Gifted and Culturally Diverse Students

[Adrianna]

A long standing concern of educators has been the underrepresentation of culturally diverse students in gifted programs. For example, a highly creative student with excellent critical thinking skills could score 115--the lowest level possible for the gifted--on an IQ test. Traditional intelligence tests do not measure the full range of multiple intelligences. As a future educator, I am interested in knowing what more experienced teachers do to combat this concern. Also, how might teachers become aware of personal unknown biases, stereotypes, and cultural filters?

[serendipity]

A long standing concern of educators has been the underrepresentation of culturally diverse students in gifted programs.

Has it? I had the impression that students from Asian countries for example, tended to be overrepresented in your "gifted" programs to the extent that ethnic discrimination was allowed to play a role again in college admission programs. In other words, that students from Japanese/Korean/Chinese families needed higher scores than say, applicants coming from a Black family.

Have I been misinformed here?

For example, a highly creative student with excellent critical thinking skills could score 115--the lowest level possible for the gifted--on an IQ test.

Yes, he could. Do universities actually use IQ-tests to predict future achievement among students where you're at?

As a future educator, I am interested in knowing what more experienced teachers do to combat this concern.

I don't think I actually "combat this concern" - but what I do is to try and get it through to bi-cultural and bilingual individuals that they are at an enormous advantage compared to the mainstream - that they're capable of adding something to the cultural mainstream by providing a unique perspective, and that cultural competence is to be cherished.

Also, how might teachers become aware of personal unknown biases, stereotypes, and cultural filters?

Through interactions with others who stem from a whole range of different ethnic/cultural/social backgrounds and who work in a variety of professions, trade and jobs. By living an active life, by experiencing different situations, by keeping an open mind and by learning from one's mistakes.