Date of Award

1-1-2009

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Organizational Unit

Morgridge College of Education

First Advisor

Nicholas Cutforth, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Norma Hafenstein

Third Advisor

P. Bruce Uhrmacher

Fourth Advisor

Carolyn Mears

Keywords

African-American, Cultural responsive, Gifted education, Multicultural

Abstract

While schools are experiencing unparalleled racial, linguistic, and ethnic diversity, gifted programs do not reflect these changing demographics. In fact, African-American students are less than half as likely to be in gifted classes and programs than are their European-American counterparts. In addition, little is known about the impact of gifted programs on students.

This qualitative study incorporated oral history interviews to examine the experiences of four gifted African-American students who attended full time programs or schools designed for gifted students. In telling their stories through narratives, participants constructed past events with a focus on the personal meanings ascribed to their experiences. Thus, the impact of gifted programming is revealed through both benefits and costs, and implications for educational stakeholders surfaced.

Blending oral history with educational criticism and connoisseurship provided a framework with which to describe, interpret, and evaluate the educational events and settings of these gifted students. Recurring themes - adversity, resilience, and acceptance - emerged from the analysis of the data and defined the educational experiences of these gifted African-American students. Insights from each participant were combined with essential features that emerged from the interpretation and evaluation of their stories. Implications focused on issues of advocacy, awareness and acknowledgement, and support. Resulting recommendations hold significance for those who work with and advocate for gifted African-American students and/or for those who make policies that guide gifted programming.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Rivian Segal Bass

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

236 p.

Discipline

Curriculum development, Bilingual education, School counseling

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