Graduation Semester and Year

Fall 2024

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Department

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

First Advisor

Maria Trache

Second Advisor

Yi Zhang

Third Advisor

Barbara Tobolowsky

Abstract

High-achieving students of color and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds continue to fall behind their White peers and are not reaching their full academic potential. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of student socio-demographic characteristics, teacher beliefs and classroom practices, and school climate on the retention of high-achieving elementary school students identified as gifted. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory was used to propose an analytical framework for the study to help understand and interpret how these factors influence student participation patterns in gifted programs as described by the giftedness typology of stoppers, jumpers, continuers.

The results of the study confirmed that students of color are more likely to leave the gifted program as they progress through elementary school. The findings also revealed that student socio-demographic characteristics, including SES, race, and parental education, are controlling factors in determining the giftedness typology groups. Furthermore, findings from the study revealed teacher beliefs, assessment practices, and school climate factors affect whether students remain in the gifted program through fifth grade. Therefore, we must continue determining effective strategies to support high-achieving students of color and ensure they have equitable opportunities to reach their full potential.

Keywords

Gifted, High-achieving, Socio-demographic characteristics, Teacher beliefs, School Climate, Classroom practices

Disciplines

Gifted Education

License

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

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