Gifted and talented education has
always been a passion of mine, but as my career has progressed I have become
more and more interested in how students from minority cultures are identified
and catered for in mainstream schools.
In 2012 I completed a Master’s thesis on this topic and, in recognition
of Gifted Awareness Week, would like to briefly share the outcomes and
recommendations that arose from my research.
Giftedness and talent is a cultural
construct and what it means to be gifted and talented varies from culture to
culture. When schools operate on the
norms of the majority culture, what it means to be gifted and talented for
minority cultures is often overlooked or not understood. My research set out to establish what is
happening in mainstream schools for Māori students who are gifted and
talented. I decided to focus on
identification as I saw this as the first step towards appropriate provision
for Māori students who are gifted and talented.
However, as the research progressed I discovered that actually having a
culturally appropriate definition was the first step, and intertwined with this
was the need for a culturally responsive environment in order for Māori
students to be able to display their cultural gifts and talents.
The study used survey methodology
and content analysis to establish the definitions and identification procedures
used in mainstream schools in one region of Aotearoa New Zealand. The barriers and challenges these schools
faced when identifying Māori students who are gifted and talented was also
examined. The findings indicated that
although some schools had definitions and identification practices which were
culturally responsive, their practices were not leading to the formal
identification of the numbers of gifted and talented Māori students that are
suggested by the literature.
Eleven schools took part in the
study and six of these provided the definitions they are currently using. Of these six schools, three specifically
mentioned culture-specific abilities and/or qualities as an area of giftedness
and talent in their definition and one further school included a document which
explicitly described what these might be for Māori using Mahaki and Mahaki’s
(2007) descriptors. Five out of the
eleven schools had consulted with their Māori community when developing their
definition but none of those schools had identified any students as
demonstrating giftedness and talent in culture-specific abilities and/or
qualities in the last 12 months. These
results are similar to the Education Review Office’s (2008) finding where the
majority of schools they studied had not adequately taken into account Māori
concepts of giftedness and talent in their definition. They also found that of
these schools, most had not consulted with their community to help them
understand and incorporate these concepts.
Within the eleven schools only nine
Māori students had been identified as being gifted and talented in the last
twelve months. Six of these nine
students were identified as gifted and talented in the area of academic ability,
one in leadership and two in sport/physical ability. The respondents noted many reasons for this;
however the main reason cited was that teachers were not confident in
identifying aspects of giftedness and talent beyond academic ability.
Although the schools’ definitions
of giftedness and talent and identification checklists made reference to
culture-specific abilities and qualities, the identification processes and
numbers of Māori students being identified as gifted and talented did not match
up in most cases. This means that Māori students that are or have the potential
to be gifted and talented may not be experiencing the opportunities to allow
their gifts and talents to be recognised and developed. The main reason cited
for this was teacher knowledge, expertise and confidence in this area. However, only one school had taken part in
professional learning and development which involved the identification of
Māori students who are gifted and talented. The literature reviewed strongly
promoted the importance of a culturally responsive environment to the identification
and development of Māori students who are or have the potential to be gifted
and talented, but again this relies on teachers having the knowledge, support
and confidence to create and maintain such environments.
Gifted and talented education is a
vitally important aspect of education and meeting the needs of all gifted and
talented students remains a major issue in Aotearoa New Zealand education, but
is particularly an issue for students from minority cultures. Culturally
responsive gifted and talented education has the capacity to improve learning
outcomes for all students from minority cultures as it requires teachers to
concentrate on students’ strengths rather than focusing on deficits. On the basis of the findings of this
research, the recommendation is made to school leaders that they enable their
teachers to undertake professional learning and development about how to create
and maintain culturally responsive environments for Māori students. This step
would benefit not only the Māori students who may be gifted and talented but
all Māori students in their classrooms.
There are many providers offering professional learning and development
in this area, however teachers need to have time and money to take part in
these initiatives. With the current demands on primary teachers to implement
National Standards and the focus on raising literacy and numeracy levels,
unfortunately gifted and talented education seems to not be a priority. This is
a short sighted view, and one that does not take into account the benefit
improving gifted and talented education provides for all students, encapsulated
by the notion that “a rising tide lifts all ships” (Renzulli, 1998, p. 1). The
Ministry of Education needs to reassess the current disproportionate weight
given to the improvement of literacy and numeracy levels. Teachers need to be
provided with the means to seek ways of improving these levels that will also
benefit gifted and talented students, such as developing culturally responsive
environments that cater to all student’s needs.
If you would like to read my full
research report, please email me at escobiejennings@gmail.com
and I will happily email you a copy.
References:
Education Review Office. (2008). Schools'
provisions for gifted and talented students. Wellington, New Zealand:
Education Review Office.
Mahaki,
P., & Mahaki, C. (2007). Mana tu, mana ora - Identifying characteristics of
Māori giftedness. Proceedings of the National Gifted Education Advisor Hui.
Auckland, New Zealand.
Renzulli,
J. S. (1998). A rising tide lifts all ships: Developing the gifts and
talents of all students. Retrieved 12
October, 2012 from Neag Center for Gifted Education and Talent
Development: http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/sem/semart03.html
