Recruiting and Retaining Culturally Different Students in Gifted Education

by Donna Y. Ford

One pervasive educational issue is the national underrepresentation of Black and Hispanic students in gifted education. Virtually every school district is grappling with having too few students from these groups identified as gifted and served in gifted classes and programs. Recruiting and Retaining Culturally Different Students in Gifted Education addresses this long-standing national problem through the dual lens of recruitment and retention. The focus is on how to equitably recruit (screen, refer, and/or assess) culturally different students and, just as importantly, to retain them. Recruitment and retention require providing academic, cultural, and social supports to culturally different students and ensuring that educators are willing and able to address issues and barriers. No time is better than now to address and correct the underachievement albatross, and the focus on recruitment and retention holds the greatest promise.

Nominated for a 2014 NAACP Image Award in the Outstanding Literary Work-Instructional Category

Genres: Education

278 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2013

About the author

Donna Y. Ford, PhD, is Professor of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University.
Professor Ford holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Urban Education (educational psychology) (1991), a Masters of Education degree (counseling) (1988), and a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and Spanish (1984) from Cleveland State University.
Dr. Ford is co-founder of the Scholar Identity Institute for Black Males(TM), and creator of The Female Achievement Model of Excellence (FAME). She is a two-time board member of the National Association for Gifted Children.