Lived Experiences of Six Gifted Black Students in Rural South Georgia
Location
Preston 1
Session Format
Presentation
Abstract
This qualitative study was conducted to gain an understanding of the lived experiences of gifted Black students in a rural Georgia school district. Gifted education programs are often touted as providing high-ability students access to challenging and engaging curriculum that builds on their curiosity, creativity, and persistence. However, Black students face obstacles, which prevent them from being identified for and retained in gifted education programs, making them the most underrepresented non-White group in gifted education. As a result of this educational inequity, gifted Black students are subordinated by race, underserved, overlooked, and denied access to the challenging education they deserve. This study was designed to provide an original contribution to the research base by sharing first-person portraits of six gifted Black students who recently graduated from high school. Seidman’s three-interview series was completed with each participant and analyzed using in vivo coding. Counterstories were created for each participant and four main themes were determined: (1) Relationships were important to participants’ social and academic lives; (2) participants shared a strong racial identity, (3) possessed a love of learning and of academic challenge, and (4) expressed a strong need for achievement.
Keywords
critical race theory, gifted education, portraiture, underrepresentation, acting White
Professional Bio
Dr. Robin Cartright served as Director of Curriculum/Instruction for Thomas County Board of Education and is currently working for the GA Department of Education. She received her doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Valdosta State in August 2023.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Cartright, Robin; Schmertzing, Richard; Schmertzing, Lorraine C.; and Arrastia-Chisholm, Meagan Ph.D., "Lived Experiences of Six Gifted Black Students in Rural South Georgia" (2024). Georgia Educational Research Association Conference. 60.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gera/2024/2024/60
Lived Experiences of Six Gifted Black Students in Rural South Georgia
Preston 1
This qualitative study was conducted to gain an understanding of the lived experiences of gifted Black students in a rural Georgia school district. Gifted education programs are often touted as providing high-ability students access to challenging and engaging curriculum that builds on their curiosity, creativity, and persistence. However, Black students face obstacles, which prevent them from being identified for and retained in gifted education programs, making them the most underrepresented non-White group in gifted education. As a result of this educational inequity, gifted Black students are subordinated by race, underserved, overlooked, and denied access to the challenging education they deserve. This study was designed to provide an original contribution to the research base by sharing first-person portraits of six gifted Black students who recently graduated from high school. Seidman’s three-interview series was completed with each participant and analyzed using in vivo coding. Counterstories were created for each participant and four main themes were determined: (1) Relationships were important to participants’ social and academic lives; (2) participants shared a strong racial identity, (3) possessed a love of learning and of academic challenge, and (4) expressed a strong need for achievement.
