Gifted Hispanic Identity: Exploring Relationships Among Resilience, Goals and Academic Orientation

The purpose of this phenomenological analysis was to explore the identity development of gifted Hispanic male students in the middle school setting. The study used a survey, multiple interviews and observations, along with focus group data to acquire data in four principle areas: academic orientation, ethnic identity, resilience and goals. Results indicate the importance of resilience as an interactive element in the process of identity development, as well as the importance of ethnic identity exploration and long-term goal setting in formulating a high achieving academic orientation. Other emergent themes such as language use and discrimination are also discussed in light of identity development