Dictionary.com Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/potential

• Renzulli, J. (1973). Talent Potential in Minority Group Students. Exceptional Children, 39(6), 437-444. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.

• Underachiever. (n.d.) In Dictionary.com Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/underachiever