Giftedness as Property: Troubling Whiteness, Wealth, and Gifted Education in the US

Abstract

The purposes of this article are to illumine the racist genealogy of gifted education policies and practices in the United States, to demonstrate how deficit discourses continue today, and to provide personal examples from the field of how educators can begin to question the status quo, resist taken-for-granted assumptions, and alternatively make substantive changes at the local level. I also aim to demonstrate how giftedness is an example of whiteness as property, or unearned white privilege, that, unintentionally or not, maintains a social caste system in schools.

Market “choices” or structured pathways? How specialized arts education contributes to the reproduction of inequality

“…It counters the notion that by focusing on artistic "talent" or even "interest," SAPs can provide more equitable access. Indeed, it confirms the notion that the identification of intellectual giftedness or giftedness in the arts expresses the productive qualities of property (Mansfield, 2015). This is underscored by a second observation that, overall, the student populations attending SAP feeder schools are more likely to emulate the characteristics represented within secondary SAPs.…”

“…As with the discussion about economic capital, this finding supports the theorization of how whiteness and wealth advantage some students over others in the same way as it does in streaming. Mansfield (2015) describes the use of giftedness, and we would argue "talent," in the distributive decisions around what resources are made available to students. From the observed trends in the data, the relationship between class, income and race at the elementary level could be key in the construction of talent -artistic or otherwise -in the secondary level, and could also be used to justify the streaming of resources into programs that serve the needs of privileged students.…”

“…Specialized arts programs in Toronto (and in Canada more generally) share many of the characteristics of arts "magnet schools" and other such programs in the United States (Goldring & Smrekar, 2000;Gore, 2007;Metz, 2003;Wilson, 2001). They typically serve district-wide (and sometimes beyond-district) populations, have varying degrees of autonomy, and usually involve some kind of selection process through which students interested in pre-professional training in the arts are selected using various criteria revolving around notions of artistic "talent."…”

A critical policy analysis of Texas’ Closing the Gaps 2015

“…There is a lack of critique of historically constituted racisms or structural disparities such as racial segregation, socioeconomic isolation, unequal school finance, and academic tracking. While prior research clearly shows that achievement and opportunity gaps are far less severe for minoritized students who attend integrated schools that are relatively better resourced and detracked (Clark, 2014;Mansfield, 2015;Skrla, McKenzie, & Scheurich, 2009;Valencia, 2002), the policy discourse is silent. Rather, the dialogue merely states that the gaps need to be closed, with occasional reference to the past by noting the growth of postsecondary institutions and enrollment since 1965.…”

The Social Construction of Giftedness

“…They argue that in the education system, whiteness is used as property and centralizes "the nondisabled White heterosexual male body as the most productive and profitable citizen for the burgeoning capitalist society" (Erevelles, et al 2006, 93). Additionally, Mansfield (2015) supports that in an educational context, ability, akin to property, can be bartered for greater access to socioeconomic status and capital. In much the same way, the identification of giftedness can be used as a form of currency or property, employed in order to access greater advantages and resources within the public education system.…”