The participation of black students in programs for the gifted and talented: A case study
Epperson, Steven Kenneth
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/21862
Description
Title
The participation of black students in programs for the gifted and talented: A case study
Author(s)
Epperson, Steven Kenneth
Issue Date
1993
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Zodhiates, Philip C.
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ed.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Religion, Biblical Studies
Education, Special
Language
eng
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the participation of black students in a specific school district's program for the gifted and talented. This district was one of the few districts in the state of Illinois that appeared to have a proportional representation of black students in its program for the gifted and talented. The following research question guided the study: how and why is a given school district able to maintain a proportional representation of black students in its program for the gifted and talented? A case study approach was used to answer the research question.
The data collected suggested that the proportional representation was maintained as a result of five factors: (a) the majority of black students in this district's gifted program came from middle to upper-middle income families; (b) the parents of the black students were rather assertive in dealing with the school district; (c) the district's K-8 neighborhood school philosophy allowed teachers more opportunity to discover giftedness in the district's black students; (d) the enrichment nature of the gifted program made prerequisite knowledge and training less essential; and (e) the gifted coordinator lowered admission standards for black students in the district's two predominantly black schools.
The data collected suggested two possible explanations for why the school district maintained a proportional representation of black students in its gifted program. Both explanations were related to the fact that the percentage of black residents in the communities served by the district had more than tripled from 1980 to 1990. (a) The superintendent was very proactive and extremely sensitive to parental concerns or negative public relations. It is possible that he decided to increase the number of black students in the gifted program before the representation issue became a point of controversy with the assertive, black parents. (b) The district had a long-standing philosophy of maintaining neighborhood schools. The neighborhood school philosophy had created four, segregated schools. The decision to increase the number of black students may have been made to pacify the black leaders of the community and allow for the continuation of the neighborhood schools.
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