Giftedness Is an Intellectual Ability Article Review

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Previous research shows that giftedness shows up in all populations, but the fact is that well over three-quarters of the American teaching force are of European descent.

A study by Elhoweris, Mutua, Alsheikh and Holloway (2005), used stratified cluster sampling to ascertain just that question. The sample was drawn from 16 elementary schools from three distinct geographical quadrants of a large Midwestern city school district. The sample included 207 elementary school teachers; 92% of whom were female and 83% of European descent. The study instrument was a short descriptive vignette about a student who possessed the research-based profile of a gifted and talented student. 1/3 of the participants were told this student was European-American, 1/3 that the student was African-American, and 1/3 no information on ethnicity (control group). After reading the prose, teachers were asked to rank levels of agreement towards statements recommending that student into a gifted program.

The results of the study showed that a student's ethnicity does make a difference in the referral decisions of teachers.

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The sample teachers treated identical information contained in the prose differently despite the fact that the information was the same except for the notation of student ethnicity. The results of this study suggest that teachers were relying on informal information when making decisions about academic ability; sadly coordinating with previous literature on the subject.

Implications are obvious, and suggest further study. Perhaps expanding the universe to other major urban areas with different percentages of ethnic populations; expanding choices from 2 (Caucasian and African-American) to include Asian, Latino, and Amerindian. In addition, longitudinal data would be helpful to find trends. Thus, a more robust geographical, choice, and study over time might validate the results. However, it is clear that care need be taken when making recommendation decisions to eliminate racial bias.

REFERENCES

Elhoweris, Mutua, Alsheikh and Holloway. (2005). "Effect of Children's Ethnicity on Teachers'

Referral and Recommendation Decisions in Gifted and Talented Programs." Remedial

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"Giftedness Is An Intellectual Ability" (2010, November 28) Retrieved July 6, 2024, from
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"Giftedness Is An Intellectual Ability", 28 November 2010, Accessed.6 July. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/giftedness-intellectual-ability-6371