Culturally Diverse Bias in Gifted Education
There is no denial that prejudice and discrimination, whether intentionally or not, remain in our world and in our educational system today. To be completely unbiased in any aspect of education sounds perfect, but is impossible because we are all human and we are diverse. Just like the students we teach, we teachers come from different backgrounds, have different life experiences, and our own different cultures. I believe very few educators purposely discriminate against culturally diverse groups; however studies show that the number of minority students enrolled in gifted programs is historically lower in proportion than their white peers. I feel that the main underlying causes for the under-representation of African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, and other culturally diverse groups lies in the procedures and practices used to identify and educate gifted students. Teachers are less likely to identify them to be tested; minority students score lower on the current assessments due to test bias; and once in a gifted program, culturally diverse students are not able to work to their potential.
Oftentimes students in minority groups are less likely to be recommended for entrance into gifted programs due to teacher referral bias. Given the responsibility to suggest students for gifted assessment procedures, educators must consider that students who are economically disadvantaged and/or cultural minorities may lag behind their peers in their life experiences. As a result, their giftedness may not be as visibly obvious as students who were given more opportunities as young children. For example, students raised in economically poor homes may have experienced less time reading with a parent if that parent had to work multiple jobs and was absent from the home much of the time. This doesn’t signify that those students were cared for any less. On the contrary, having a parent work more than one job in order to provide for their family illustrates their devotion to providing for their family. However, the student may still suffer negative effects from the lack of parental involvement in their earlier developmental years. Teachers commonly identify students who appear to be bright in math, reading, writing, or advanced critical thinking as potentially gifted, recommending additional assessments. On the other hand, minority students may shine in less conventional ways, and those students who exhibit their giftedness in other uncommon areas may be overlooked. Potentially an educator may not consider an African American, Native American, Hispanic, or economically disadvantaged student as gifted if that student hides his/her brilliance. Giftedness is not always appreciated in some minority groups, and subsequently students don’t value their talents, especially if it makes them appear different and separates them from their friends. African American students, especially, are accused of “acting white” if they are enrolled in gifted education programs, where being white is the norm. Overcoming teacher bias in identifying potential for further evaluation for gifted programs is just the first obstacle many bright minority students must encounter.
Despite their popularity and widespread use, there has been a great deal of controversy surrounding the use and usefulness of intelligences tests for making decisions about culturally diverse students. “Decades of research have proven that standardized tests are an unreliable and inaccurate measure of student achievement and do not measure student potential. In fact, the data reveal that the strongest correlation is between test scores and socio-economic status.” (Strauss) The documented culture bias of many standardized tests contributes to the issue of under-representation of minority students in gifted education programs. Theres is a distinct bias in the validity of many intelligence tests. Basically, does the test measure what it’s intended to measure? Testing a Hispanic student in English, who is not yet proficient in English, does not evaluate his/her intelligence. Rather it assesses his/her language skills. That student may know the right answer, but cannot show it if they do not understand the question. Another concern is that certain students from culturally diverse backgrounds my not have the knowledge or experiences necessary to correctly answer a question. If a question is posed about a topic unknown to a student due to lack of exposure or experience, he/she is at a disadvantage. For instance, if a Hispanic student is asked a question about football on an evaluation, he/she may misinterpret the question to mean what we consider the sport of soccer, since it is known by that name in most countries other than the United States. Often, intelligence tests are given too much power, and if a student scores poorly, there is a reasonable probability that they will be denied the chance to enter a gifted education program. Educators should not interpret test scores in isolation. Instead various forms of data should be collected and utilized to form a more comprehensive decision.
Finally, gifted education courses, themselves, may discourage participation by culturally diverse students. “A study by Moore, Ford, & Milner (2005) identifies that attrition is common among minority students in gifted programs.” (Pauley and Johnstone) Minority students can feel isolated from their friends if they are separated and served in different classroom or group setting. Further isolation may occur if the content is not relevant to the student, taking into account his/her cultural background, or if the instructional methods of the teacher are culturally mismatched to the student’s needs. Minority students who feel uncomfortable with the differences between themselves and the other gifted students may adjust to conform to the social and behavioral norms of their own culture in order to fit it, thus becoming an underachiever. They don’t want to appear different from their friends and would rather not be detached from what they find comfortable. Nor do they want to confront ridicule from fellow classmates for trying to “act white.”
The methods used to identify and programs designed to educate gifted students are key defects in classifying culturally diverse students as gifted. Whether they are overlooked by their own teachers, score a less than desirable score on intelligence tests, or receive inadequate instruction once accepted into a gifted education program, minority students are lagging behind their white counterparts in the area of gifted education. If culturally diverse students are continuously denied access to gifted education programs, then those programs will increase the gap between those students and their peers that are accepted into the gifted programs. The difficult challenge to ensure gifted students in all groups benefit from gifted programs equally in our educational system continues, and needs to be corrected by getting to the root of the inconsistencies and then creating a real and credible plan that can be authentically assessed.
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