The underrepresentation of minority groups in North Carolina's gifted programs
- UNCW Author/Contributor (non-UNCW co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Sonja M. Adger (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW )
- Web Site: http://library.uncw.edu/
- Advisor
- Karen Wetherill
Abstract: African American, American Indians, and Hispanic Americans have traditionally
been excluded from gifted programs in the nation. In 1996, North Carolina addressed the
concern of underrepresentation by passing a law, Article 9B, giving school systems
greater flexibility in identification procedures. Since the implementation of Article 9B,
some school systems are showing fewer gaps in representation than others. The purpose
of this study is to compare identification procedures for six school systems representing
small and wide gaps in minority participation to determine those characteristics that are
driving greater participation for some school systems. Six school systems were divided
into two groups- systems with small gaps and systems with large gaps. Comparisons
were made in three ways: among systems with small gaps in representation, among
systems with larger gaps in representation, and between systems with small and large
gaps in representation. The results indicate that four characteristics in the identification
process may encourage the inclusion of more minority students in gifted programs. They
were (1) assigning more weight to some indicators of giftedness, (2) using performance
as a criterion for placement, (3) using Naglieri Nonverbal Abilities test as an alternative
instrument for culturally different populations, and (4) requiring one hundred eighty
hours of teacher training for certification.
The underrepresentation of minority groups in North Carolina's gifted programs
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Created on 1/1/2009
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- A Thesis Submitted to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Education
- Language: English
- Date: 2009
- Keywords
- Children of minorities--Education--United States, Gifted children--Education--United States, Minorities--Education--United States
- Subjects
- Children of minorities -- Education -- United States
- Gifted children -- Education -- United States
- Minorities -- Education -- United States