Minorities, females, underachievers, twice exceptional, and poverty stricken students represent a diverse range of abilities and require attention. While they are all underserved in comparison to the general education student or average gifted student, there is one population that needs the most support. By evaluating them individually, I hope to be able to come to a conclusion myself.
Females
Gifted females are an interesting population, simply because they face a few problems that undermine their abilities as learners. A few of these problems, identified by researchers Smutny & Blocksom are listed below:
- Gender stereotypes pervasive in society;
- Lack of role models;
- Declining confidence in their abilities;
- Mixed messages and conflicting expectations from teachers and parents; and
- Peer pressure to hide their abilities and intelligence (Smutny, 1999)
Most of these issues are of the social nature. Gifted females are not challenged to break the mold and therefore hide their abilities or fall into patterns of underachievement. Because there are so many social pressures during a student's transformative years, "the desire for friends, a disinclination to stand out, fear of ridicule, along with the need for acceptance, often impel gifted girls to make their abilities appear ordinary or even nonexistent" (The Learning Environment, n.d.). Beyond the classroom, gifted females struggling with their identity will choose career paths that are not appropriate matches to their abilities (The Learning Environment, n.d.).
Because it is important to growing students—especially females—to conform to social norms, girls with gifted abilities might not be identified, nor their abilities fully realized.
Underachievers
This population of gifted learners is most definitely the one I have the most experience with. My boyfriend of five years has struggled with underachievement—despite his wide range of abilities—his entire academic career. According to research, "about half of the gifted children who score in the top 5% of intellectual ability on individualized IQ tests do not demonstrate comparable school achievement" (Reis, McCoach, n.d.). So what causes this discrepancy? And is there something teachers aren't doing that encourages more and more capable students to perform at a lower level than they could?
Well, in the effort to define underachievement, three factors have been found to be the most prevalent in underachieving gifted students:
The only place I saw my boyfriend excel was in the science lab, and that was if he didn't have to do a lab write up about it. Eventually, he failed almost every class he attended in high school and dropped out of the traditional college setting to take classes at his own pace. On formative and summative assessments, he would score in the top percentage, if not at the top, of our class. On paper, it looked like he had never spent a day in school. Now, he works as a general contractor, supervising the construction of single family homes in Miami, Florida. This is, in my opinion, the first time that he has ever had the opportunity to learn independently, work in an area he is interested in, and produce something all his own—something gifted students should be challenged with their entire scholastic life.
I firmly believe that our school, no different than other schools without rigorous and extensive gifted programs, failed my boyfriend as a student. More often than not, students like him are labeled as "lazy" or "unmotivated," simply because teachers and programs are not meeting their needs. What's more is that students with disabilities and giftedness find this problem, too.
Well, in the effort to define underachievement, three factors have been found to be the most prevalent in underachieving gifted students:
- They have some physical, cognitive, or emotional issue that prevent them from achieving their full potential (Reis, McCoach, n.d.).
- There is a "mismatch" between a teacher and a student (Siegle & McCoach, 2001).
- The student possesses low self-motivation, self-regulation, or self-efficacy
(Reis & McCoach, 2000).
The only place I saw my boyfriend excel was in the science lab, and that was if he didn't have to do a lab write up about it. Eventually, he failed almost every class he attended in high school and dropped out of the traditional college setting to take classes at his own pace. On formative and summative assessments, he would score in the top percentage, if not at the top, of our class. On paper, it looked like he had never spent a day in school. Now, he works as a general contractor, supervising the construction of single family homes in Miami, Florida. This is, in my opinion, the first time that he has ever had the opportunity to learn independently, work in an area he is interested in, and produce something all his own—something gifted students should be challenged with their entire scholastic life.
I firmly believe that our school, no different than other schools without rigorous and extensive gifted programs, failed my boyfriend as a student. More often than not, students like him are labeled as "lazy" or "unmotivated," simply because teachers and programs are not meeting their needs. What's more is that students with disabilities and giftedness find this problem, too.
Twice Exceptional
These are the rare students that are highly knowledgeable and talented in certain areas, coupled with attention or learning disabilities that "thwart their development and obscure their gifted potential" (Baum, 2004). Because these students are identified with their disability at an early age, it is typical that their giftedness will be overlooked or go "unseen" for years.
There are several types of twice exceptional students, including but not limited to students with ADHD, Asperger's Syndrome, and Learning Disabilities. Often times, teachers will find it difficult to tend to the needs of these children, simply because they require scaffolding in one area and increased rigor in another. For example, if a student is learning disabled in reading but gifted in math, that student will require extra support to be able to read the more challenging word problems he might face.
Unfortunately, teachers—and even gifted specialists—struggle to properly support these learners, simply because there aren't very many of them.
Poverty Stricken
Gifted students facing economic disparity are also neglected. Although we've read that genetics plays a role in giftedness, the "nature versus nurture debate" continues (Davis, 1985). Additional research has shown that "poverty often impedes development of children with respect to language, perception, curiosity, and self-efficacy" (Passow, 1981). Therefore, how do impoverished gifted students realize their full potential?
Sometimes, they don't. Some of these students lack access to educational opportunities, TV programs, and/or parental support. Without these, a gifted student's early interests and skills are not nurtured, but instead stifled (Passow, 1981).
Sometimes, they don't. Some of these students lack access to educational opportunities, TV programs, and/or parental support. Without these, a gifted student's early interests and skills are not nurtured, but instead stifled (Passow, 1981).
Minorities
Much like gifted children struck with poverty, minorities may also lack access to necessary opportunities that would encourage the development of gifted tendencies. In addition, it is possible that these children—and the parents of these children—would experience a language barrier which makes it difficult to understand the gifted services that are available to them.
Coming from a hispanic background, I know how difficult it is for parents of these children, who may not be able to speak fluently in English, to have conversations with teachers. It is possible that these parents have not been informed of the different options their child has, as far as their education goes.
On top of the possible language barrier, the actual gifted program itself does not encourage participation of minorities. Many believe that the process currently used to identify gifted children is culturally biased. It is possible that a combination of the following reasons are the cause of the underrepresentation of minorities in gifted programs:
- Narrow definition of giftedness;
- Choice of biased testing instruments (standardized tests);
- Use of teacher nomination forms that lack information on how students perform in spite racial biases;
- Failure to consider the influence stereotypes have on test performance; and
- Failure to use alternative and appropriate strategies to identify these learners (Dorn, 2009)
As a result, some experts argue that gifted programs, in general, may discourage participation altogether (Dorn, 2009).
Coming from a hispanic background, I know how difficult it is for parents of these children, who may not be able to speak fluently in English, to have conversations with teachers. It is possible that these parents have not been informed of the different options their child has, as far as their education goes.
On top of the possible language barrier, the actual gifted program itself does not encourage participation of minorities. Many believe that the process currently used to identify gifted children is culturally biased. It is possible that a combination of the following reasons are the cause of the underrepresentation of minorities in gifted programs:
- Narrow definition of giftedness;
- Choice of biased testing instruments (standardized tests);
- Use of teacher nomination forms that lack information on how students perform in spite racial biases;
- Failure to consider the influence stereotypes have on test performance; and
- Failure to use alternative and appropriate strategies to identify these learners (Dorn, 2009)
As a result, some experts argue that gifted programs, in general, may discourage participation altogether (Dorn, 2009).
Where We Are Lacking
In my opinion, Twice Exceptional students are the most underserved out of all the underserved gifted populations. Far too many nontraditional gifted students are neglected within gifted programs due to improper identification. Twice exceptional students, however, find the most frustration because their disability could lead experts to miss the gifted qualities these students possess. Additionally, many subjects go hand in hand—they require one another to gain deep understanding. If these students are struggling with reading, it is difficult for them to read and interpret the directions for other, more complicated assignments.
This unfortunate relationship is likely to cause frustration for a child. Although they can achieve more in one subject, it is another subject that hinders their progression. What's more? Teachers and administrators so rarely experience these students that they are completely unprepared to help them.
Students like these may have low scores on standardized tests, may lack traits that would be indicative of giftedness, or may possess behavior issues that disqualify them from the gifted identification process.
I believe that it is important for teachers of all students to have some sort of training, whether it be a few hours or a complete certification, on how to handle and teach gifted children. Additionally, they should be hypersensitive to the qualities of nontraditional gifted students and be able to identify potential gifted children that display nontraditional gifted qualities.
This unfortunate relationship is likely to cause frustration for a child. Although they can achieve more in one subject, it is another subject that hinders their progression. What's more? Teachers and administrators so rarely experience these students that they are completely unprepared to help them.
What to Do Now
The most important thing we can do for twice exceptional students, and all underserved populations of gifted students, is improve our identification process. It is unlikely that students in these populations would be identified as gifted through the traditional identification process (Baum, 2004).Students like these may have low scores on standardized tests, may lack traits that would be indicative of giftedness, or may possess behavior issues that disqualify them from the gifted identification process.
I believe that it is important for teachers of all students to have some sort of training, whether it be a few hours or a complete certification, on how to handle and teach gifted children. Additionally, they should be hypersensitive to the qualities of nontraditional gifted students and be able to identify potential gifted children that display nontraditional gifted qualities.
References
Smutny, J. (1999). Gifted Girls. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
The Learning Environment. (n.d.). Meeting the Needs of Gifted Students. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
Reis, S., & Mccoach, D. (n.d.). Underachievement in Gifted and Talented Students With Special Needs. Exceptionality, 113-125.
Reis, S. M. & McCoach, D. B. (2000). The underachievement of gifted students: What do we know and where do we go? Gifted Child Quarterly, 44, 152-170.
Reis, S. M. & McCoach, D. B. (2000). The underachievement of gifted students: What do we know and where do we go? Gifted Child Quarterly, 44, 152-170.
Siegle, D. & McCoach, D. B. (2001). Promoting a positive achievement attitude with gifted and talented students. The social and emotional development of gifted children: What do we know? Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.
Baum, S. (2004). Introduction to Twice-Exceptional and Special Populations of Gifted Students. Retrieved from http://www.corwin.com/upm-data/7019_baum_intro.pdf
Dorn, R. (2009). Addressing Underrepresentation of Student Populations in Gifted Programs.
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