Showing papers by "Donna Y. Ford published in 2023"

Good Trouble, Necessary Trouble: Adding Culture to Transformational Gifted and Talented Students and Programs

Abstract: ABSTRACT Sternberg’s transformational giftedness theory is visionary given its focus on GATE students being agents of change who use their gifts and talents in meaningful ways to address real issues. The theory merges seamlessly with several multicultural or culturally responsive theories and frameworks/models. We introduce the culturally responsive transformational giftedness model that adds multicultural consideration to Sternberg’s theory, particularly for Black students. This article offers recommendations and presents the model to complement and enhance transformational GATE students and education (e.g., identification and assessment, social-emotional and psychological development, instruction/teaching, and curriculum) via a rigorous culturally responsive framework. Undergirding this model is the notion of “good trouble” which is needed to solve real issues and problems to bring about equitable social and cultural change.

Engaging diverse learners: lessons learned from a dialogic, technology-enabled social studies curriculum

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present insights from the implementation of a dialogic social studies curriculum and its potential to support diverse learners. Policymakers and educators must attend to the learning needs of diverse/minoritized (Note: In this paper, the authors use minoritized and diverse interchangeably) students who have been marginalized in public education. A critical goal is to close racial, ethnic and socioeconomic achievement gaps by increasing, for example, students’ engagement with curriculum and instruction. In this paper, the authors bridge research on dialogic instruction and culturally relevant and responsive education with the goal of informing curricular design and instructional practice. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper discusses the utility of dialogic instruction in improving learning outcomes for minoritized student populations. While some researchers have examined the positive effects of dialogic instruction on underperforming students (e.g. Murphy et al., 2009; Pillinger and Vardy, 2022), few scholars have examined dialogic instruction through a culturally relevant and responsive lens. The authors argue that the application of this critical lens may improve learning outcomes for diverse learners who have been marginalized in public education systems. Findings The authors present illustrative vignettes and insights from a pilot study of a novel social studies curriculum. This curriculum applies a social justice lens by guiding students in the exploration of complex social issues that affect them. Given the diversity of their collaborating teachers’ classrooms (55% are racially minoritized students), the authors applied principles of culturally relevant and responsive education (e.g. Ford, 2010; Gay, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 1995) when designing and piloting the curriculum. Prior personal and professional experiences by the first author point to the potential of dialogic instruction to meaningfully support minoritized students’ learning. Originality/value This paper builds on two bodies of literature – dialogic instruction and culturally relevant and responsive education – to identify how an innovative social studies curriculum may improve learning for diverse student populations. It calls for the advancement of a research agenda that applies a culturally relevant and responsive lens to inform instructional practice. The authors begin this discussion with two vignettes.

Equity perspectives of school stakeholders regarding the representation and access of black male students in an academy of engineering

Abstract: In this study, we utilized a case study approach to examine the perspectives of 20 school stakeholders regarding equitable ways they promote and broaden the participation of Black male students in a high school academy of engineering (AOE). Madison River Academy (pseudonym) is a comprehensive high school with an AOE embedded in it. The ethnic and racial backgrounds of students at Madison River Academy are 68.8% Black, 14.4% Latinx, 8.7% White, 4.3% Asian, and 3.4% Multiracial. Three themes emerged from our data analyses of the school stakeholder interviews, including the following: (a) a cultural mismatch: denoting the cultural disconnect between teachers and Black male students; (b) math as a gatekeeper: symbolizing mathematics as a barrier Black male participation in the AOE; and (c) promoting equitable access: representing strategies the school stakeholders discussed that could address the equity issues within the AOE. More specifically, within the promoting equitable access theme, two subthemes emerged: building vertical pathways from middle to high school and applying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pathways. We provide recommendations for addressing the equity issues within our case study and promoting higher levels of participation of Black male students in the AOE.

Dispositions Promote or Inhibit Cultural Competence and Anti-racism: Discussion and Resources for Gifted Education

Abstract: This article addresses first what students and professionals know and do not know about cultural competence and anti-racism. The authors then focus on dispositions (what students and professionals want to know and do not want to know), and then skills (e.g., strategies, techniques, resources). They suggest that being skilled in cultural differences depends extensively on the degree of information known or not known, along with the desire or will to learn (or not) about culture and cultural differences, and how to be anti-racist. They conclude by offering recommendations to school administrators in recruiting and retaining teachers and school counselors that reflect the student population within their schools.

A Tale of Two Pandemics: Interrogating Discrimination Against Black Students in Gifted Education and Other Programs for Advanced Learners

Abstract: Abstract:Black students are casualties of two significant pandemics (i.e., racism and COVID-19), both wreaking havoc on their overall well-being—academically, mentally, socioemotionally, and psychologically. Moreover, the academic experiences of Black students are often fraught with denied access to P–12 schools’ most elite, privileged, and White programs—gifted and talented education (GATE), Advanced Placement (AP), dual enrollment, International Baccalaureate (IB), and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) academies. In this article, the authors discuss the curriculum violence that persisted during COVID, with little signs of abating and offered specific recommendations for educators to proactively engage Black students, and advocate for their educational needs while being culturally responsive. The authors will explain how educators can be anti-racist allies and gate openers for Black students.