The Underrepresentation of African American Students in Gifted Programs

1. The Underrepresentation of African American Students in Gifted Programs By Monique Sims

2. The Foundation on which all our constitutions are built is the natural equality of man. -Thomas Jefferson

3. Background • Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) • Brown v. Board of Education (1954) • Education Inequality • Resources and opportunity • Large Minority population • Nearly 50%, Newborns, 2009 • Over- and underrepresentation

4. Rationale • Underrepresentation of Minority students in gifted education is a substantial problem • These students make up a large portion of the school age population and yet their talent is going to waste

5. Research Questions • What are the factors that contribute to the underrepresentation of African American students in gifted programs? • What are the experiences and feelings of these students in gifted programs?

6. Gifted Education • 1972 Marland Report • 1993 Federal Definition • Culture • SES • Disparity continues

7. Attitudes and Beliefs ABOUT African American Students • Model Minority • Mass media • Deficit Thinking • Remediation • Falsification and misinterpretation of data • Entity Theory of Intelligence • Cultural Misinterpretation • 85%-90%

8. Attitudes and Beliefs OF African American Students • Acting White • Negative-criticism • Intelligence, Preppy, Uptight • Stereotype Threat • Confirm or deny

9. Other Contributing Factors • Biased Testing • Standardized- “Objective? • Dominant culture • Teacher Training • Gifted • Multicultural

10. Implications and Recommendations • Teacher Training • Critical Examination of Beliefs • Family communication • Culturally relevant instruction • Teach by example

11. References • Reference List