Low+SES+in+Gifted+Education



__ INTRODUCTION __ “Conceptions of giftedness differ between and even within cultures, and the lesson of a cultural approach is that we need to honor these differences and do our best to take them into account.” – Robert J. Sternberg (2007)

Gifted education is a service that, depending on the state, is mandated and/or funded in order to give special services to those children who excel in one or more subjects in the academic setting. Students are usually nominated for gifted services by their teacher, and once the gifted coordinator has received this child’s name, they are put through a series of tests in order to see if the child does qualify for gifted services through their school.

In states where gifted education is mandated, there must be a certain percent of students who are receiving gifted services. These students are nominated by their teachers in order to be in the gifted program. According to the National Association for Gifted Children, a national sample of teachers showed that sixty-five percent of teachers were not prepared or trained to identify or teach students who were academically gifted. Therefore, the teachers identify students by criteria that is considered to be “traditionally” gifted: intelligent, good student, pays attention in class, has parental involvement, and has no behavior problems while in the educational environment. While a gifted student could fit this description, it is rare that a gifted student of today’s age falls under the “traditional” criteria.

According to the Georgia Department of Education website, Georgia defines giftedness as a student who “demonstrates a high degree of intellectual and/or creative ability(ies), exhibits an exceptionally high degree of motivation, and/or excels in specific academic fields, and who needs special instruction and/or special ancillary services to achieve at levels commensurate with his or her ability(ies).” This definition may not seem biased, however, some factors of the definition only apply to students who are of middle to high socioeconomic status and have high parental involvement. According to a study done by Costello, Keeler, and Angold (2007), African Americans are three times more likely to live in poverty than Caucasian children. American Indian, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian families are more likely than Caucasian students to live in poverty as well. Statistics say that in 2005, the demographics represented in gifted schools all over Georgia were 83,988 Caucasian students, 17,786 African American Students, 6,852 Asian students, 2,895 Hispanic students, 183 Native American students, and 2,561 Multiracial students. These statistics directly correlate with the facts portrayed on socioeconomic status of students who live in poverty. The students who statistically live in poverty and have low socioeconomic status are also the students who are not represented in gifted programs across the state of Georgia.

Students with low socioeconomic status are not given many opportunities as an early developer, and thus do not have as many chances to develop their gifts and talents prior to entering school at kindergarten. These students may not exhibit a “high degree of intellectual abilities” compared to all the students who are identified as gifted, but they may have high intellectual abilities compared to those of their ethnicity and socioeconomic status. However, because these students do not compare with the “smartest” or “highest achieving” students, they are not considered for gifted education, even though they may need the services in order to be successful.

Because of the statistics showing that students with low socioeconomic status are not represented in the gifted classroom setting, we focused on resources and identification techniques to better assist teachers who may or may not be qualified to identify gifted students. We should not place blame on those teachers who do not have the qualifications and education to identify students for gifted services. Instead, we should make the education mandatory in order to teach in a state that mandates and/or funds gifted services and provide these teachers with the resources necessary in order to make themselves and the students successful.

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW TO LEARN MORE