The overall objective of the "Minority Gifted Children" project is to promote the cognitive and educational development of kindergarten through second grade economically disadvantaged minority gifted children from Newark, New Jersey. Prior to the inception of this project, no Newark public chools provided gifted services for kindergarten students, and the programs for first and second graders were serving a disproportionately small number of children. The current report presents data on a screening and assessment procedure being developed to identify gifted inner city minority kindergarten students. Before the project began, only 0.2% of children entering first grade were identified as gifted, in contras to the 2% found in this sample. The method of identification used in this project appears to hold promise as a relatively cost efficient method of finding young minority children who are gifted in cognitive skill areas. This work indicates that young inner city minority gifted children exist. Therefore, it is imperative that educational programs be provided to nurture potential excellence and achievement in this population.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Archambault, F.X., Jr., Westberg, K.L., Brown, S.W., Hallmark, B.W., Emmons, C.L., & Zhang, W. (1993). Regular classroom practices with gifted students: Results of a national survey of classroom teachers. Storrs, CT: The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, The University of Connecticut.
2.
Baldwin, A.Y. (1991). Ethnic and cultural issues. In N. Colangelo & G. A. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of gifted education (pp. 416-427). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
3.
Baldwin, A.Y. (1994). The Seven Plus story: Developing hidden talent among students in socioeconomically disadvantaged environments. Gifted Child Quarterly, 38, 80-84.
4.
Bereiter, C., & Engleman, S. (1969). Disadvantaged children in the preschool. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
5.
Bernal, E. (1982). Identifying minority gifted students: Special problems and procedures. In Identifying and educating the disadvarztaged gifted/talented. Selected proceedings from the Fifth National Conference on Disadvantaged Gifted/Talented. Los Angeles, CA: The National/State Leadership Training Institute on the Gifted and the Talented .
6.
Berrutta-Clement, J.R., Schweinhart, L.J., Barnett, W.S., Epstein, A.S., & Weikart, D.P. (1984). Changed Lives: The effects of the Perry Preschool Program on youths through age 19. Monographs of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, Number Eight. Ypsilanti, MI: The High/Scope Press.
7.
Bloom, B.S. (1964). Stability and change in human characteristics . New York: John Wiley & Sons .
8.
Brigance, A.H. (1987). Brigance K & I Screen for kindergarten and first grade. North Billerica, MA: Curriculum Associates, Inc.
9.
Bruch, C.B. (1985). Assessments of creativity in culturally different children. Gifted Child Quarterly, 19, 164-174.
10.
Campbell, F.A., & Ramey, C.T. (1994). Effects of early intervention on intellectual and academic achievement: A follow-up study of children from low-income families . Child Development, 65, 684-698.
11.
Campbell, F.A., & Ramey, C.T. (in press). Cognitive and school outcomes for high risk African-American students at middle adolescence: Positive effects of early intervention. American Education Research Journal.
12.
Coleman, L.J. (1994). Portfolio assessment: A key to identifying hidden talents and empowering teachers of young children. Gifted Child Quarterly, 38, 65-69.
13.
Coleman, M.R., & Gallagher, J.J. (1992). Report on state policies related to identification of gifted students. Chapel Ilill, NC: Gifted Education Policy Studies Program, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
14.
Curtiss, S. (1977). Genie: A psycholinguistic study of a modern-day "wild child. " New York: Academic Press.
15.
Davis, E.E., & Slettedahl, R.W. (1976). Stability of the McCarthy Scales over a 1-year period. Journal of Clinical Psychology , 32, 798-800.
16.
Dennis, W. (1973). Children of the creche. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
17.
Feiring, C., Ukeje, L., Louis, B., Lewis, M. (1994). Preliminary evaluation of program effectiveness . New Brunswick, NJ: Institute for the Study of Child Development. Unpublished manuscript.
18.
Ford, D.Y. (1994). The recruitment and retention of African-American students in gifted education programs: Implications and recommendations. The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, Executive Summary (No. RBDM 9405).
19.
Frasier, M.M., & Passow, A.H. (1994). Toward a new paradigm for identifying talent potential . The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented , Executive Summary (December, Monograph 94111).
20.
Gallagher, J.J. (1994). Current and historical thinking on education for gifted and talented students. In P. O. Ross (Ed.), National excellence, A case for developing America's talent: An anthology of readings. Washington, DC: US Department of Education.
21.
Garber, H.L. (1988). "The Milwaukee Project."Washington, DC: American Association on Mental Retardation.
22.
Hiatt.E.L. (1994). Promises to keep - The story of Project Promise . Gifted Child Quarterly, 38, 85-88.
23.
Hunt, J.M. (1964). The psychological basis for using preschool enrichment as an antidote for cultural deprivation. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly , 10, 209-248.
24.
Johnson, S., Starnes, W., Gregory, D., & Blaylock, A. (1985). Program of assessment, diagnosis, and instruction (PADI): Identifying and nurturing potentially gifted and talented minority students. The Journal of Negro Education, 54, 416-430.
25.
Kagan, J. (1976). Resilience and continuity in psychological development . In A. M. Clarke & A. D. B. Clarke (Eds.), Early experience: Myth and evideuce. London: Open Books.
26.
Karnes, M. (1983). The underserved: Our young gifted children. Reston, VA: The Council for Exceptional Children.
27.
Karnes, M.B., & Johnson, L.J. (I 99J). The preschool/primary gifted child. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 14, 267-283.
28.
Karnes, M.B., Shwedel, A.M., & Linnemeyer; S.A. (1982). The young gifted/talented child: Programs at the University of Illinois, The Elementary School Journal, 82, 195-213.
29.
Kay, S.I., & Subotnik, R.F. (1994). Talent beyond words: Unveiling spatial, expressive, kinesthetic, and musical talent in young children. Gifted Child Quarterly, 38, 70-74.
Koluchova, J. (1972). Severe deprivation in twins: A case study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 13, 107-114.
32.
Lewis, M., & Louis, B. (1991). Young gifted children. In N. Colangelo & G. A. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of gifted education (pp. 365-381). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
33.
Louis, B., Feiring, C., Lewis, M., & Ukeje, I. (1991). Identificntion of minority inner city gifted preschool children. Paper presented at the National Working Conference of the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families, Department of Health and Human Services, Arlington, VA. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 342 468)
34.
MacKenzie, B. (1984). Explaining race differences in IQ: Logic, the melhodology and the evidence. American Scientist, 59, 1214-1233.
35.
Maker, C.J. (1996). Identification of gifted minority students: A national problem, needed changes and a promising solution. Gifted Child Quarterly, 40,41-50).
36.
Maker, C., & Schiener, S. (Eds.). (1989). Critical issues in gifted education: Defensible programs for cultural and ethnic minorities. Austin, TX: Pro-ed.
37.
Marland, S. (1972). Education of the gifted and talented. Report to the subcommittee on Education, Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, US Senate, Washington, DC.
38.
McCarthy, D. (1972). Manual for the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities . New York: Psychological Corporation .
39.
McCall, R. (1981). Nature-nurture and the two realms of development: A proposed integration with respect to mental development. Child Development, 52, 1-12.
40.
McKenzie, J. (1986). The influence of identification practices, race, and SES on the identification of gifted students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 3.
41.
O'Tuel, F.S. (1994). APOGEE: Equity in the identification of gifted and talented students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 38, 75-79.
42.
Plucker, J.A., Callahan, C.M., & Tomchin, E.M. (1996). Wherefore art thou, multiple intelligences? Alternative assessments for identifying talent in ethnically diverse and low income students . Gifted Child Quarterly, 40, 81-92.
43.
Purcell, J.H. (1994). The status of programs for high ability students . The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented , Executive Summary (No. CRS 94305).
44.
Ramey, C.T., & Campbell, F.A. (1991). Poverty, early childhood education, and academic competence: The Abecedarian experiment. In A. Huston (Ed.), Children reared in poverty (pp. 190-221 ). New York: Cambridge University Press .
45.
Ross, P.O. (1993). National excellence: A case for developing America's talent. Washington, D.C.: Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education.
Sattler, J.M. (1988). Assessment of children (3rd edition). San Diego: Jerome M. Sattler.
48.
Shaklee, B.D. (1992). Identification of young gifted students. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 15, 134-144.
49.
Taradash, G. (1994). Extending educational opportunities for middle school gifted students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 38, 89-94.
50.
Taylor, C., & Ellison, R. (1983). Searching for student talent resources relevant to our USDE-type of giftedness. Gifted Child Quarterly, 27, Summer.
51.
Thorndike, R.L., & Hagen, E. (1986). Cognitive Abilities Test. Chicago: The Riverside Publishing Company.
52.
Torrance, E. (1977). Discovery and nurturance of giftedness in the culturally different. Reston, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.
53.
Ukeje, L., Feiring, C., Lewis, M., & Louis, B. (1992, November). The Young Thinker Model: A problem solving program for gifted minority children. Paper presented at the 39th annual National Association of Gifted Children Convention, Los Angeles, CA.
54.
U.S. Department of Education. (1989). No gifted ivasted: Effective strategies for educating highly able, disadvantaged students
55.
in mathematics and science. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
56.
Valencia, R.R. (1983). Stability of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities over a one-year period for Mexican-American children. Psychology in the Schools, 20, 29-34.
57.
Whitmore, J. (1988). Gifted children at risk for learning difficulties . Teaching Exceptional Children, 20(4), 10-14.
