Culturally Diverse and Underserved Populations of Gifted Students In the United States and in Taiwan: Equitable Access to Gifted Education

There is a continuing increase in the African American and Hispanic student populations in public schools. The students who are invited to gifted programs are overwhelmingly White. This is the situation in schools in the United States and also in Taiwan. Misunderstanding or unawareness of culture difference among educators might contribute to underrepresentation of minority students in gifted programs. The research literature reviewed indicates that a deficit in orientation, ineffective teacher referral policies, and the use of culturally biased assessments are the major reasons responsible for low rates of identification for gifted minority students. The purpose of this thesis is to explore more effective strategies to identify, or to increase awareness of gifted minority students and provide them equitable access to gifted education. The researcher interviewed six teachers of the gifted program to collect information in the United States and in Taiwan related to underrepresented minority students in gifted education programs. According to the results, the researcher generalized four key reasons of disparity in the gifted program: definition of giftedness, family factors, identification procedure and instruments, and curriculum and instruction