Mapping the Optics of Predatory Inclusion in Gifted Education: Converging and Diverging Perspectives of Leaders

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: From Access to Transformation: Disability, Giftedness, Music, and Neurodivergence in Education

Abstract

Achieving racial equity in gifted and talented education (GATE) has long been debated due to the persistent underrepresentation of Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and low-income students. Using a critical race and predatory inclusion lens, our qualitative study examined how 19 GATE scholars and advocates perceive the problems and possible solutions to inequities in the field. We then used the tenets of Critical Race Theory to examine how predatory inclusion is utilized in enrichment spaces, and why these practices exacerbate issues of inequity. Given our findings, we argue that GATE scholars and policy advocates must move beyond narrow conceptions that fixing the racial disproportionality problem will automatically lead to greater equity to include broader societal and educational issues.

Authors

• Brittany Nicole Anderson, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Allison Roda, Molloy University