Dea Manotas, Shea Criss, Carolina Groom, Pam Reynolds

Cultural Diversity in

Gifted Education

Cultural Diversity in Gifted Education• Cultural diversity in gifted education

includes: African American, Hispanic American, Native American, and Asian American.

Factors for Underrepresentation of Minority Students (African American, Hispanic, and Native American)

• Family Factors• Social Factors• School Culture Factors• Psychological Factors• Student Achievement • Language

Family Factors• Stressful home life• Single parent home• Lack of Parental education • Low socioeconomic status• Lack of supervision• Poor communication between home and school• Family history of drop-outs• Low or unrealistic expectations

Social Factors• Little or no extracurricular activities• Socialize with low achieving students• Need for peer acceptance• Student lives in one or more risk factors (poverty,

single parent family, and poorly educated parents)

School Culture Factors• Low expectations • Alienation from classmates and teachers• Little attention given to multicultural education• Minority students are underrepresented in gifted

program

Psychological Factors• Low or lack of motivation• Negative school attitude• Poor relations with authority/adult figures• Low self-esteem• Poor racial identity• Low academic self concepts• Needs immediate gratification

Student Achievement• Low grades or GPA• Low standardized test scores• Little or no effort given to academics• Disruptive behavior• Procrastination• Poor study skills

Cultural Bias• Lack of vocabulary• Stereotypes and prejudices• Bilingual lifestyles between school and home• Standardized test written for white middle class• Background experiences• Low teacher expectations

Enrollment Comparisons

01020304050607080

AfricanAmerican

Hispanic White NativeAmerican

Total Enrollment

Identified MentallyRetardedIdentified Gifted

(Source: Office for Civil Rights in Losen & Orfield, 2002)

Overrepresented• While minorities are underrepresented in the

gifted program, the Asian population is often overrepresented. However, they are often under identified in special education.

Bibliography• http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/newsletter/winter05/winter052.h

tml• http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/newsletter/winter05/winter053.h

tml• http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/siegle/tag/Digests/e544.html• http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/reports/rm04186/rm04186.pdf• http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=656• http://www.jkcf.org/assets/files/0000/0084/Achievement_Trap.pdf• http://www.nagc.org/uploadedFiles/Publications/Overlooked%20Ge

ms%20(password%20protected%20-%20gifted).pdf• http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/frashun1.html• http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Identifying_Talents/• http://www.slideserve.com/engelbert/minority-children-in-special-a

nd-gifted-education• http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=527110• http://www.sengifted.org/archives/article_category/diversityspecial-

populations-of-gifted• http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/eric/e544.html