Factors that influence the identification of elementary African American students as potentially gifted learners

2012-03-26The purpose of this research study was to examine factors that influence the identification of elementary African American students for gifted programs and to discover why these students are not equally represented. Concerns over recruiting and retaining Black students in gifted education programs have continued for several decades. ❧ This study was guided by a quantitative design through the use of a survey to gather the data about teachers’ perceptions, knowledge of learning styles, and utilization of various instructional strategies. The sample consisted of 40 elementary school teachers from ethnically diverse schools located in three counties of southern California. The survey asked both demographic and close-ended questions that related to the influential factors mentioned in the research questions. A survey design provided a numerical analysis of teachers’ perceptions and attitudes about identifying elementary African American students as potentially gifted learners. Responses were coded and tabulated in order to classify the factors that influenced the identification process for gifted programs. ❧ The major findings showed that teachers’ perceptions of African American students with regard to familial traits, behavioral characteristics, and physical appearance would rarely or never influence their consideration for gifted programs. The majority of the teachers felt they offered praise and encouragement to the African American students in their classrooms. The data exposed that the teachers’ knowledge of learning styles was not evident because the majority of the teachers did not feel African American students learned in the ways described in the statements of the survey questions. The surveyed items revealed that the majority of the teachers used instructional and differentiated curriculum strategies in their classrooms. Most teachers felt their classrooms portrayed diverse role models through educational materials