Identifying and Serving English Learners for Gifted and Talented Education: A Systematic Literature Review

• In Event: 42.076 - Talent Ignored: Investigating the Underidentification of English Learners for Gifted Programs

Abstract

Purpose/Perspectives

While the number of English Learners (ELs) continues to grow rapidly in the United States, corresponding proportions of ELs are not identified for gifted and talented (GT) services. This neglect results in what Plucker, Burroughs, and Song (2010) described as a growing “excellence gap” in K-12 education. Thus, we undertook a systematic review of the literature to investigate the most effective practices used to identify and serve ELs for GT services.

Methods/Data Sources

The literature search was conducted in social science related electronic databases from September 9 to September 24, 2015. Search terms were chosen in consultation with experts in dual language and multicultural education and included broad terms synonymous with “gifted or talented” and “English Learners” (see Table 1). We further refined the search to U.S. K-12 Education., English written, and peer-reviewed to ensure the academic quality and reliability of the sources (see Table 2). The final papers were selected based on most relevance to our research topic.

Results

The review yielded 45 articles (18 theoretical and 27 empirical) from 1974-2015 (See Table 3).
Importance of Teacher Beliefs
Teachers may overlook academic potential in ELs due to strong valuing of the English language and cultural bias in what “giftedness” should look like, with a tendency to favor behaviors that reflect dominant culture values such as individualism and verbal expression. These beliefs can change with proper training and education. Universal screening methods (Bianco & Harris, 2014) may sidestep the problem of teacher bias.

Match GT Services with Student Needs

Teachers’ emphasis on verbal strengths may also reflect requirements for students to succeed in verbally intensive gifted programs. Focusing on domain specific giftedness would provide opportunities for ELs to flourish in less verbal intensive areas such as mathematics. Most gifted programs, however, require strong language skills putting program personnel in a quandary with regard to including EL.

Holistic Profile through Multiple Data Sources

Multiple data should be collected to build a holistic profile of the EL child, such as: (a) assessments in students’ native language; (b) observations of problem-solving tasks; (c) student portfolio work; (d) teacher observations; (e) behavioral checklists; and (f) parental input. Standardized testing may be appropriate when a certain level of English language mastery is needed for success in the program.

Perceived Best Practices for Serving GT EL

There is little clear empirical evidence for what works best in practice. Successful identification models included in this review were characterized by early intervention, collaboration between school staff and parent involvement. Best practices may depend on the population being serviced and available resources.

Scholarly Significance

Plucker and Callahan (2014) asserted GT “needs to take several bold steps to shrink excellence gaps—and to do so by raising the achievement levels of underachieving groups” (p. 400). Part of that advancement requires more research in the field of EL gifted education since what is known is quite limited (Granada, 2003). This systematic literature review establishes the status of that research and sets the foundation for next steps moving forward.

Authors

• Rachel U Mun, University of North Texas

• Susan Dulong Langley, University of Connecticut