A descriptive study of instructional and non-instructional strategies supporting underrepresented gifted and talented elementary students in Orange County schools

Experts agree that gifted and talented programs tend to be sporadic and limited across the state for ethnically, linguistically, and socio-economically diverse student populations. These student populations continue to grow each year in number and in diversity, although their representation in gifted and talented programs does not equate to the overall growth.; The purpose of this study was to identify instructional and non-instructional practices at 6 Orange County elementary schools that are serving underrepresented elementary students in gifted and talented programs. A qualitative, descriptive study was employed to answer 4 research questions: (1) What identification practices are used in Orange County elementary schools to identify diverse children as gifted and talented? (2) What primary and secondary language acquisition instructional methods are used? (3) What gifted and talented instructional strategies are used? (4) What non-instructional services are used?; Interviews were conducted with school principals to collect school demographic data. A written survey was administered to a group of educators at each school to learn about perceived site practices. Document reviews and informal site observations were also conducted at each site for comparison with survey responses. Data was then analyzed for trends and patterns.; Study findings indicated that elementary schools use multiple and diverse measures. Instructional methods included 2nd Language Acquisition strategies, Differentiated Instruction, Cooperative Learning, and Project Based Learning. Non instructional methods used included parent education and bilingual liaisons.; As a result of the findings, this study concluded training of school personnel to be an important factor to increasing the number of ethnically, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse students as gifted. Teachers were identified to have the most influence in student identification. The study also confirmed parent education as being an important factor for student success as well as the presence of a bilingual liaison at the school to ensure parent participation and understanding of gifted and talented program services.