Navigating the Gifted Bubble: Black Adults Reflecting on Their Transition Experiences in NYC Gifted Programs
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| Title: | Navigating the Gifted Bubble: Black Adults Reflecting on Their Transition Experiences in NYC Gifted Programs |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Sewell, Christopher J.P (ORCID |
| Source: | Roeper Review. 2019 41(1):20-34. |
| Availability: | Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 15 |
| Publication Date: | 2019 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Elementary Education |
| Descriptors: | African Americans, Adults, Gifted, Talent, Transitional Programs, Public Schools, Stereotypes, Reflection, Student Experience, Elementary School Students |
| Geographic Terms: | New York (New York) |
| DOI: | 10.1080/02783193.2018.1553218 |
| ISSN: | 0278-3193 |
| Abstract: | Through the reflections of 17 Black adults who attended gifted schools in New York City, this qualitative study investigated how they transitioned into and through gifted programs as students. Findings suggest four themes: (a) Many students were referred to gifted programs during their elementary school experience either by their teachers or by their parents; (b) participants expressed having an easy transition into gifted programs in elementary because their schools and gifted programs were racially diverse and provided a welcoming school environment; (c) during middle and high school, participants noted difficulty transitioning through school as gifted students, due to being one of few Black students in their gifted programs, as well as having to attend schools outside of their neighborhood; and (d) despite this, through supportive relationships and community partnerships, they were able to find the space to survive (and thrive) in their programs. Recommendations are provided for educators to support gifted Black students. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Number of References: | 48 |
| Entry Date: | 2019 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1204771 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Url: https://content.ebscohost.com/cds/retrieve?content=AQICAHj0k_4E0hTGH8RJwT4gCJyBsGNe_WN95AvKlDbXJGqwxwGyd_dSwY4lvCcJ-IQ3J2_tAAAA4zCB4AYJKoZIhvcNAQcGoIHSMIHPAgEAMIHJBgkqhkiG9w0BBwEwHgYJYIZIAWUDBAEuMBEEDHf7P_Ej81UIZDVgtAIBEICBm7AwPGa9mIZtusYKqVqFbNMwrAQmOCnvXs56eJBP9cHk_1NNTXe0Vv-zHLSWo2ot8HPbBlqaI4MqJkV-tPQivgaU2ebekj9rM8u6JaYrDGlaCNYQEZf0CmK5tjeSaTeQtYPsXSEPUm_QUuFPzJ0qWn8xqHWLRzRcacuT2_fVC9fKuSYvo1ryVw7-PWpeSaoIoRjJI4sii8WwzmLz Text: Availability: 1 Value: <anid>AN0134540370;roe01jan.19;2019Feb07.09:03;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0134540370-1">Navigating the Gifted Bubble: Black Adults Reflecting on Their Transition Experiences in NYC Gifted Programs </title> <p>Through the reflections of 17 Black adults who attended gifted schools in New York City, this qualitative study investigated how they transitioned into and through gifted programs as students. Findings suggest four themes: (a) Many students were referred to gifted programs during their elementary school experience either by their teachers or by their parents; (b) participants expressed having an easy transition into gifted programs in elementary because their schools and gifted programs were racially diverse and provided a welcoming school environment; (c) during middle and high school, participants noted difficulty transitioning through school as gifted students, due to being one of few Black students in their gifted programs, as well as having to attend schools outside of their neighborhood; and (d) despite this, through supportive relationships and community partnerships, they were able to find the space to survive (and thrive) in their programs. Recommendations are provided for educators to support gifted Black students.</p> <p>Keywords: Black gifted; New York City public schools; stereotype management; transition</p> <p>Over the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic decline in the number of gifted Black students accepted into specialized high schools in New York City. According to recent data, Black students account for 26.5% of the district population but only comprise 10% of the total student body in New York City's specialized high schools (Hewitt, 2017). During the 2015-2016 school year, 5,078 of the roughly 28,000 students who took the entrance exam earned seats at one of the city's elite schools. Of those 5,078 students, 524 identified as either Black or Latino (Hewitt, 2017). Additionally, Black students remain severely underrepresented and underrecruited into gifted and talented programs (Wright, Ford, &amp; Young, 2017). According to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (2016), during the 2011-2012 school year, Black students comprised 8.8% of the nationwide gifted and talented population, despite representing 17.2% of the total school-age population.</p> <p>Several scholars have theorized about the pressures that gifted Black students face in specialized settings. Notable theories and frameworks include stereotype threat (Steele &amp; Aronson, 1995), the concept of <emph>acting White</emph> (Fordham &amp; Ogbu, 1986), attitude-achievement paradox (Mickelson, 1990), secondary resistance among involuntary minority groups (Ogbu, 1987), opportunity gaps (Milner, 2012), and undermatching (Black, Cortes, &amp; Lincove, 2015). These issues do not end with K-12 schooling but continue into college and often affect gifted Black students' abilities to perform, persist, and graduate.</p> <p>Though there has been considerable research on the recruitment and retention of Black students in gifted programs (Ford, 2013), the aspect of how Black students transition into and through gifted and talented programs remains underexplored. As a result, little is known about the type of supports that gifted Black students need as they enter and acclimate to these new environments. This study builds on a larger project exploring the transition-themed reflections of 17 Black adults who attended gifted programs in New York City.</p> <hd id="AN0134540370-2">Recruitment Into Gifted Programs for Black Students</hd> <p>Though the selection guidelines for gifted programs vary by state and school district, teacher referrals and/or cognitive testing (e.g., IQ test) are common requirements. However, these two recruitment methods disadvantage Black children and their families. It has been well documented that Black children are often viewed through a deficit lens, seen as criminals and troublemakers as opposed to academicians with potential and ability. This lens is particularly prevalent with White teachers, who make up the majority of the workforce (Goings, 2015). In every study of gifted and talented teacher referrals, the findings are consistent: Black students are underreferred by White teachers (Ford, Grantham, &amp; Whiting, 2008). Further, the lack of racial diversity in the teaching workforce means that most Black children, gifted or otherwise, are taught by White teachers who are unlikely to take notice of their positive attributes. Black teachers, on the other hand, are more likely to refer Black children into gifted programs (Grissom &amp; Redding, 2016; Grissom, Rodriguez, &amp; Kern, 2017; Nicholson-Crotty, Grissom, Nicholson-Crotty, &amp; Redding, 2016). When Black students' academic profiles match those of Whites, White teachers are still less likely to refer them for gifted education (Grissom &amp; Redding, 2016). Thus, teachers function as gatekeepers who hinder the recruitment of talented Black students into gifted programs. This two-pronged issue of deficit thinking and a lack of diversity among teachers significantly hinders Black students' opportunities for gifted education identification and services, as well as their experiences when placed in such classrooms.</p> <p>In addition to teacher referral, the use of cognitive testing negatively impacts the recruitment of Black students in gifted programs. There has been much discussion and debate about how traditional cognitive tests favor White middle-class students and devalue Black students' cultural knowledge (e.g., Helms &amp; Ford, 2012; Naglieri &amp; Ford, 2003). There is a long history of contention regarding test bias and fairness, with very polemic views on why Blacks tend to score lower than Whites. Scholars and practitioners seeking to increase underrepresented students' access to gifted education have advocated for the use of nontraditional and culturally responsive strategies, such as lowering standardized test score requirements, implementing nonverbal assessments, utilizing group- and school-building norms, and incorporating integrative assessments that reflect a diversity of lived realities, particularly those of non-White students (Ford, Wright, Washington, &amp; Henfield, 2016; Goings &amp; Ford, 2018). Traditional forms of testing have left Black students at a disadvantage because the culturally skewed tests give inaccurate depictions of their cognitive abilities.</p> <p>Scholars contend that Black students are least likely of all racial groups to be identified as gifted (Bryan, Johnson, &amp; Williams, 2016; Ford &amp; King, 2014). Moreover, though the <emph>Brown v.</emph><emph>Board of Education</emph> decision is more than 60 years in the past, gifted classrooms remain segregated (Ford &amp; King, 2014). Historically, many Black scholars (e.g., Baldwin, 1987; Ford, 2013; Frasier, 1989; Jenkins, 1939) have researched the underrepresentation and negative experiences of Black students in gifted programs; however, the data have remained stagnant. To understand why these trends persist, we must examine the gifted and talented recruitment process and how students transition into and through these programs.</p> <hd id="AN0134540370-3">Transition Into, and Experiences in, Gifted Programs for Black Students</hd> <p>Because Black students are less likely to be recruited into gifted programs, those who do gain entrance tend to represent a numerical minority, sometimes as the only Black student in the class. This often leads to feelings of isolation and issues with stereotyping and microaggressions from classmates and teachers who doubt their abilities (Ford, Trotman Scott, Moore, &amp; Amos, 2013; Grantham &amp; Ford, 2003). This treatment, if not counteracted, can lead to the imposter syndrome (i.e., feeling that one does not belong or is not as intelligent and capable; Clancee &amp; Imes, 1978). Moreover, Black students may feel pressured to serve as racial ambassadors, meaning that their individual thoughts and actions function as a stand-in for the collective consciousness and agenda of the whole race (Goings, 2016; Grantham, 2003). For some students, such high expectations encourage academic success, but others bend and break under the weight of such immense pressure, which results in low achievement (i.e., low grades) and underachievement (i.e., not meeting their potential; Ford &amp; Moore, 2013). Ultimately, these social-emotional issues take their toll, sometimes resulting in Black students opting out of gifted classrooms altogether.</p> <p>A preponderance of literature suggests that Black students succumb to stereotype threat, the notion that Black students internalize perceived negative stereotypes about their academic abilities and, as a result, perform at a considerably lower level (Steele &amp; Aronson, 1995). Though this notion has garnered much attention, there are many Black students who manage stereotypes and develop ways to succeed academically. McGee and Martin (2011) coined the term <emph>stereotype management</emph> to explain this phenomenon:</p> <p>[Stereotype management] is rooted in the students' developing understandings of racism and their developing their senses of, negotiations of, and assertions of what it means to <emph>be Black</emph>. As a result, students do not automatically experience a suppression of performance in situations where stereotypes exist. Moreover, because students define Blackness on their own terms, they are able to triumph over situational suggestions of Black inferiority. (p. 1349)</p> <p></p> <p>The concept of stereotype management highlights the process by which Black gifted students confront and neutralize challenges to their intellect. We posit that Black students utilize stereotype management skills to ease their transitions into racially segregated gifted classes.</p> <p>In the literature, scholars have focused on interviewing school-age students enrolled in gifted programs (e.g., Grantham, 2003; Hébert &amp; Beardsley, 2001). However, missing from the literature are empirical studies focused on the reflections of adults who were identified as gifted in their youth. Their reflections would offer insight into how early gifted and talented experiences influenced their future academic aspirations and life trajectories. Ford and Whiting (2010) posited that though issues of testing bias are important, an issue of greater concern is tending to the social and emotional needs of children already placed in gifted and talented programs. Specifically, they urge the consideration of the "quality of life in gifted classrooms—students' sense of belonging, relationships with peers and educators, academic support, expectations of self and others, and academic identity and self-perceptions" (Ford &amp; Whiting, 2010, p. 133). Thus, building on this argument, this study adds to this body of literature through exploring how Black gifted students transitioned through gifted programs during their K-12 experience.</p> <hd id="AN0134540370-4">Theoretical Framework</hd> <p>To conceptualize and frame the participants' reflections on their transitions, we utilized Schlossberg's (1980) model for adapting to transitions. Schlossberg (1980) defines a transition as "an event or non-event [that] results in a change in assumptions about oneself and the world and thus requires a corresponding change in one's behavior and relationships" (p. 5). She explains that though the transition itself can be important, an individual's adaptation to a transition is critical. Schlossberg (1980) suggests that the following three factors influence how well individuals adapt to transition: (a) characteristics of the transition; (b) characteristics of the environments pre- and posttransition; and (c) the characteristics of the individual experiencing the transition. Though Schlossberg's (1980) original theory focuses on adults' adaptation to transitions, we argue that it also applies to Black children's transitions into gifted classrooms. Though the types of transitions are different, the theory still provides a lens to explore how their perspectives influenced their experiences.</p> <p>First, Schlossberg (1980) suggests that exploring the characteristics of an individual's transition is important to understand how the person adapts. She notes the importance of characteristics such as whether an individual gains or loses from the role change, whether the transition has a positive or negative affect, and whether the transition is internally or externally controlled. For this study, the important characteristics are the timing of selection for gifted and talented participation, the effect of participation on friendships, and the participant's level of investment in joining the gifted program.</p> <p>Second, Schlossberg (1980) explains that it is critical to have contextual information about the environments individuals transitioned through pre- and posttransition. She defines <emph>environment</emph> not only as the surrounding physical space but also as interpersonal and institutional support systems. Environment is a salient factor in this study because the participants' pre-gifted classroom environments often influenced how they adapted to their transition. This change in environment often meant that they were in classes with fewer Black students, which could impact their transition.</p> <p>Third, Schlossberg (1980) argues that demographic characteristics (age, sex, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and previous experiences) are crucial to understanding an individual's transition experiences. This theoretical component allowed us to delve into the ways in which race, gender, and socioeconomic status influenced the transition experiences of the participants.</p> <hd id="AN0134540370-5">Methodology</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0134540370-6">The Context: New York City Public Schools' Gifted and Talented Programs</hd> <p>According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (2013), New York City Public Schools is the largest school district in the country, with roughly 1 million students enrolled. As a self-proclaimed melting pot, the city has a diverse student body. Of the students enrolled for the 2015-2016 school year, 27.1% were Black (New York City Department of Education, 2016).</p> <p>New York City gifted and talented programming begins as early as kindergarten and continues through third grade. Parents must attend an informational meeting and complete a Request for Testing online or in person by November of the year prior to enrollment. Depending on their test scores, students can either attend a district-level program in their local elementary school or enter the citywide system, which has no bounds or zones. Students who obtain an overall score of 90 or above on the battery of cognitive tests are eligible to apply to district gifted and talented programs, and students who obtain an overall score of 97 or above are eligible to apply to both district-level and citywide programs. Complicating this system is the large number of eligible students (New York City Department of Education, 2017). Citywide programs often fill up with students who score above 99. Remaining seats are allotted to other students.</p> <p>Prior to 2007, community school districts throughout New York City set their own admissions criteria for their gifted and talented programs in efforts to diversify the pipeline (Viega, 2016). Since this change, New York City has implemented the use of two main assessments to place students into gifted and talented programs: nonverbal test items from the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test and verbal test items from the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test. The two instruments are very different in content. The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test measures nonverbal reasoning skills, with a goal of reducing linguistic and cultural demands that frequently favor White and high-income students and has test takers perform tasks involving patterns, sequencing, and determining relationships between visual images and concepts (New York City Department of Education, 2017). The Otis-Lennon School Ability Test, considered a more traditional test, measures reasoning and comprehension skills that require students to listen carefully to oral directions and complete tasks such as recalling words and numbers, defining words, following directions, establishing sequence, and verbally solving arithmetic problems (New York City Department of Education, 2017).</p> <hd id="AN0134540370-7">Research Design</hd> <p>This study derives from a larger research project that focuses on how the experiences of Black men and women in gifted programs impacted the life trajectory. Given the aim of this specific study and paucity of literature that centers the voices of Black gifted students, we utilized a qualitative approach and the following research question: What reflections do Black adults have about their experiences transitioning into and through gifted programs in New York City as children?</p> <hd id="AN0134540370-8">Data Collection</hd> <p>Semistructured interviews and demographic questionnaire data from 17 participants (7 females, 10 males) served as the main sources of data. The following criteria were used for selection: (a) self-identified as African American/Black; (b) were formally identified as gifted during their K-12 tenure in a New York City public school; and (c) went to gifted and talented programming prior to the shift in testing and placement in 2007. By choosing students who were in gifted and talented programs before 2007, researchers wanted to hear from students who benefited from programs being in their community school districts and whose teachers may have played a larger part in their placement in gifted programming. Researchers used their personal networks to recruit 15 of the 17 participants. Potential participants were asked to confirm their participation in gifted and talented programs during their K-12 schooling and when they were placed into a gifted and talented program. To recruit the final two participants, we used the snowball sampling method, where current participants were asked to refer potential participants who fit the study criteria. Through an initial conversation with each referred participant, we confirmed their fit.</p> <p>Semistructured interviews were utilized because they provide flexibility and lend themselves to a more conversational, unstructured tone. We found this approach beneficial because it allowed participants to freely reflect on their experiences and allowed us to ask poignant follow-up questions to better understand the essence of their experiences. Prior to each interview, the participants first completed a demographic questionnaire to gather information about the gifted and talented program and/or school they attended as well as the college they went on to attend. Table 1 provides details about information gathered from the demographic questionnaire.</p> <p>Navigating the Bubble</p> <p> <ephtml> &lt;table border="1" cellpadding="8"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Participant&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align="center"&gt;Gender (during school years)&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align="center"&gt;Age&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align="center"&gt;Elementary School Racial Breakdown&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align="center"&gt;Middle School Racial Breakdown&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align="center"&gt;High School Racial Breakdown&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align="center"&gt;High School Type&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align="center"&gt;Current Occupation&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Stacy&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Female&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;34&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Asian&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Specialized public high school&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Medical student&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Emerson&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Female&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;35&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly White&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Racially diverse&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly White&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Gifted and talented school&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;School psychologist&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Valencia&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Female&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;34&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Racially diverse&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Racially diverse&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Specialized public high school&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Opera singer&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Millie&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Female&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;34&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Racially diverse&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Racially diverse&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Traditional public school&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Writer/public relations&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Amari&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Female&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;34&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly White&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Private day school&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Lawyer&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Alexis&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Female&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;34&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly White&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly White&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Private day school&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Corporate marketer&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Mikaela&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Female&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;34&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Racially diverse&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Racially diverse&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Racially diverse&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Traditional public school&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;School leader&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Kevin&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Male&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;34&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly White&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Private day school&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Lawyer&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Tony&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Male&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;37&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly White&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Boarding school&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Education entrepreneur&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Steven&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Male&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;33&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Racially diverse&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Racially diverse&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Traditional public school&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Lawyer&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;James&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Male&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;35&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Racially diverse&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Specialized public high school&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Operations manager&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Oliver&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Male&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;33&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Asian&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Specialized public high school&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Freelance artist&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Huey&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Male&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;38&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly White&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly White&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Racially diverse&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Gifted and talented school/traditional public school&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;School leader&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Anthony&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Male&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;34&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly White&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly White&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Private day school&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Financial VP&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Jay&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Male&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;29&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Racially Diverse&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Traditional public school&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Accountant&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Bacchae&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Male&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;34&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly White&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Traditional public school&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Nonprofit leader&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Dave&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Male&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;34&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly Black&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Predominantly White&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Private day school&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Writer&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt; </ephtml> </p> <p>Each participant engaged in a 45- to 90-min phone interview with at least one member of the research team. The Appendix includes a copy of the interview protocol. These questions allowed the research team to explore the participants' experiences and how those experiences influenced their lives. Moreover, interview questions were aligned with our theoretical framework. We focused on understanding how participants navigated the various transitions in gifted programs, including their initial recruitment, the elementary school-to-middle school transition, and the middle school-to-high school transition.</p> <hd id="AN0134540370-9">Data Analysis</hd> <p>The interviews were transcribed and then distributed to participants for member checking. This ensured accuracy and allowed them to elaborate on or contextualize their statements if necessary. Dedoose, a qualitative data management software, was used to analyze the data. Using this software allowed us to individually code interview data and then discuss our individual codes to develop a coding structure and themes that captured the experiences of our participants. As recommended by Miles and Huberman (1994), we employed an open coding approach and highlighted important passages that illustrated the participants' experiences as well as challenges and supports received throughout their academic tenure. During our data analysis process, we wrote reflective notes and continuously conducted a comparative analysis of participants' responses for each question. This allowed the identification of recurring phrases and/or shared ideas. Our initial analysis of the larger data set derived 11 codes that captured the essence of the participants' experiences. With the aid of Schlossberg's (1980) transition model, we then focused our analysis on the following transition periods: (a) recruitment to gifted programs; (b) transition to gifted classrooms; (c) transition to gifted/specialized middle schools; (d) transition to gifted/specialized high schools; and (e) experiences in gifted classes as high school students. We then discussed and critiqued each other's understanding of the data to gather the central ideas of the participants' experiences. After extracting shared ideas and engaging in member checking (described in greater detail in the following sections), we generated codes (academic difficulties, academic rigor, acting White, adaptation, college placement, parental involvement, peer interactions/relationships, stereotype threat, imposter syndrome, and stereotype management) that encompassed the participants' experiences and addressed our research question. We then combined these codes into four major themes, which we present in the Findings section.</p> <hd id="AN0134540370-10">Researchers' Positionality</hd> <p>Given our lived experiences as two Black men identified as gifted, it is important for us to share our positionality and how it informed our approach to and analysis of this study. The first author was identified as gifted in New York City Public Schools in pre-K through cognitive testing. Despite being one of few Black males in his gifted elementary and middle school programs, he thrived both socially and academically and, ultimately, attended one of the city's specialized high schools.</p> <p>The second author was identified as gifted in fifth grade through cognitive testing and teacher recommendations. However, he was never enrolled in a specialized public gifted school. Bored and uninspired by the workload, he became disengaged from his classes and his family decided to enroll him in a private independent school. Similar to participants in this study, he flourished academically once enrolled in a more challenging setting. However, he experienced isolation due to a lack of access to other Black children.</p> <p>We share these experiences because our connection to this topic allowed us to gather nuanced insights into our participants' experiences. We understand how our familiarity with the topic impacts our analysis and presents a limitation. Therefore, we engaged in consistent meaningful dialogue throughout the research process and spoke with our participants to ensure that we accurately depicted their experiences. Moreover, we engaged in several actions to ensure the trustworthiness of our analysis, which is described below.</p> <hd id="AN0134540370-11">Trustworthiness</hd> <p>To ensure the trustworthiness of our data and analysis, we followed Tracy's (2010) recommendations for qualitative research studies. First, we found it critical to ensure <emph>sincerity</emph>, which Tracy (2010) defines as "research [that] is marked by honesty and transparency about the researcher's biases, goals, and foibles as well as how these played a role in the methods, joys, and mistakes of research" (p. 841). We believe that our past experiences shaped our perspective and left an indelible mark on our analysis. Moreover, through discussions with our participants, we developed rich and thick descriptions to capture the essence of their experiences transitioning through gifted programs. We found it important to engage in peer debriefing, which allowed us to share our findings with a gifted education expert whose research agenda has been directly focused on ensuring equity and access for Black gifted students. Lastly, to ensure rich rigor, we used our transition theoretical framework (Schlossberg, 1980) as our guide to analyze our data. This process allowed us to interpret our data to "see nuance and complexity" (Tracy, 2010, p. 841).</p> <hd id="AN0134540370-12">Findings</hd> <p>In this section, we present four salient themes derived from our data analysis. The first theme, "process of gifted identification," explores participants' entrance into gifted and talented programs. In the second theme, "a comfortable bubble," participants discuss the safe spaces they found in their racially homogenous (Black) or diverse environments, which they identified as supportive of their early love of learning. In the third theme, "not just adolescent strife: the move to middle school and beyond," participants speak to the "Whitening" of gifted and talented programs and how this transition (as early as sixth grade) impacted their daily experiences as gifted students. In our final theme, "supportive relationships and community building," participants articulate that they coped with the transition into racially unrepresentative gifted classrooms and school environments by relying on friends and other support groups to validate and affirm their place as a gifted Black person in a New York City Public School.</p> <hd id="AN0134540370-13">Process of Gifted Identification</hd> <p>The participants' journeys to gifted education had many similarities and differences. Most reported that cognitive testing was a requirement, though none recalled taking the test. All but three entered during their early elementary school years, and all were recruited through parent/teacher recognition or academic boredom. Many of the participants' parents acted as their advocates, pushing for their children to be exposed to more challenging material. For others, it was a teacher who took the lead in pursuing gifted education. Alexis recalled her parents' relationship to the daycare owner as leading to her journey into gifted programming:</p> <p>I went to Flowers Daycare Center. One of the heads of the day care center took me to test into Public School XYZ because she said there was this gifted and talented program she thought I would be good [for]. ... I got ... in the first grade in the Soar program. I didn't really know much about it, but I just knew that my parents were like, "Oh, you can test into this program and it's an opportunity, so do it," and it worked out.</p> <p></p> <p>This recollection is consistent with how her community school district conducted gifted testing. In contrast, some students expressed that it was boredom in their original class placement that led them to the gifted screening process. For Stacey, this was the case because her first-grade teacher was critical to her gifted placement:</p> <p>I remember that I actually spent the first couple of months in a regular classroom. ... I would get worksheets. ... I would finish them so quickly that I would then go on to disrupting the other students because I was essentially bored. I'm blessed in the sense that I had a teacher that recognized that. ... She sent home a final note to my parents saying that she wanted to switch me into the gifted class. The next day I was moved into the gifted class.</p> <p></p> <p>Anthony echoed a similar experience:</p> <p>I would say that all credit is due to my mother. I think she was initially contacted by my teacher at the time, who told her that I was finishing my work a little early and she thought that I could do more, that I should be more. She just wanted a better challenge for me. ... This was all the way back in, I think, kindergarten. That's when they switched me from the normal kindergarten class to the gifted class, the Eagle program.</p> <p></p> <p>For those who shared Stacey's and Anthony's experiences, the teachers were educated enough to know not to interpret their behavior negatively but instead view it as a sign of potential. In these circumstances, the participants were placed in gifted classes without formal testing, and the process was much faster than that for those who entered in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.</p> <p>Interestingly, cultural divides between those who were of American parentage and those of West Indian and/or African heritage came into play for many of our participants. Millie, whose parents came to the United States from Jamaica, noted,</p> <p>In the day-to-day of schooling, it wasn't necessarily like, "I'm going to sit down with you every day and help you with your homework" sort of thing. It wasn't that, but they made sure that if it was testing for gifted programs or gifted schools, we got tutoring, that we really prepared for those sorts of things.</p> <p></p> <p>Amari, whose mother was born in Haiti, recalled her mother's doggedness in making sure that she had the best option possible:</p> <p>My mom had me taking every single exam that she could think or learn about. ... I took exams for whatever gifted and talented program, anywhere. ... My mom was like, "You like to read a lot. I don't want you to be bored." She, basically, just spoke to everyone. ... It was like trying to figure out and asking people where their kids learn, how the kids were doing, how to get placed in different programs, how to take exams. That's, basically, how it came about.</p> <p></p> <p>For Amari, Millie, and their peers, their parents were determined to enroll their children in gifted programming because they saw it as a prerequisite for future success. Once they were placed in gifted programs, these immigrant families fought for their students to remain there so that they could help change the tide of their educational careers in public school.</p> <hd id="AN0134540370-14">A Comfortable Bubble</hd> <p>The safe space and creation of an engaging environment seemed to be the focus of the elementary experience for our participants. The majority of respondents (15 of 17) attended elementary schools that were either predominantly Black or racially diverse. These safe and familiar environments allowed a smooth entrance into gifted programming and fostered a love of learning, while also shielding them from complicating issues around the intersection between their racial and academic identities. Stated differently, participants were educated in an environment that embraced Black academic excellence. Being a smart student was never associated with the notion of "acting White" (Fordham &amp; Ogbu, 1986). Moreover, the participants did not experience elementary school as a period of <emph>double consciousness</emph> (DuBois, 1903), where they had to reconcile two separate identities. Rather, their sheltered gifted programs limited their relationships with peers outside of gifted classes and shielded them from having to defend and protect their intellectual prowess. For instance, Oliver noted:</p> <p>So, the funny thing is, in elementary school, all my friends were the kids in the gifted class. We didn't really deal with the kids who weren't in the gifted class. ... Fifth and sixth grade they mixed up [the student population], but I'm still close to a lot of friends from elementary school, and what's funny is that, when we get together, it's still the gifted classes. And then someone will mention somebody from around the way and they'll be like, "Oh, she was in 1-4" [the class for non-gifted students], or whatever. We didn't know who those kids were. ...</p> <p></p> <p>This sentiment was echoed by Valencia:</p> <p>In elementary school, we were very much in a bubble. So, we used to think that everybody else wasn't in our class because they were bad. There was never like a, no they're the remedial students, or, you know. ... They never really presented it to us like that when we were in school.</p> <p></p> <p>These comments, and similar ones from other participants, speak to how they created their own communities of like-minded individuals who eased their initial entry into gifted education. Their participation in gifted programming shaped their identities and allowed them to feel distinguished from the general population of students. They also made lasting friendships that still serve them in adulthood. With peers of similar backgrounds, these Black gifted individuals benefited from an environment that encouraged them to build relationships and served as a place of solace as they began their journeys in gifted programming.</p> <p>Teachers also affected the participants' environment and setting. For some, it was their teachers who worked toward their gifted placement. Many recalled how teachers helped shape their experiences with learning and peers. Stacey noted that her elementary teachers "were very nurturing," and because gifted students stayed with their same teachers through the years, she benefited from this additional consistency and experienced "few issues with classes at this point."</p> <p>Though participants noted how their teachers created a welcoming environment, there was a tension between engagement and academic rigor. Some students felt that the gifted coursework was no more challenging that regular work, but they still appreciated the additional engagement that these environments provided. In these cases, it was not the curriculum itself but the relationships and level of teacher investment that benefited students most. For some, like Alexis, school became a place they always wanted to be in due to the academic rigor:</p> <p>I felt very engaged in class. I felt like I was with a group of kids, that we were all, like, learning together. ... I was always very interested in learning to begin with, so it was a good place for me to be. I was in the program all throughout elementary school. ... I remember when I had chickenpox in the first grade. I was very adamant to my mother that I wanted to make sure I didn't miss any work. She went to the school, got my books so I could do work at home, which I did, and then when I went back to school I had actually gotten ahead of the class a little bit because I did more work than they were up to. Just by a couple of days. I was always very much interested in, like, learning and moving forward and being engaged. The program ... definitely fit me and how I like to learn.</p> <p></p> <p>Teachers and familial support led all participants to consistently crave more. They wanted to be pushed to learn about new and exciting things. This was especially true for those who joined the gifted program later in the year, after others had already begun their coursework. Stephen spoke to the realization that much of the gifted work was simply paced differently:</p> <p>We were all pretty much aware that we were moving at a faster pace in terms of our curriculum, because it's also the students who were generally more well behaved. I don't think that was a huge difference. Once you were in that class, you wanted to continue doing well to stay in the class. It was kind of like a badge of honor.</p> <p></p> <p>Pacing emerged as a consistent theme. Instead of providing an alternative, advanced curriculum, it appeared to the participants that gifted teachers often taught the same work at a faster pace. This quickened pace became a factor for many in the later transition to middle school and beyond.</p> <hd id="AN0134540370-15">Not Just Adolescent Strife: The Move to Middle School and Beyond</hd> <p>Questions of emotional safety and academic prowess emerged as participants moved on to middle and high school. Though confident in their academic and racial identities (i.e., they did not get bogged down by pressure and allegations of "acting White") in their earlier years, as they grew older, participants began to question where they belonged and the meaning of success.</p> <p>Huey, who attended a prestigious school for the gifted and talented beginning in kindergarten, reflected on his emerging struggle as he moved from elementary school to middle school. Though his school increased its minority representation with the influx of incoming seventh graders (after an admissions exam and process that extended beyond the catchment area), being Black and gifted continued to cause issues:</p> <p>Yeah, so middle school, that's when, like, I think a lot of Black boys in this city, that's when I fell off the map educationally. My mother started to give me a key to get home and expected me to get to school and come home on my own and start my homework. And she was working, not necessarily late hours, but she would work past the point in which I was getting home. There was no accountability, there was no father at home, there was just me and her. The school was a gifted and talented school, so they cared about students who were doing well and pushing excellence. If a student started to fall through the cracks, and I think particularly if it's like some Black kid that we didn't necessarily expect to do anything anyway, I just kept flipping. ... I think the first couple of times, teachers in earnest said, "You have a lot of potential, you should do better." They reached out to my mother, but she was overwhelmed, and so I totally fell through the cracks. There wasn't any faculty there that I think had a vested interest. ... There was no one who went out of their way to help me be successful there, and I think a lot of it was from potentially an expectation that I didn't deserve to be there, or I would never be capable of doing the things that some of the other students who were there were capable of.</p> <p></p> <p>Huey's reflections highlight a common theme of struggle during middle school transition. Participants moved from elementary schools that were roughly 83% Black/racially diverse to middle schools that were 77.8% Black/racially diverse to high schools that were 39% Black/racially diverse. This precipitous decline not only took a toll on the participants' academic health but also opened their eyes to the realities of being Black and gifted in their new educational institutions.</p> <p>Though Huey's reflection might represent an extreme, increased academic rigor and expectations caused many participants to change how they approached school. Stacey noted this in her reflection of moving to a specialized high school:</p> <p>Of course, the intensity stepped up. Probably high school was the first point at which ... I needed to put in definitely more effort in my schooling in the sense of putting in more hours, and especially once I got two topics that weren't so much math-heavy. Things like econ or physics definitely gave me difficulty. These weren't easy classes for me at all. French had always been something that I kind of did naturally, but at some point, I actually really did have to work on it. I guess, again, sort of having that K-8 experience where pretty much everyone around me was definitely pushing and trying to go for good grades, that was still very much my focus for high school.</p> <p></p> <p>Tony also noted the increased rigor as something that impacted him not only during middle school time but also during his transition to boarding school:</p> <p>Then in middle school, being able to take regents-level classes was a big deal. ... We were just exposed to higher levels. Again, the biggest transition or the biggest difference, it seemed, was around math instruction. So, I was always in the advanced levels of math. Again, with language arts, it felt like I had one additional course around writing, so I was exposed to creative writing in middle school. ... So, for me, middle school gifted programming was a very good segue and set me up to go to boarding school because of that exposure.</p> <p></p> <p>Though the participants had a strong community in elementary and earlier middle school, the increase in academic rigor was startling. Being gifted for many of the participants was redefined. It was no longer a safe space. It became a competition and the need to survive in a sink-or-swim school environment became paramount to their success.</p> <p>As Huey alluded to above, racial identity and politics became a focus in this transition. For some, racial microaggressions became an issue and impacted their daily experiences and once-positive relationship with school. Emerson, who attended the same school as Huey, spoke to the moment when she felt that being Black and gifted was no longer safe:</p> <p>Actually, the issue that went on my first year there. ... I didn't feel as bright as I used to, because this was information I had not received going to a typical middle school in Brooklyn. ... I'll never forget one of my first experiences there is [when] we were talking about the French Revolution, which of course I had never even heard of. [During class] I [mis]pronounced the word "bourgeoisie," because I pronounced words phonetically. I come from an island, a country where we pronounce words phonetically. It's a word that I had never seen before. All of the kids in my class laughed. I just could not understand why. Of course, the teacher was like, "Oh, okay, it's bourgeoisie." The teacher even said it in a condescending manner like, "How could you not know this?" Experiences like that abounded and eventually I lost interest in performing well academically.</p> <p></p> <p>Oliver also articulated this newfound change in his thoughts on moving to a specialized high school:</p> <p>I feel like in my elementary and middle school education, there was always this underpinning that you absolutely are intelligent, you are super bright and can accomplish anything you put your mind to, so if you have a challenge let us know how we can help you meet it. Whereas, I felt like in high school it was, "Here's what you need to know, if you don't know it, then that's your bad and you need to figure that out on your own on how to work it out." Which I think some of that is probably just the difference between an elementary-level course versus a high school one, but then I don't know if that's necessarily it, because I went to a Black college and that underpinning was still kind of the same underpinning.</p> <p></p> <p>For Emerson, Oliver, and many of the other participants, the change in tone from their teachers as well as the lack of support/scaffolding in their transitions led to their first feelings of doubt. Participants had to begin reframing what they saw as excellence and how they would interact with those in "power," all while adapting to new environments that were in direct opposition to their elementary school settings.</p> <hd id="AN0134540370-16">Supportive Relationships and Community Building</hd> <p>With all of the differences in their new environments, participants continued to rely on a support they had established in their elementary school experiences: their peers. Maintaining relationships with friends, particularly those who were having similar experiences, was critical to their ability to thrive in uncomfortable environments. Huey, who ultimately left his gifted and talented school in 10th grade, spoke about his decision to leave and how it was influenced by his peer relationships and his need to feel supported as a Black male learner:</p> <p>High school ... is when the school officially didn't give a damn what happened to me. ... What ultimately happened was I became more increasingly disengaged by some of the work that was happening. ... I was slowly lagging behind academically where I was finding it more difficult to re-engage in the work that was in the ninth grade, because I had some delays in seventh and eighth. Once I started slipping, it became easier for me to, like, not go to school and just hang out with my friends who were also slacking. ... I had to repeat the ninth grade ... and was successful ... so when I had to start the 10th grade, I made a decision. I had seen a few other Black kids, some girls, transfer out. I never really talked to them as to why, but I had seen a good number transfer out. I reached out to one that I was friends with, and she told me where she went afterwards, and I thought about it for a weekend. I walked into school one day on a Monday, walked into the guidance counselor's office, and was like, "I want to transfer out of here."</p> <p></p> <p>For Huey and others who struggled, their peers helped them come to some realizations about their relationship to giftedness. Oliver mentioned that even with finding common ground, there were cultural issues within the Black community at his school that made him fully disengage in the larger process:</p> <p>And then for me, there was another level of isolation because even within the 25 Black kids in my class, I was, like, the only one, maybe like one of a few, five or less, who were Black American. Everyone else was West Indian and Caribbean. So, there was even a further isolation within that. I felt completely detached from my West Indian classmates to the point where it was like we don't have any common ground, like I think we were fundamentally just Black folk, all there together, but I do think that in certain instances, I did feel like I really had no one to share identity with and so sometimes it was hard for me to deal.</p> <p></p> <p>Though the participants knew that their intellect was there, they wanted to find a way to feel comfortable in their daily experiences and avoid the racial microaggressions that persisted in their classroom environments. Both Huey and Oliver, though representing a specific subset of our population, highlighted the importance of finding commonality and support from like groups in the process of integrating into the larger academic environments.</p> <p>Leaving or choosing to actively disengage was not the option that many of the participants took, but they still relied on their relationships with peers and extracurriculars to help them persist in the hardest of times. Dave, who had struggles similar to those experienced by Huey and Oliver, spoke to how extracurriculars were critical to his survival:</p> <p>Most of my involvement was through the paper and the multicultural society. That stuff was more important to my schooling and to the formation of my identity because it showed me how I was doing these things no matter where I was. ... It helped me to imagine, like, if I were at a Tech or Stuyvesant that I would be doing this thing there. There were obstacles and difficulties at [school] that I knew I would not tackle at other places. ... I tried to focus more on great opportunities. I was the only junior to have a column in the newspaper.</p> <p></p> <p>Similarly, Valencia, James, and Kevin talked about how extracurricular choices and activities were critical to discovering who they were, growing their peer relationships in high school, and finding balance. For Valencia, this was about finding ways to enjoy the arts despite being in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics environment:</p> <p>Well, I was secretly angry that I didn't go to LaGuardia, so I tried to find every single performance opportunity that I could. And whether that was from joining a choir, to doing plays in the drama class, being on the step team, I just found wherever there was somewhere for me to be overly creative, that's what I did. And it had informed my college choice by, I just started looking at performing arts colleges. I had ... so many friends that enjoyed my talents and they would really look forward to seeing me perform or, you know, hearing me sing. ... People liked that there was diversity at the school and that there was something they could, not necessarily escape to because everybody at [school redacted], I feel, really liked what they did.</p> <p></p> <p>James mentioned a similar experience at the same science, technology, engineering, and mathematics school. Extracurriculars served as a space to help balance the stress and academic rigor around him:</p> <p>Singing was extremely important to me. I was in SING every single year. ... I think the creative outlets for me were just necessary to kind of balance out my life because school was stressful. [School redacted] was the point where it really started to get to me that this stuff is not as easy as it used to be for me. You could stress about it, but I used band and SING. ... That was tremendous to me to survive that type of environment. Plus, the social aspects of that were very helpful. You get close with a lot of people. I think that's necessary in a high school environment. You kind of have that social network.</p> <p></p> <p>For Kevin, it was finding community among the other Black students who attended his private school and came through similar prep programs:</p> <p>I remember that I was on the board of our Black Affairs Club. I was a freshman representative. From there on out, I was always a member of that board of the Black Affairs Club and I was president, co-president in my senior year with my friend. It was just really a good outlet to discuss some of the issues that we were all facing as Black students in a very majority White school. My class had about 140 students and there were 11 of us who were Black. A few people had come through from kindergarten and they were more well-to-do, but everyone was in some kind of a program, whether it was Oliver or Prep or ABC. That was just really good.</p> <p></p> <p>For these participants, the arts, Black/West Indian student networks, and sports became critical to their survival in their gifted environments. These oases put them in contact with those of similar backgrounds and interests. They were able to rise to leadership positions, mentor younger students, and work to find supportive spaces that allowed them to flourish and persist in their changing high school environments.</p> <hd id="AN0134540370-17">Discussion</hd> <p>Throughout our conversations with study participants, their reflections highlighted how transitions affected their experiences and influenced the way they navigated through gifted programs. Schlossberg (1980) explained that one aspect critical to understanding an individual's transition is his or her perception of that transition. Our participants often discussed having a positive transition into gifted classes as elementary students and noted that teachers played a large role in why they were placed in gifted classrooms. These data stand counter to some scholarship that suggests that White teachers are less likely to refer Black students to gifted classrooms. However, we must acknowledge that this finding may be a function of the participants being in learning environments that were either predominantly Black or racially diverse. Being around students from similar backgrounds might have allowed for participants to feel at ease. Participants did not have to do the work of transitioning into more rigorous classwork and learning new/different cultural norms in order to be members of the classroom community. Moreover, we are uncertain about the race of the participants' teachers, so there can be no conclusions drawn regarding the impetus that led them to make gifted referrals.</p> <p>In aggregate, the participants' reflections emphasize that elementary school was a critical time for the development of their academic and racial identities. Being in environments with students who often looked like them and with teachers who taught in the community for many years was advantageous. They were able to not only develop a voice but also see schooling as positive. Gifted programming created a safe and nurturing space (i.e., bubble) to explore their curiosities of the world around them while also supporting the notion that it was okay to be Black and smart in a society that did not often promote that idea. Interesting, though the participants were identified and placed in gifted programs, based on their responses during interviews, there was a lack of academic rigor in the programs. For instance, many participants described how in elementary school being gifted was simply doing work at a faster pace, rather than feeling intellectually challenged consistently in their earlier years.</p> <p>These findings show how we can view schooling for these gifted Black students from an asset-based perspective and reject deficit-based notions of Black inferiority and insufficiency (Goings &amp; Ford, 2018; Grantham, 2003). The participants' stories and lived experiences highlight the continued need for culturally relevant and responsive teaching techniques that help students see themselves as important and central to the learning environment and empower them to view the world through a lens that speaks to their lived experiences (Ladson-Billings, 2014). The participants benefited greatly from their teachers' abilities to identify gifted Black students and be culturally relevant and responsive as well. These factors helped put the students on a path toward success (Ford, 2011; Grissom &amp; Redding, 2016; Ladson-Billings, 2014).</p> <p>The transition to middle school and/or high school proved to be a daunting task for many of the participants. Middle and high school transitions already can be challenging because of the social, emotional, and physical changes taking place during this time. The added element of moving into a new gifted environment can further compliment things, particularly for Black students moving into classes dominated by White students and teachers. This highlights the facts that Black students may experience gifted programs differently than White students, and positive elementary transitions do not necessarily result in similar transitions in middle and high schools. It also speaks to issues of transitioning from mostly diverse gifted programs to mostly White ones. Without the continued affirmation of their racial identity, increased academic rigor and changes in social/cultural norms can negatively affect Black students and lead to feelings of isolation, inadequacy, and dissatisfaction.</p> <p>For many participants, their identity marker ranking was forcibly shifted; they were no longer Black <emph>and</emph> gifted but, rather, Black <emph>but</emph> gifted. This transition (and perhaps conflict) was critical to their reconceptualization of their academic and racial selves. They had to begin to see themselves in a larger social setting and embrace DuBois's (1903) notion of double consciousness as they moved forward toward persistence or underachievement. These experiences led to poor performance for some as they began to battle their academic and racial identities (Ford &amp; Thomas, 1997).</p> <p>Schlossberg (1980) posits that when experiencing a transition, an individual's environment is critical to his or her adaptation to the transition. In this study, during the middle and high school transitions, participants noted the importance of having peers who supported them and served as a social resource. Moreover, participants in this study utilized peers as a stereotype management strategy. As McGee and Martin (2011) argued, when placed in environments (e.g., gifted and talented classrooms) where there are misperceptions of their intellectual ability, Black students can not only address these stereotypes but also excel academically despite them. However, though we found that Black students in our study had to learn how to manage the stereotypes, the onus must be placed on educators to ensure that they create an environment that is conducive to Black students' success. In essence, Black students need an education where academic excellence is the supported expectation and not an exception. Without a clear focus on the institution, we may see Black students who have the academic ability and motivation but choose to disengage because of the task of having to manage other individuals' stereotypes, which results in unsuccessful retention efforts and underachievement (Ford, 2010).</p> <hd id="AN0134540370-18">Implications and Future Research</hd> <p>As we begin to think about how to better support Black students who are gifted in spaces like New York City, it becomes increasingly important that we explore how to make gifted environments more culturally relevant and responsive. We must have spaces that affirm not only a student's racial identity but also its intersection with one's academic environment. In New York City, this would mean a reinvestment in creating more district-level gifted programming that considers and respects students' specific contexts. Having these culturally affirming gifted programs, especially ones that are from kindergarten through the 12th grade, could ease the need for students to transition academically, socially, and culturally and alleviate the need to manage stereotypes and navigate some of the disruptions caused by the moves. This could also come to fruition by strengthen ties between different types of schooling environments to ease the transition for Black students. Black gifted students would also benefit from targeted efforts to ease the transition into middle and high schools.</p> <p>School districts should also explore increased partnerships with programs like Prep for Prep and A Better Chance to help create experiences for young students to interact with people who are different in meaningful ways. By doing so, gifted programs will not simply be closing achievement gaps but working to close opportunity gaps that parents and families often attach to the need for their students to switch schools during their K-12 tenure. Increasing these interactions and options proved critical for our participants' moves into college.</p> <p>Our findings suggest that families play a critical role in whether students enter and navigate gifted programs successfully. Therefore, it is critical that schools and families have open lines of communication to ensure that Black gifted students are identified and then supported in gifted classroom/program settings. Moreover, to ensure that Black students are represented, families of Black gifted students can create organizations for parents of gifted children to not only serve as a source of support for current parents but also identify ways to challenge their schools to ensure that Black children are properly represented in gifted programs and that their cultural backgrounds are represented in all aspects of their schooling.</p> <p>At the elementary school level, schools must continue to reach out to parents in underserved communities to ensure that their gifted children are getting opportunities to be tested and placed. Schools should also work to expand pre-K programming to identify and support students in communities where they often go unnoticed. Strategic partnerships in this area will continue to provide an influx of students who could not only be eligible but persist when given opportunity and support. It is critical that gifted and talented high schools seek to close academic and opportunity gaps that exist between White and Black students. In addition to some of the expanded opportunities, school districts will have to think about how they are differentiating the academic rigor for these students, even at a young age. How might they begin to align their curricula to some of the schools that their students will eventually enroll in and structure classroom environments to foster the appropriate academic and social development?</p> <p>Given the contentiousness of the participants' transitions during their middle and high school years, future research should focus on current students during their transition to middle and high school gifted programs. These studies will help specialized schools and institutions potentially develop supports and programming to help students during their transition.</p> <p>Our study found that teachers played a major role in students' participation in gifted schools. Though we do not know the racial demographics of the gifted teachers in the various schools these students attended, we know that there is an underrepresentation of Black gifted teachers nationwide (Bryan &amp; Ford, 2014; Bryan et al., 2016). Therefore, there is a need to focus on exploring the perceptions that gifted teachers have about Black students because this shapes their experiences.</p> <p>Finally, the intraracial diversity that exists among Black families in New York City is something that should be explored in future research. Several of the participants acknowledged the impact of their parents being West Indian immigrants on their educational pursuits. Though researchers such as Waters (1999) and Waters, Kasinitz, and Asad (2014) have begun to think about the implications of this intraracial diversity on educational experiences, especially related to affirmative action, more could be done to think about the ways in which this impacts students as they enter into gifted and talented programs and their experiences in early childhood education.</p> <hd id="AN0134540370-19">Disclosure Statement</hd> <p>No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.</p> <ref id="AN0134540370-20"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Baldwin, A. ( 1987 ). I'm Black but look at me, I am also gifted. <emph>Gifted Child Quarterly</emph>, 31, 180 - 185. doi: 10.1177/001698628703100410</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> Black, S. E., Cortes, K. E., &amp; Lincove, J. A. ( 2015 ). 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( 2016 ). Discretion and disproportionality: Explaining the underrepresentation of high-achieving students of color in gifted programs. <emph>AERA Open</emph>, 2 ( 1 ), 1 - 25. doi: 10.1177/2332858415622175</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Grissom, J. A., Rodriguez, L. A., &amp; Kern, E. C. ( 2017 ). Teacher and principal diversity and the representation of students of color in gifted programs: Evidence from national data. <emph>Elementary School Journal</emph>, 117, 296 - 422. doi: 10.1086/690274</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Hébert, T. P., &amp; Beardsley, T. M. ( 2001 ). Jermaine: A critical case study of a gifted Black child living in rural poverty. <emph>Gifted Child Quarterly</emph>, 45, 85 - 103. doi: 10.1177/001698620104500203</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Helms, J. E., &amp; Ford, D. Y. (Eds.). ( 2012 ). 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Gifted and talented handbook for students born in 2012. Retrieved from <ulink href="http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/6BCA4297-B77E-4388-AC0C-72454A5F6DD4/0/2017GTHandbookforStudentsBornin2012ENGLISH.pdf">http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/6BCA4297-B77E-4388-AC0C-72454A5F6DD4/0/2017GTHandbookforStudentsBornin2012ENGLISH.pdf</ulink></bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Nicholson-Crotty, S., Grissom, J. A., Nicholson-Crotty, J., &amp; Redding, C. ( 2016 ). Disentangling the casual mechanisms of representative bureaucracy: Evidence from assignment of students to gifted programs. <emph>Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory</emph>, 26, 745 - 757. doi: 10.1093/jopart/muw024</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ogbu, J. U. ( 1987 ). Variability in minority school performance: A problem in search of an explanation. <emph>Anthropology &amp; Education Quarterly</emph>, 18, 312 - 334. doi: 10.1525/aeq.1987.18.4.04x0022v</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Schlossberg, N. K. ( 1980 ). A model for analyzing human adaptation to transition. <emph>The Counseling Psychologist</emph>, 9, 2 - 18. doi: 10.1177/001100008100900202</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Steele, C. M., &amp; Aronson, J. ( 1995 ). Stereotype threat and the intellectual performance of African Americans. <emph>Journal of Personality and Social Psychology</emph>, 69, 797 - 811. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.797</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Tracy, S. J. ( 2010 ). Qualitative quality: Eight "big-tent" criteria for excellent qualitative research. <emph>Qualitative Inquiry</emph>, 16, 837 - 851. doi: 10.1177/1077800410383121</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights. ( 2016 ). 2011-12 Gifted and talented enrollment estimations. Retrieved from https://ocrdata.ed.gov/StateNationalEstimations/Estimations_2011_12</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Viega, C. ( 2016, November 26 ). The push to diversify gifted-and-talented programs. <emph>The Atlantic</emph>. Retrieved from https://<ulink href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/11/the-push-to-diversify-gifted-and-talented-programs/508415/">www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/11/the-push-to-diversify-gifted-and-talented-programs/508415/</ulink></bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Waters, M. C. ( 1999 ). <emph>Black identities: West Indian immigrant dreams and American realities</emph>. New York, NY : Sage.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Waters, M. C., Kasinitz, P., &amp; Asad, A. L. ( 2014 ). Immigrants and African Americans. <emph>Annual Review of</emph><emph>S</emph><emph>ociology</emph>, 40, 369 - 390. doi: 10.1146/annurev-soc-071811-145449</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Wright, B. L, Ford, D. Y, &amp; Young, J. L. ( 2017 ). Ignorance or indifference? Seeking excellence and equity for under-represented students of color in gifted education. <emph>Global Education Review</emph>, 4 ( 1 ), 45 -60.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <aug> <p>By Christopher J.P. Sewell and Ramon B. Goings</p> <p></p> <p>Christopher J.P. Sewell is Associate Dean of the College at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. His scholarship focuses on studying the experiences of gifted students of color; how schooling and policies around gifted and talented education affect the long-term experiences of students of color; the ways in which LGBTQ+ gifted students negotiate their academic, racial, and sexual identities; and the experiences of Black students at predominantly White institutions.</p> <p>Ramon B. Goings is an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at Loyola University Maryland. His research interests are centered on exploring the academic and high/high-achieving Black males pre-K-PhD, diversifying the teacher and school leader workforce, nontraditional/adult learner student success in higher education, and investigating the contributions of historically Black colleges and universities to education and society.</p> </aug> |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Navigating the Gifted Bubble: Black Adults Reflecting on Their Transition Experiences in NYC Gifted Programs – Name: Language Label: Language Group: Lang Data: English – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sewell%2C+Christopher+J%2EP%22">Sewell, Christopher J.P</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6260-1958">0000-0002-6260-1958</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Goings%2C+Ramon+B%2E%22">Goings, Ramon B.</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4770-7543">0000-0002-4770-7543</externalLink>) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Roeper+Review%22"><i>Roeper Review</i></searchLink>. 2019 41(1):20-34. – Name: Avail Label: Availability Group: Avail Data: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals – Name: PeerReviewed Label: Peer Reviewed Group: SrcInfo Data: Y – Name: Pages Label: Page Count Group: Src Data: 15 – Name: DatePubCY Label: Publication Date Group: Date Data: 2019 – Name: TypeDocument Label: Document Type Group: TypDoc Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research – Name: Audience Label: Education Level Group: Audnce Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Elementary+Education%22">Elementary Education</searchLink> – Name: Subject Label: Descriptors Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22African+Americans%22">African Americans</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Adults%22">Adults</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gifted%22">Gifted</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Talent%22">Talent</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Transitional+Programs%22">Transitional Programs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Public+Schools%22">Public Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Stereotypes%22">Stereotypes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reflection%22">Reflection</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Experience%22">Student Experience</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Elementary+School+Students%22">Elementary School Students</searchLink> – Name: Subject Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22New+York+%28New+York%29%22">New York (New York)</searchLink> – Name: DOI Label: DOI Group: ID Data: 10.1080/02783193.2018.1553218 – Name: ISSN Label: ISSN Group: ISSN Data: 0278-3193 – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Through the reflections of 17 Black adults who attended gifted schools in New York City, this qualitative study investigated how they transitioned into and through gifted programs as students. Findings suggest four themes: (a) Many students were referred to gifted programs during their elementary school experience either by their teachers or by their parents; (b) participants expressed having an easy transition into gifted programs in elementary because their schools and gifted programs were racially diverse and provided a welcoming school environment; (c) during middle and high school, participants noted difficulty transitioning through school as gifted students, due to being one of few Black students in their gifted programs, as well as having to attend schools outside of their neighborhood; and (d) despite this, through supportive relationships and community partnerships, they were able to find the space to survive (and thrive) in their programs. Recommendations are provided for educators to support gifted Black students. – Name: AbstractInfo Label: Abstractor Group: Ab Data: As Provided – Name: Ref Label: Number of References Group: RefInfo Data: 48 – Name: DateEntry Label: Entry Date Group: Date Data: 2019 – Name: AN Label: Accession Number Group: ID Data: EJ1204771 |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1080/02783193.2018.1553218 Languages: – Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 15 StartPage: 20 Subjects: – SubjectFull: African Americans Type: general – SubjectFull: Adults Type: general – SubjectFull: Gifted Type: general – SubjectFull: Talent Type: general – SubjectFull: Transitional Programs Type: general – SubjectFull: Public Schools Type: general – SubjectFull: Stereotypes Type: general – SubjectFull: Reflection Type: general – SubjectFull: Student Experience Type: general – SubjectFull: Elementary School Students Type: general – SubjectFull: New York (New York) Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Navigating the Gifted Bubble: Black Adults Reflecting on Their Transition Experiences in NYC Gifted Programs Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Sewell, Christopher J.P – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Goings, Ramon B. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Type: published Y: 2019 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 0278-3193 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 41 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: Roeper Review Type: main |
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