An Often-Neglected Issue in Consideration of Gifted African American Millennial Students: Implications for School Planning and Policy

Abstract

Millennials, which includes persons born between 1982 and 2002, often have been characterized as a mixed bag with two overarching variables used in describing this population: the diverse nature of the group and the closeness that exists between them and their parents. In the case of the latter, millennials have a closeness to their parents who tend to belong to the groups euphemistically referred to as "Baby Boomers" and "Generation Xers" and who have very high expectations for their children. In their endeavor to realize these expectations for their children, parents pursue educational objectives for their children alone rather than in cooperation with other parents who may be like-minded. In the case of diversity, few articles discuss the special needs of students who are not regarded as mainstream students in American schooling-those who are culturally and linguistically different (CLD).The scarcity of discussions of CLD millennial students is especially evident when attention is paid

Standing in the Gaps: Examining the Effects of Early Gifted Education on Black Girl Achievement in STEM

“…In 2013, only 17 states required teachers to have some type of gifted education credentials (see http://www.nagc.org/sites/default/files/Advocacy/State%20of%20 the%20Nation.pdf). Teacher perceptions are informed by cultural synchronization or the ability of teachers to recognize and appreciate the cultural nuances and characteristics of culturally and linguistically diverse students (Mattai, Wagle, & Williams, 2010). When cultural synchronization exists, then the possibility of misinterpretating cultural orientations is decreased.…”

Culturally responsive teaching and teacher expectations for Latino middle school students.

“…In another meta-analysis (Baron, Tom, & Cooper, 1985), teacher judgments about White and middle class students were more favorable than for Black and lower socioeconomic status (SES) students despite comparable levels of achievement. Consequently, teachers’ different academic expectations across ethnic/racial groups may contribute to minority students being underrepresented in gifted and talented programs (Konstantopoulos, Modi, & Hedges, 2001; Mattai, Wagle, & Williams, 2010) and overrepresented in referrals for special education (Hosp & Reschly, 2003).…”