Paradigmatic Perceptions: Exploring the Alignment Between Teachers' and Districts' Conceptions of Giftedness

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 8
  In Poster Session: Gifted Education, Creativity, and Talent Development Posters

Abstract

Fractured purposes and inconsistent theories have defined the history of gifted education. This theoretical disharmony, coupled with insufficient teacher preparation, leads to the question of how teachers draw conclusions about what they believe giftedness is and how their beliefs affect instruction of advanced students. The current study explores teachers’ conceptions of giftedness using the three paradigms of gifted education using an explanatory sequential design to mixed methods that converges both quantitative and qualitative data (Creswell, 2015). Results of a piloted EFA indicated a four-factor structure of gifted paradigmatic beliefs; current analyses aims to run a multigroup confirmatory analysis with a teacher sample and conduct one-on-one interviews. Implications and suggestions for researchers, educators, and other educational stakeholders are discussed.

Authors

• Kacey Crutchfield, University of North Texas

• Jessica Ottwein, University of North Texas

• Lindsay Ellis Lee, East Tennessee State University

• Kendal Smith, University of North Texas

• Jeb S Puryear, University of Montana

• Anne N. Rinn, University of North Texas