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Vol. 74, No. 4. pp. 433-450.©2008 Council fir Exceptional Children.
Exceptional Children
Inside and Outside GiftedEducation Programming:Hidden Challenges forAfrican American Students
MALIK S. HENFIELDThe University of Iowa
JAMES L. MOORE IIIThe Ohio State University
CHRIS WOOD
Seattle University
ABSTRACT:T: This qualitative study used Critical Race Theory as a theoretical fiamework to examine
the meaning, context, and process by which 12 Afiican American students in gified education pro-
grams formulated perceptions of their experiences in those programs. The following themes emerged
fiom the semistructured, biographical questionnaires and individual interviews: (a) critical issues
facing gified Afiican American students; (b) ways that the students navigate the perils of gified ed-
ucation; and (c) the benefits of gified education. These themes highlight the salience of race inside
and outside gified education programs. The research findings also provide practical applications for
teachers, principals, school counselors, and parents.
In popular and scientific literature, re- in accelerated academic programs. Even whensearchers have documented the aca- African American students meet the minimumdemic shortcomings of African academic qualifications and obtain strong teacherAmericans in K to 12 settings (Jackson and school counselor referrals, many choose not& Moore, 2006; Moore, Ford, & Mil- to participate in advanced, accelerated, or gifted
ner, 2005a, 2005b; Rothstein, 2004; Thernstrom education programs (Ford, 1996; Ford, Harris,& Thernstrom, 2003). In these educational set- Tyson, & Trotman, 2002; Moore et al., 2005a).tings, African American students trail their White For example, in 2000, fewer 12th-grade Blackand Latina/o peers in participation in gifted pro- students took Advanced Placement (AP) exami-grams (Ford & Moore, 2004, 2005; Jackson & nations than their White or Hispanic counter-Moore; Moore, 2003). African American students parts. In 2003, fewer eighth-grade Africanare frequently missing from or underrepresented American students took algebra courses than their
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white and Latina/o peers. In addition, in 2003,fewer 11th- and 12th-grade African Americanstudents took AP courses than White or Latina/ostudents (National Center for Education Strate-gies, NCES, 2003).
A number of explanations in the research lit-erature have attempted to clarify the reasons forthe underrepresentation of African American stu-dents in gifted education programs. For example,some researchers have indicated that these stu-dents frequently lack access to, drop out of, orchoose not to participate in gifted education pro-grams for reasons ranging from low teacher expec-tations, lack of motivation to do the work, andfear of separation from their social or peer groupto the perception that the gifted education envi-ronment is "the wrong place" for African Ameri-can students (Ford, 1996; Moore et al., 2005a,2005b; Staiger, 2004). It is interesting that manyof these common explanations have racial under-pinnings. Staigers ethnographic study of a giftedmagnet program in an urban California highschool, for example, drew attention to the salienceof ethnicity/race by explaining how, on the basisof her findings, ethnic minority students per-ceived that "giftedness was equivalent to white-ness" (p. 162). She further asserted that a glaringscarcity of ethnic minority students in gifted edu-cation programs is "likely to intensify the psycho-logical damage that segregated schools had onminority children and that Brown v. Board of Edu-cation was supposed to overcome" (Staiger, pp.161-162). Regardless of the rationalization, ac-cording to educational statistics, the presence ofAfrican American students in advanced classes, ingeneral, and gifted education programs, in partic-ular, is extremely rare (College Board, 2005;NCES, 2003).
In addition to their underrepresentation ingifted education programs, African American stu-dents whom educators have identified and placedinto gifted education programming quite fre-quently underachieve or perform poorly (CollegeBoard, 2005; NCES, 2003). The explanations forthis distressing phenomenon are plentiful. For in-stance, in a recent study, Worrell (2007) foundthat the level of ethnic identity of gifted AfricanAmerican students, as moderated by their envi-ronment, may play a large role in their academicsuccess in gifted education programming. Indeed,
a number of educators assert that racial identitymay have significant psychological ramificationsfor academically talented African American stu-dents inside and outside gifted education pro-grams (Arroyo and Zigler, 1995; Ford & Harris,1997). These ramifications, in turn, may affectstudents' level of academic achievement (Ford-Harris, Schuerger, & Harris, 1991; Grantham &Ford, 2003).
Some evidence indicates the impact of raceand racial identity on gifted African Americanstudents; however, given the relative scarcity of re-search on gifted African American students as awhole (Ford, 1998; Ford et al., 2002), it is notsurprising that the research literature related tothe social consequences of being a gift:ed AfricanAmerican student is scant. Ogbu (2003), in hisexploration of the lives of African American stu-dents (including the gifted) in an affluent subur-ban school district, offers one of the few examplesof the social coping methods of gifted AfricanAmerican students. He found that these studentsoften disengage from academics in an attempt togain acceptance from peers. In another investiga-tion of the social coping strategies of gifted stu-dents, Swiatek (1995) reported that studentsfrequently deny their giftedness. Unfortunately,because this study did not report the race of thestudents, generalizing these findings to giftedAfrican American students is difficult. In her sem-inal book. Counseling tbe Gified and Talented, Sil-verman (1993) thoroughly explored the manysocial and emotional needs of students identifiedas gifted as a whole. However, researchers rarelyaddress the unique experiences of African Ameri-can students.
S I G N I F I C A N C E OF THE STUDY
Over the previous 4 decades, gifted education hasbeen a topic of growing interest in the research ht-erature (Colangelo & Davis, 2003; Ford, 1996;Landrum, 1987; Moore et al., 2006; Peterson,2003; Renzulli, 1978). However, thorough exami-nations of the gifted education literature indicatethat very few studies have focused on AfricanAmerican students and their experience in giftededucation programming (Flowers, Zhang, Moore,Flowers, et al., 2004; Ford, 1998; Ford et al..
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2002). In spite of the lack of attention paid to theissue, numerous educators have attempted to pro-vide rationales for the underrepresentation andunderachievement of ethnic minorities, particu-larly African Americans, in gifted education pro-grams, but the problem still persists. Nevertheless,African American students represent a largely un-tapped reservoir of potential that—if nurtured—can help meet the nation's need for a morequalified, talented workforce (Ford, 1996; Maton& Hrabowski, 2004; Moore, 2006; Moore, Madi-son-Colemore, & Smith, 2003). Sadly, the re-search literature is replete with articles, books, andreports documenting the phenomenon of high-ability ethnic minority students who do not meettheir academic potential (Jordan & Plank, 2000;Plank & Jordan, 1996). The cost to society ofsuch abysmal educational outcomes is a substantialloss of talent, which the workforce of the UnitedStates can ill afford (Bush, 2006; Moore, 2006).
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The overarching purpose of this study was to pro-vide teachers, school counselors, principals, andparents with valuable insider information that theycan use to improve the recruitment of giftedAfrican American students and the retention ofidentified gifted African American students ingifted education programs. In other words, ifteachers, school counselors, and administratorsbetter understand the experiences of AfricanAmerican students in gifted education programs,they might be able to develop comprehensive ini-tiatives designed to increase the pool of high-achieving African American students who have aninterest in taking advanced coursework in K to 12educational settings; entering science, technology,engineering, and math (STEM) fields in highereducational settings; and subsequently fulfillingthe nation's need fot a highly skilled workforce.
Far too often, research literature that ad-dresses critical issues in the daily lives of ethnicminority students ignores the voices of these stu-dents (Fernandez, 2002). Therefore, this investi-gation purposefully sought to provide AfricanAmericans in gifted education programming aforum to express thoughts related to their educa-tional experiences—in their own words. That is.
this study explored the attitudes and perceptionsof African American students in gifted educationprograms and allowed the students themselves toarticulate their ideas.
What educational contexts, processes,
interactions, and experiences shape African
American students' perceptions and attitudestoward gified education programming?
In summary, the topic of African Americanstudents' experiences and perceptions of gifted ed-ucation programming represents a critical area forresearch and discussion within the field of educa-tion as a whole and gifi:ed education in particular.It constitutes a nascent subject that has receivedlittle attention in the research literature. Althoughthe topic of underrepresentation of African Amer-ican students in gifted education programs hasbeen well documented for decades (Ford, 1996;Worrell, 2007), the attention that the topic hasgarnered is scant relative to the overall history ofgifted education. Further, even though recent re-search and scholarship have discussed this topic(Ford & Moore, 2004; Crantham, 2004; Mooreet al., 2005a, 2005b; Worrell), in-depth informa-tion explaining the meaning, context, and processby which African American students in gifted ed-ucation programs develop perceptions of their ed-ucational experiences is absent. Moreover, muchof the literature related to the topic has been con-ceptual rather than coming from the mouths ofthe students themselves. The researchers sought toexplore the following research question: "Whateducational contexts, processes, interactions, andexperiences shape African American students' per-ceptions and attitudes toward gifted educationprogramming?"
METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The researchers used Critical Race Theory (CRT)as a theoretical underpinning for interpreting thequalitative data for this study. CRT essentiallyposits that race, as well as the meanings attachedto race, is socially constructed and that researchers
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cannot ignore it as a powerful aspect of humansocial life. Moreover, scholars who embrace thisnotion view racial oppression as a normal facet ofsociety that so intertwines with the social struc-tures that it occurs naturally (Morfin, Perez,Parker, Lynn, & Arrona, 2006). Parker (2004)further suggests that CRT is
a form of oppositional scholarship . . . [that]challenges the experience of White EuropeanAmericans as the normative standard. Rather,CRT grounds its conceptual framework inthe distinctive conceptual experiences of peo-ple of color and racial oppression throughthe use of literary narrative knowledge andstorytelling to challenge the existing socialconstruction of race. (p. 86)
Researchers who employ this theory makeexplicit their concern for marginalized groups andshow a deeply rooted desire to expose, advocate,and confront injustices concerning them. Thesevalues undoubtedly shaped this study, because theresearchers were openly interested in the responsesand reactions of these students to the educationalisolation that they have experienced as one of asmall number of gifted African Americans stu-dents in their schools. Using CRT as a frameworkfor the current study allowed students to voicetheir concerns, particularly those related to raceand race relations, in gifted educational environ-ments. Such information contributes significantlyto the educational research literature focusing onpeople of color (Fernandez, 2002; Parker & Lynn,2002).
PARTICIPANTS
The participants in the present study were 12gifted African American students (5 males and 7females) who lived in the southeastern and mid-western regions of the United States (see Table 1).To qualify for gifted education programming, theparticipants had to score in the 95th percentile ona standardized academic achievement measure. Ofthe 10 students who reported their grade-point av-erages (CPAs), 45% of them had averages of 93 orhigher, and 55% reported averages of 92 or lower.During the study, 10 of the participants were inthe eighth grade, one participant was in the sev-enth grade, and another one was in the ninthgrade. The age of the participants ranged from 14
to 15 years, with a mean age of 14 years. For moredetails about the participants, see Table 1.
DATA-COLLECTING PROTOCOLS
BiocRAPHiCAL QUESTIONNAIRES
The researchers administered biographical ques-tionnaires designed to gather pertinent data on awide range of topics related to the study (e.g.,community makeup, community type, andschool size). The biographical questionnaires pro-vided descriptive data that aided in achieving thegoal of a more trustworthy study (Lincoln &Guba, 1985).
INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS
The general interview guide, or "semistructured"approach to individual interviewing, was the pri-mary means of data collection in this study. Theresearchers selected this approach to ensure thateach participant in the research study experiencedthe same general line of questioning (Patton2002). With this method, the researchers wereable to add or subtract questions depending onthe responses of the participants before, after, orduring the interview, thereby allowing the re-searchers to consider the emergent and constantlychanging nature of qualitative research (Patton).Indeed, a major strength of this approach is that"the guide helps make interviewing a number ofdifferent people more systematic and comprehen-sive by delimiting in advance the issues to be ex-plored" (Patton, p. 343), while simultaneouslyoffering the interviewer the flexibility to divertfrom the interview guide and ask follow-up ques-tions related to specific participant responses.
DOCUMENT COLLECTION PROCEDURES
The primary researcher collected the names ofAfrican American students who qualified forgifted and talented programming from a databaseat an international gifted and talented center at auniversity in the midwestern United States. Theprimary researcher initiated contact with prospec-tive participants by mailing a packet containingan informed consent form, a thorough descrip-tion of the study, a biographical questionnaire.
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TABLE 1
Participant Demographic Information
Name (
Angela
Amanda
Brian
Carlos
Michelle
Cordand
Samantha
Shanice
SharifF
Mason
Keshia
Kelly
'jender
F
F
M
M
F
M
F
F
M
M
F
F
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Age
15
14
14
14
14
14
15
14
14
14
14
14
Grade
8
8
8
8
8
8
9
8
8
8
7
8
GPA
83-86
93-100
93-100
87-92
93-100
93-100
87-92
87-92
93-100
Notreported
87-92
Notreported
AdvancedCoursesTaken
HonorsEnglish andscienceAlgebra in7th grade;geometry in8 th gradeHonorsalgebra I andgeometry;giftedlanguage.science, andgeography
Honors algebraI and geometry;integratedscience andFrench II
Math andEnglish
Honorsalgebra I;all giftedclasses
Honors algebraI; geometry;biology; EnglishI; integratedscience; worldhistory
Honorslanguage artsand geometry;gifted languagearts
Algebra, English,science, businesstech
Not reported
All giftedclasses
Not reported
CommunityMakeup
MostlyBlack
MostlyWhite
MostlyBlack
One-halfBlack andone-halfWhite
MostlyWhite
One-fourthAsian; onefourth Black;one-fourthWhite;one-fourthHispanic
One-halfBlack andone-halfWhite
One-thirdHispanic,one-thirdWhite, one-third Black
MostlyBlack
Notreported
MostlyBlack
Notreported
CommunityType
Suburban
Suburban
Urban
Urban
Suburban
Urban
Rural
Suburban
Rural
Notreported
Urban
Notreported
SchoolSize
939
298
1145
1372
660
Notreported
613
1558
643
2019
1983
740
EreelReduced
PriceLunch
70%
16%
43%
63%
34%
Notreported
44%
29%
6^%
64%
80%
33%
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and a prestamped envelope so that the participantcould return the documentation needed to beginthe study. Because participants lived in numerouscities across the southeastern and midwesternUnited States, conducting the interviews onlinewas the most convenient method of gathering theinformation. The researcher obtained the namesof a total of 52 students and mailed each of themthe packet containing the aforementioned items.Of those 52 potential participants, 12 respondedand participated in the study.
Participation in this study involved an inter-view that lasted approximately 1.5 to 2 hr. Theinterviewer and the participants used AOL In-stant Messenger, which is "a free Windows-basedprogram (available from www.aol.com) that any-one with Internet access can download and use totransfer messages instantly with other users (i.e.,interviewer to interviewee and interviewee to in-terviewer)" (Moore & Flowers, 2003). This on-line approach allowed the researchers to interviewall participants individually from their homes,thereby removing the need to meet face-to-face—a substantial benefit, since the method increasedthe likelihood that the students would participate.Also, because the researcher and participantskeyed the interview queries and responses, the re-searchers were able to save the data on a harddrive, thereby eliminating the need for transcrip-tions—another benefit of collecting interviewdata through AOL Instant Messenger.
After the participants' families returned thesigned informed consent forms and biographicalquestionnaires, the primary researcher contactedthe student by telephone to arrange a time toconduct the online interview and to provide in-structions on establishing an AOL Instant Mes-senger account (Moore & Flowers, 2003).
DATA ANALYSIS PROCESS
This qualitative investigation used the groundedtheory approach —namely, constant comparativeanalysis—to analyze the data (Glaser & Strauss,1967; Moore, 2006; Moore et al., 2003; Strauss& Corbin, 1998). This approach entails collect-ing data and simultaneously analyzing it (Lincoln& Guba, 1985). After receiving all the informedconsent forms and biographical questionnaires,the primary researcher contacted the participants
and conducted individual interviews. Because theresearchers tised a constant comparative approachto analyze the data, they did not wait until theyhad conducted all interviews. Therefore, the dataanalysis process began after the first interview andended after the researchers had collected all data.
Open coding was the initial step. Duringthat step, the researchers broke interview datadown into more manageable categories on thebasis of information obtained from informal in-terviews with colleagues and reviews of the litera-ture. This process of open coding continued untilthe researchers had conducted all interviews. Atthat point, the researchers and the research teambegan the process of axial coding, or combiningopen codes into similar categories. With axialcoding, themes began to emerge from the data.When themes emerged, the primary researchercontacted students again or member checked(Lincoln & Guba, 1985), using AOL InstantMessenger. These steps allowed the researchers toconfirm the findings. As a result, none of the par-ticipants had anything to add or change becausethey believed that the researchers had accuratelydepicted their experiences.
AUTHENTICITY AND TRUSTWORTHINESS
OE THE DATA
In essence, authenticity is the attempt to synchro-nize the goals of the researcher with the needs ofthe people studied (Spradley, 1979). To balancethe needs of the participants with the needs of theresearcher, both openness and honesty were cru-cial. The researchers told the African Americanparticipants that the main reason for the studywas to find out more about their perceptions, atti-tudes, and experiences in gifted education pro-gramming and informed them that theinformation would help improve gifted program-ming for other African American students. Allparticipants were, therefore, aware of the impor-tance of this study.
RESU LTS
In the spirit of trustworthy qualitative research(Patton, 2002), the researchers used rich in-depthdescriptions (i.e., lengthy quotations) to fully cap-ture the meanings of participants' experiences and
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perceptions, as communicated in their ownwords. The researchers took the liberty of correct-ing some misspellings for increased clarity andunderstanding. However, they carefully avoideddistorting the meaning of the participants' state-ments.
Three general themes that were pertinent tothe participants' perceptions of their experiencesin gifted education programming emerged fromthe data: (a) critical issues facing gifted AfricanAmerican students, (b) ways that the studentsnavigate the perils of gifted education, and (c) thebenefits of gifted education. The researchers iden-tified these themes as crucial in the lives of theparticipants, and all members of the researchteam verified them by consensus.
CRITICAL ISSUES FACING GIETED
AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS
Peer Infiuences. Several educational scholarshave explored the efFects of peer infiuence on theacademic achievement of African American stu-dents and have determined that negative peerpressure has a detrimental effect on students whoopt for academic success (Fordham, 1988; Ford-ham & Ogbu, 1986). According to Lindstromand Van Saqt (1986), gifted African Americanstudents often encounter peer rejection. In thatstudy, students mentioned numerous critical is-sues that faced them, as a result of being one of afew gifted African American students in theirschools. Students frequently used the word nor-mal to describe the way that they wanted educa-tors and peers to treat them. It is interesting thatparticipants perceived that normal students werenongifted African American students or studentswho were not in gifted classes. The participantstherefore attached a stigma to their identity as"abnormal" gifted students and desired to be clas-sified as normal instead of being considered "justanother nerd." Indeed, 10 of the 12 participantsmentioned that nongifted African American stu-dents ridictiled them for being intelligent. Thesestudents mentioned that others had brandedthem with such terms as nerd, geek, and know-it-all and had made other disparaging remarks.
Like many other gifted students (Silverman,1993), the students in this study spoke explicidyof "standing out" or being viewed differently by
their peers because they were gifted. Althoughthree students enjoyed the recognition that accom-panied being one of a small number of AfricanAmerican students identified as gifted in theirschools, the other nine students offered contrast-ing accounts. These students repeatedly stated thatthey wanted others to consider them to be normalstudents. Although their teachers expected themto gravitate toward the role of leader to AfricanAmericans in their schools, they shunned that no-tion. As previously mentioned, researchers fre-quently observe such feelings among giftedstudents. However, because of the pervasive nega-tive perceptions of African American students inour nation's schools, it is not difficult to under-stand how the pressures accompanying such per-ceived expectations can become exasperating formany gifted African American students.
Deficit Ideology. Ford et al. (2002) positedthat a disturbing number of educators evaluateAfrican American youngsters by using deficit per-spectives. Such perspectives focus on students'shortcomings to the exclusion of their strengths.The research of Ferguson (1998), which offeredsimilar findings, concluded that many teachersbelieve that African American students lack theintellectual capacity to function successfully ingifted programs. For instance, 10 of the 12 partic-ipants claimed that they had experienced differen-tial treatment by teachers in their gifted classes.One female respondent, Amanda (93-100 GPA),spoke of instances where her teachers repeatedlydiscouraged her because, according to her, theyhad low expectations of gifted African Americanstudents in general and females in particular; apractice that she called anti-intellectualism.
Gender. The research of Sadker and Sadker(1994) concluded that teachers' behaviors rein-force a certain feminine socialization that requiresfemales to remain passive and avoid the perceptionthat they are being obnoxious, too loud, or unla-dylike. Sadker and Sadker found that teachers callon boys more frequently than they do girls, permitboys to dominate classroom discussions, and re-ward boys more often than they reward girls forclass participation, thereby effectively silencing fe-male students. Many gifted gitls who proudly ex-hijjited academic excellence in previous stages oftheir schooling gradually abandon lofty goals in aneffort to avoid isolation and exclusion (Henfield &
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Witherspoon, 2006; Kerr & Kurpius, 2004; Sil-verman, 1993). In the current study, studentsmentioned that their experiences in school wereextremely difficult, because educators forced themto confront many stereotypes and dispel manymyths. Female participants, as well as the males inthe study, repeatedly stated that contending withteachers and peers who think of African Ameri-cans in terms of deficit ideological notions was in-evitable because gifted education programs includeso few African American students. However, fourfemale participants stated that, in addition to race,they faced the problem of attempting to provewrong the stereotype that females are not on thesame intellectual level as males. In fact, one stu-dent, Amanda, reported that a teacher in herschool refused to believe that a female studentwould take an interest in advanced literature,math, and sciences.
All students considered gender to be the leastdifficult of the identities (i.e., gender, race, andgiftedness) to manage—further illuminating thesignificance of race and giftedness as they relate tothe educational experiences of these students.Moreover, 11 of the 12 participants reported thatin middle school, racial identity was of the utmostconcern; however, they predicted that in highschool, their giftedness would present a largerchallenge because they would have to interactmore often with nongifted African American stu-dents and others might ridicule them for standingout.
Acting White. The primary researcher intro-duced the phrase "acting White" to the partici-pants. When the researcher asked participantstheir understanding of, as well as their experiencewith the phrase, 11 of them were familiar with it;and 8 participants indicated that nongifted Afri-can American students had accused them of act-ing White. Similar to students in Fordham andOgbu's 1986 study, these respondents stated thatnongifted African American students felt that cer-tain attributes, such as being gifted or speakingStandard English, were not representative ofBlack people. Angela (female, 83-86 GPA), forexample, stated that when she spoke Standard En-glish, other nongifted African American studentssaid she "sounded White," thought she wassmarter than everyone else, and was "a nerd." An-other student, Cortland (male, 93-100 GPA),
explained that he, too, gets accused of actingWhite by nongifted African American peers: "I'mone of those kids; many of my friends say that I'mWhite." Further, he said that in his school. Whitestudents who have adopted urban African Ameri-can culture "say that they are Blacker than me.""Acting White" accusations seemed to cause a cer-tain degree of angst among many participants.
This angst prompted gifted African Ameri-can students to attempt to befriend their non-gifted African American peers in order to gainacceptance. For instance, all students participatedin such extracurricular activities as drama, cheer-leading, and football—activities that would assurethem of increased contact with many morenongifted African American students than theywould meet in their gifted classes. They reportedthat participating in activities with nongiftedAfrican American students served as an opportu-nity to prove that they were "not just anothernerd."
Acting Black. The primary researcher also in-ttoduced the term "acting Black" to the partici-pants. In their research of the attributes that agroup of teenagers ascribed to acting Black, Peter-son-Lewis and Bratton (2004, p. 86) reported thefollowing five underlying content dimensions;
1. Academic/Scholastic: Education or school-related qualities or dynamics.
2. Aesthetic/Stylistic: Attire, style, or leisure-related qualities or activities. This categoryalso reflects aesthetic practices such aswearing a particular style or engaging in aparticular pastime.
3. Behavioral: Concrete, specific acts or activi-ties—except for style-related actions, whichare grouped in the aesthetic/stylistic di-
mension.
4. Dispositional: Qualities that reflect inten-tions, motives, values, philosophies, world-views, that may underlie, motivate, orinforni behavior.
5. Impressionistic: The overall impression,image or effect that one projects.
Consistent with the assertions of the youthsin the Peterson-Lewis and Bratton (2004) study,respondents in the current study also reported ob-servations that fit into the aforementioned dimen-sions of acting Black. However, students in the
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current study specifically attributed these dimen-sions to nongifted African American students. Forinstance, participants in the study indicated thatnongifted African American students were "aca-demically poor" and "ignorant" in their aca-demic/scholastic ability. One student, Carlos(male, 87-92 GPA), even suggested that "ungiftedstudents want to make a lot of money but don'twant to do the work." When the researchers askedparticipants their understanding of the meaning ofthe phrase acting Biaek, Angela stated, "ActingWhite is preppy, rock or pop. Saying stuff like'cool' and 'sweet'. . . and acting Black is rap, baggyjeans, sweats, laid back, and saying a lot of profan-ity." That statement is an obviotis example of theaesthetic/stylistic dimension. In describing the be-havior of nongifted African American students,participants indicated that they "get into the mostfights," and "use a lot of slang." Another partici-pant, Cortland, said that nongifted African Ameri-can students are
very different in terms of personality and/orthought. The majority of nongifted AfricanAmerican kids that I see are the stereotypethat I wouldn't ftt in with. The Ebonics, theclothes, the behavior. I'm very different interms of attitude and behavior.
Participants' responses related to disposi-tional/constitutional dimensions of acting Blackincluded the suggestion of Sharifif (male, 93-100GPA) that the students who act Black "always getin trouble and do things to get attention." Nine ofthe students reported that nongifted AfricanAmerican students who act Black are "lazy" and"ghetto" or used other similarly negative terms,which is an example of an impressionistic dimen-sion of acting Black. Although it is unclear howparticipants developed such racially charged viewsof nongifted African American students, theyclearly held stereotypical views of those students.
WAYS THAT THE STUDENTS NAVIGATE
THE PERILS OF GIFTED EDUCATION
Racial identity development functioning assumesadded significance for African American students,who confront a barrage of racism and oppressionas an inevitable aspect of their schooling (Kozol,2005; Tatum, 1997). Racial identity developmentfunctioning can have a significant impact on the
academic achievement of gifted African Americanstudents (Colangelo & Exum, 1979; Exum &Colangelo, 1981; Ford, Harris, & Schuerger,1993; Ford-Harris et al., 1991). Many scholarshave asserted that in response to racism in educa-tional environmeiits, African Arherican students atearlier stages of racial identity development oftenuse oppositional coping styles that interfere withtheir academic achievement (Ford & Harris, 1997;Ford et al., 1993; Fordham, 1988; Grantham &Ford, 2003; Ogbu, 1988). Understanding thatthese students attribute meanings to their individ-ual and collective experiences as gifted AfricanAmerican students is important. These meaningssubsequently result in specific actions or inactionsin response to their environrrient.
Academic Disengagement. When faced withdifficult circumstances, 10 of the 12 students inthis study chose to find tesolutions indepen-dently. For example, Angela mentioned that in-stead of asking a teacher for assistance with classassignments, she would "rather sit there the wholeclass hour and figure it out by myself" This re-sponse to difficult schoolwork is common amonggifted students, who have been, in many cases,self-rehant (Silverman, 1993). However, when re-searchers asked Angela what she would do if shecontinued having diffictilty, she stated, "I wouldput my head down or look at another problem,"which, in this specific instance, educators couldeasily construe as academic disengagement(Ogbu, 2003). From this student's perspective, "itis a privilege to be in gifted or honors classes, andif the teachers see that [you] don't understand thework they'll remove you." Indeed, students faceconsiderable pressure to present this appearancewhen "gifted teachers expect you to know every-thing and so do the other gifted kids. . . . We ex-pect ourselves to be better than the White kidsand know the stuff." Angela seemed to believethat refusing to ask questions wotJd make her ap-pear to know the material that the teacher pre-sented in class, thereby preventing the teacherfrom viewing her as incapable of handling a giftedcurrictilum.
Six students offered academic disengagementas a viable response to the gifted education envi-ronment. Although many gifted students, as wellas adults, frequently value self-reliance (Silver-man, 1993), this characteristic can potentially
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have a detrimental impact on academic achieve-ment if students do not understand the course-work well. Such behavior may have played a rolein Angela's relatively low GPA (83-86). Neverthe-less, half the respondents did not use academicdisengagement. Indeed, these students foundother mechanisms to cope vvith their identity as agifted African American student.
Gified Identity Distancing. Like participants inthe study of Swiatek (1995), participants in thisstudy frequently seemed to practice denial of ordistancing from their gifted identities. In responseto their circumstances, for example, some studentscharacterized other gifted students as being"snobs" or "stuck up." However, when describingthemselves, students offered the following state-ments: "I'm smart, but I'm real," "being gifteddoesn't change me. . . . I don't think much of it,"and "sometimes they [nongifted African Americanstudents] get the wrong idea about the gifted pro-gram and think that everyone in it is a herd."
Instead of employing academic disengage-ment in response to their identification as giftedstudents, the students niore commonly embracedtheir giftedness. However, in many instances, theytried to disassociate themselves from stereotypicalgifted behavior or downplay their gifi:ed identity.Indeed, although 11 of the 12 students men-tioned that they were proud of their giftedness,distancing themselves from their gifted identitiesseemed like a reasonable response to this iden-tity—particularly for students who attendedschools where other students often ridiculedAfrican Americans identified as gifted. For exam-ple, Carlos explained how he resorted to hidinghis giftedness from his nongifted African Ameri-can peers, as indicated in the following dialogue:
Henfield: What do you think will be moredifficult for you in high school: Being agifted student, African American student, ora male student? Please explain.
Carlos: Being a gifted student, because peo-ple would make fun of me.
Henfield: Do they make fun of you now?
Carlos: No, most of my friends don't evenknow that I'm in gifted.
Henfield: How do you manage to keep thatfrom them?
Carlos: They never ask so I never tell them.
Henfield: How do you think they wouldrespond if you told them?'
Carlos: They wouldn't believe me.
Henfield: They don't think you're smart?
Carlos: No.
Henfield: Do you do things to make themthink you're not all that smart?
Carlos: Not really they jus think that Iwouldn't be a person to be in gifted.
This example shows a student distancing
himself from his gifted identity. Although Carlos
did not do or say anything per se, similar to stu-
dents in Svviatek's (1995) study, he did not want
his peers to know that he was gifted. Educators
could therefore easily construe that he withheld
identifying himself as gifted to his friends because
of the stigma that is often associated with identifi-
cation as gifted. As another example, Angela
added that because "there are more normal kids
than gifted kids : . . the normal kids will not ac-
cept you for being gifted. In fact they try to bring
you down and call u dumb."
Like gifted students as a whole (Silverman,
1993), many respondents desired to be classified
as normal rather than as "just another nerd." To
accomplish that goal, some students sought the
acceptance of nongifted African American stu-
dents. As previously indicated, one popular means
to accomplish this goal was gifted identity dis-
tancing. However, another poptJar tactic was par-
ticipation in extracurricular activities, as indicated
in the following dialogue with Carlos:
Henfield: How do the nongifted AfricanAmerican students treat you?
Carlos: Good, they know me as smart Carlosand they come to me for help.
Henfield: Why do you think they don't callyou a nerd or try to avoid you?
Carlos: I play sports with most of them and Iam very athletic.
Henfield: So you think that because you areinvolved with activities outside of giftedclasses that you are more accepted bynongifted students?
Carlos: Yes.
4 4 2Summer 2008
Clearly, acceptance by nongifted African Ameri-can students was of the utmost importance tomany students in the study.
BENEFITS OF GIFTED EDUCATION
Academic Rigor. Although significant demo-graphic and contextual differences existed amongthe participants, all of them identified the chal-lenging curriculum offered by gifted educationprograms as a key benefit. For example, Kelly (fe-male) mentioned that teachers "go at a fast ratethat teaches me more," and Angela gave the fol-lowing explanation: "I believe you're [gifted stu-dents] smart and you need classes that reallychallenge you and teach you things that are onyour level or higher." Samantha (female, 87—92GPA) noted that the best thing about being ingifted courses was "knowing that I make greatgrades and I'm taking higher than normalclasses." Shariff reported an experience in his classwhere "the other gifted students at first used tohave a competition in class to see who is thesmartest. But soon we all became friends." WTienthe researcher asked him how the competitionended, he replied, "I don't know, it just got oldand people were tired of someone shoving theirtest scores in their face to see who got the high-est." These students seem to be intrinsically moti-vated and valued the difficulty associated with anadvanced curriculum.
These students seemed to be intrinsically
motivated and valued the difficultyassociated with an advanced curriculum.
Highly Skilled Teachers. Even though partici-pants in this study seemed to be intrinsically mo-tivated, six students mentioned external forces,such as qualities exhibited by their teachers, as aninfiuence on their lives. Cortland characterizedhis teachers as "less strict, more open-minded,and friendlier" than the other teachers in theschool. Another student reported that his teachersoffered overt encouragement, which also operatedas a source of motivation. According to Carlos,"They give [you] encouraging words and tell uthings u need to here to keep u going." Saman-tha, who educators accelerated into a gifted edu-
cation magnet high school, offered another re-sponse documenting the qualities of skilled giftededucation teachers: "The teachers don't pressureyou to turn in something or do your work. If youturn it in, you do, if you don't, you don't. Theyteach you to realize you must push yourself tosucceed." This response appeared to echo the sen-timents of another female student, Kelly, whostated that her teachers "help me become moreindependent." These comments suggest that par-ticipants' teachers valued and promoted indepen-dence, which seemed to motivate the studentsand make them want to learn. The students alsoexpressed appreciation for teachers who offeredencouragement as a way to sustain students' moti-vation after acceptance into the gifted program.
Equally Skilled Peers. The participants indi-cated that they appreciate learning in an environ-ment with equally skilled peers. In the words ofCarlos, "As I continue to learn with kids who aregifted and want to learn I can push myself to dowell and I will be better off." He further stated,"You get to be with other children on the sameskill level as you and we learn at the same pace. IfI don't understand something the children canhelp me and vice versa." This statement seems tosuggest that learning with peers who are at anequal skill level provides additional support thatmay not be available outside an inclusive giftedclassroom, further demonstrating the support thatAfrican American students found in a gified edu-cation environment.
Future Preparedness. Six students perceivedtheir participation in gifted education as a meansto better prepare themselves for future challenges.Keshia (female, 87-92 GPA) suggested that gifiedcourses would help her "pass my classes by givingme a lot of work so that can help me get ready forthings ahead of me." Another student, Shanice(female, 87-92 GPA), mentioned that giftedcourses prepare students to excel in high schooland on standardized tests:
They help me by exposing me to types of lit-erature that I, myself would not have inde-pendently selected . . . such as classics &British literature. The class has higher stan-dards thus presenting me with ample prepara-tion for high school in the coming year. . . .In the future because of the advanced vocah-
Exceptional Children 4 4 3
ulary in the books I am instructed to read, Iwill ideally do better on my SATs.
Unlike Angela, these students seem to believe inthe benefits, particularly the long-term benefits,of gified education programming.
Increased Options and Opportunities in the Fu-ture. Although an appreciation for the prepared-ness value of gifted programs was evident, nineparticipants also valued the increased options andopportunities that they perceived a gified educa-tion would afford them in the future, such ashelping them "get a good job and to have a greatcareer," as Keshia indicated, as well as to obtainscholarships. Michelle (female, 93-100 GPA)stated, "Being gifted gives me a chance to getscholarships and other opportunities to dothings." Shariff said, "Colleges will look at myacademic records and see how great I have been inschool. . . . all these awards and interviews [will]impress them [and then] the college will acceptme and that means I am getting a step closer togetting a good job." Brian (male, 93-100 GPA)stated, "It [gifted courses] look great on yourtranscript . . . [which would] also increase mychances of getting a scholarship."
The participants were able to articulate whatthey perceived to be the future benefits of partici-pation in gifted programs. However, many ofthem were somewhat unclear regarding how theycame to this understanding, as evidenced by theawkward lack of response that ensued when theresearcher typed questions concerning the genesisof their knowledge of these benefits. One possi-bility is that educators are not vigilant about sys-tematically reinforcing the reasons for students'placement in gifted programs, as well as the bene-fits of gifted education, which may—albeit unin-tentionally—cause harm to these students, asSamantha, who was in eighth grade, suggested:
I've been in gifted since the 2nd grade and inelementary school. I didn't like being sepa-rated from all of my old friends from regularclasses. They never told us the benefits. Ifound out this year . . . the school I attendnow is basically a gifted school I guess youcan say. It's known for its smart students. Atthe beginning of the year we held assembliesfor every grade level and they discussed ourgrades and our classes with us so we wouldknew specifically what we were there for. . . . .
But there are some students in the giftedprogram who are different that other peoplein gifted may look at as weird. Those peoplesometimes never make friends in the giftedprogram and they really dislike it.
According to Samantha, gifted AfricanAmerican students who are not told the benefitsof, and the reasons for, their removal from "regu-lar" classes and placement in a gifted programmay experience personal and social difficulties.
D I S C U S S I O N
As previously mentioned, current research litera-ture in the field of gifted education is sparse withregard to the experiences of African American stu-dents. If this trend continues, the problem of un-derrepresentation of African Americans in theseprograms may persist. Also, because of the need formore people in highly technical fields, such asthose related to undergraduate STEM majors, thentimber of academically talented African Americanstudents resisting the challenge of gifted educationprogramming represents a significant loss of talent.
The researchers found that the three themesdiscussed in the previous section were importantas they relate to the experiences of African Ameri-can students in gified education programs. Thepresent study yielded findings that have the po-tential to assist educators and parents in improv-ing gifted education recruitment and retentionefforts. Critical issues facing gified African Ameri-can students, the ways that students navigate theperils of gifted education, and the benefits ofgifted education were some of the central themesthat emerged from the data. These themes oflFerpertinent information related to subtle issues ofrace relations in gified education.
The interactions or the fear of such experi-ences as those documented in this study may af-fect the willingness of African Americans to enteror remain in gifted education programs. Themeanings that these students attached to their ex-periences may interest educators, since thesemeanings were commonly responsible for subse-quent actions. For instance, the accusation of hav-ing a "raceless" persona or acting White canpotentially be harmful to African American stu-dents, in general (Arroyo & Zigler, 1995), and
Summer 2008
those in gifted education ptograms, in particular.Nongifted African American students who viewedacademic achievement as a quality that AfricanAmericans should not value subjected the stu-dents who participated in this study to ridicule.Many of the gifted African American students de-veloped such social coping skills as gified identitydistancing in response to a racially charged learn-ing environment. Obviously, such results will beof particular interest to educators who desire in-formation on the behaviors of gifted AfricanAmerican students.
Gifted students, in general, are often hesitantto embrace their gified identity for fear of ridiculeby nonaccepting peers (Silverman, 1993; Swiatek,1995). However, according to the findings of thisstudy and other research studies (see Ogbu, 2003;Staiger, 2004), race seems to further amplify suchfeelings of apprehension. For example, when theresearchers asked Amanda the most difficult as-pect of her identity, she stated that "worst is prob-ably my race, then my gender, then my giftedness.But the combo is positively deadly." On the basisof this profound quote and other pertinent find-ings in this study, one could argue that thescarcity of African American students in gifted ed-ucation programs may produce significant psy-chological distress. Indeed, as Staiger found,gified African American students may feel a senseof "whiteness as giftedness" because AfricanAmerican students outside of gifted educationprograms believe that such programs are notwhere they belong. If this perception is true,being an anomaly—a gifted African Americanstudent—may have a detrimental impact onAfrican American students in gifted educationprograms. Such students may have very little, ifany, interaction with students of their own raceand therefore may have limited opportunities todispel such myths as the myth of "whiteness asgiftedness." Indeed, students who place high em-phasis on, and truly value, their identity asAfrican Americans may experience tremendousangst in their interactions with nongifted AfricanAmerican students who do not perceive them tobe real African Americans. Clearly, if nongiftedAfrican American peers perceive that AfricanAmerican students who participate in gifted edu-cation programs are "not Black enough" or actWhite simply because of their enrollment in such
programs, the social and psychological impact onthese students can be devastating. Educators mustunderstand this problem, since they may be awareof odd behavior, such as academic disengagement,inside the classroom but may be unaware of thespecific meanings, processes, and contexts outsidethe classroom that elicit such behavior.
The undeniable importance of race in thedaily lives of the participants in this study shouldbe helpful to educators who find themselves baf-fled when academically talented African Americanstudents make a conscious decision not to partici-pate in gifted education programming. These stu-dents may decline admission to such programsbecause they fear being accused of acting White.However, this study indicates that gified AfricanAmerican students who value education may viewnongified African American students (whom theymay perceive as not valuing education) as"ghetto," or belonging to a lower class. If thesetypes of beliefs are common among gified AfricanAmerican students, they may also hinder any at-tempts to attract potentially gifted students intogified education programs. For example, althoughthe participants in this study overwhelminglyseemed to have low expectations of nongiftedAfrican American students, it is not clear howwell, or to what extent, they purposefully obfus-cate these feelings in their interactions withnongifted African American students. Becausemany gified students have advanced levels of in-tuition, insight, and the ability to see through su-perficiality (Silverman, 1993), African Americanstudents whom educators have identified as gifiedmay choose not to enter gifted education pto-grams because of potentially negative interactionswith African American students who were previ-ously identified and are currently enrolled ingifted education programs. In other words, thesestudents may fear that gifted African Americanstudents will have low opinions of their academicaspirations and capabilities because educators hadnot previously identified them as gified students.
Principals, in particular, may glean muchfrom the findings of this study. For example, prin-cipals who do not understand the experiences ofgified African American students and the criticalissues that they encounter daily may perceivethose who underachieve in deficit terms, therebyignoring their considerable strengths. Principals
Exceptional Children 4 4 S
may assume that gifted African American stu-dents who appear to be inattentive in class are ei-ther trying to be difficult or do not understandthe material being taught. As previously men-tioned, however, such behaviors inside the class-room may originate in circumstances outside theclassroom. Sadly, principals who focus solely onin-classroom behavior and ignore the experiencesof gifted African American students outside theclassroom may react by disciplining the student,removing the student from gifted programming,or refusing to admit other African American stu-dents into gified programming. That is, negativeperceptions derived from an incomplete accountof students' experiences in gified education pro-gramming may result in knee-jerk reactions. Aprincipal who experiences such a reaction maysubconsciously convey the message to schoolcounselors, teachers, and others—albeit uninten-tionally—that African American students are ill-equipped to handle, or even unworthy ofconsideration for, gifted education programs, re-sulting in the maintenance of the status quo—African American underrepresentation in giftededucation programs.
RECOMMENDATIONS
On the basis of the findings of the study, the fol-lowing recommendations for teachers, schoolcounselors, principals, and parents can help im-prove educational standard practices and policiesfor African American students in gifted programs.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHERS
• Afier parents and teachers have established atrusting relationship, teachers should helpparents understand the potentially negativeimpact that academic disengagement canhave on the academic achievement of stu-dents. Further, since most of the participantsin this study seemed to embrace gified iden-tity distancing as opposed to academic disen-gagement, teachers should also work withparents to teach students that other less de-structive options can help students cope withstanding out as gifted African American stu-dents.
• According to the findings of this study, manygifted African American students chose todistance themselves from their gified identi-ties to gain acceptance from nongiftedAfrican American students. Teachers should,therefore, collaborate with other educators(e.g., school counselors and principals) to de-velop activities aimed at increasing the op-portunities for gified and nongified AfricanAmerican students to interact with one an-other, such as participation in extracurricularactivities, since such opportunities were ef-fective in creating gifted-nongifted AfricanAmerican friendships. This interaction mayaid in normalizing gified education and in-creasing the willingness of African Americansto enter gified education programs.
• Teachers should participate in professionaldevelopment training activities that increasetheir awareness of personal beliefs regardingthe potential of African American students.In addition, they should use professional de-velopment activities to learn more about theneeds of gifted African American studentsand methods of identifying potentially gifiedAfrican American students.
• Teachers should improve teacher-studentand student-student relationships. In thisstudy, students reported that they confrontedmany racial and gender-specific stereotypes(e.g., deficit ideology) in and out of the class-room. Teachers should, therefore, becomesensitive to potential racial and gender biasesand examine how such biases may affect theirteaching styles, expectations, and general in-teractions with students.
• Teachers should also work proactively withschool counselors, principals, and parents toconsistently inform gifted and potentiallygifted students of the tangible benefits ofgifted education programming. Educatorscan thereby instill a sense of pride in gified-ness, which may combat the need of giftedAfrican American students to distance them-selves from their gified identity, as well as in-crease the number of high-achieving AfricanAmerican students who opt to enter giftededucation programs.
4 4 6 Summer 2008
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SCHOOL
COUNSELORS
• School counselors should collaborate withother educators (e.g., teachers and principals)to develop culturally sensitive gifted educa-tion recruitment and retention practices. Forexample, they might openly discuss giftedidentity distancing as a means for academi-cally talented students to enter gified educa-tion programs yet maintain acceptance fromtheir nongifted African American peers.
• School counselors should be proactive aboutalerting all students in their schools to thebenefits of gified education. This tactic mayassist in normalizing gifted education and re-ducing the stigma associated with giftedness.
• School counselors should advocate for the in-fiision of multicultural content in school cur-ricula. Students' exposure to both gendersand persons from various racial groups oper-ating in nontraditional roles may reduce thegeneralizations associated with what it meansto be of a certain gender and/or race.
• School counselors should advocate for in-creased opportunities for interaction betweengified and nongifted African Arnerican stu-dents.
• Because gifted African American studentsseemed to feel more comfortable with teach-ers than with school counselors, counselorsmay try inviting teachers into counseling pro-gramming as a means of building rapport.
• School counselors should be vigilant in theiratteriipts to build rapport with gified AfricanAmerican students. One method is to gainthe trust of parents by illustrating to themhow school counseling services can benefittheir child. When school counselors earn therespect of parents, the parents are more likelyto recommend school counseling services totheir childten.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRINCIPALS
• Administrators should closely monitor repre-sentation in gified education programs. Theyshould use data to identify disparities by raceand gender in gified education enrollment. If
representation by race and gender is not ade-quate, administrators should take such stepsas revising recruitment and retention pro-cesses to address the problem.
• Principals should establish times for giftedand nongifted African American students tomingle to help normalize gifted students andto reduce the angst associated with standingout from other students.
• Principals should recruit school personnelwho have received training to help them rec-ognize and meet the unique needs of gifiedAfrican American students, as well as theneeds of potentially gifted African Americanstudents.
• Principals should establish regularly sched-uled professional development training ses-sions for teachers, school counselors, andadministrators to increase their understand-ing of the actions and inactions of giftedAfrican Americari students, as well as to in-crease their understanding of the students'experiences both inside and outside thegified education classroom.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PARENTS
• Parents should advocate on behalf of theirchildren in a variety of ways (e.g., school vis-its, school board meetings, parent-teacherconferences, phone calls, e-mails, and per-sonal letters to educators). Parents can playan active role in forming a trustingparent—educator relationship by communi-cating their involvement in their child's edu-cation and by showing their desire to see thateducators meet their needs and the needs oftheir child.
• Parents should work with educatoi"s to nor-malize visits to the school counselor, whoshould be well-versed in the benefits of gifiededucation. High-achieving African Americanstudents may be more apt to participate ingifted education programming if they fullyunderstand the ways that participating ingified education programs can benefit them.
• Parents should promote academic engagementto their gifted children. They should urge
Exceptional Children 4 4 7
their children to participate more often inclass and to ask for assistance when necessary.
• Parents shotild play an active role in the re-cruitment of their child into gified educationprograms. They should insist that educatorsinform them of the means by which studentscan gain entry into gifted education pro-grams so that they may be in a better posi-tion to assist in the recruitment process.
• Parents should vigilantly reinforce the bene-fits of gifted education programs to theirchildren. This reinforcement can help stu-dents sifi through the advantages and disad-vantages of enrollment in such programs andcan help them reach a more informed deci-sion. Such information may also serve to easethe transition into gifted education pro-grams, as students will better understand therationale behind their placement.
CONCLUSION
This study offers detailed information regardingthe experiences of gifted African American stu-dents. However, as in all research studies, thefindings have certain limitations. First, the re-searchers collected the perceptions of the studentsonly. The attitudes of teachers, school counselors,principals, and parents could have also providedinsightful information and could have strength-ened the findings of the study. Second, observa-tions of the gifted education classroomenvironment could have yielded valuable infor-mation, because they would have given the re-searchers firsthand knowledge of the worlds of theparticipants. However, such observations were notfeasible. Third, because of the decision to useAOL Instant Messenger for data collection, theresearchers cotild not obtain additional meaningsfrom students' nonverbal behavior.
Future research studies should focus on theperceptions of high-achieving African Americanstudents who choose not to enter gified educationprograms. This information could help pinpointthe exact reasons for their decisions and aid in im-proving fiiture recruitment efforts for gifted edu-cation. Additional research should also attempt todetermine whether the findings of this study aregeneralizable to other African American students
in gifted education programs. Further, since thecurrent study has offered considerable evidence ofthe importance of race in gified education, con-ducting further research on the social copingstrategies of gifted African American studentswould be useful. Finally, future studies shotild ex-plore, in depth, the meanings that gifted andnongified African American students attach to thephrase "acting Black." Such information will aidin constructing interventions designed to disputeunsubstantiated stereotypes and possibly decreaseinstances of self-hatred.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
MALIK S. HENFIELD, Assistant Professor, Col-
lege of Education, Department of Counseling,
Rehabilitation and Student Development, School
Counseling and Counselor Education, The Uni-
versity of Iowa, Iowa City, J A M E S L. MOORE
III (CEC OH Federation), Professor, College of
Education and Human Ecology, and Director,
Todd Anthony Bell National Resource Center on
the African American Male, The Ohio State Uni-
versity, Columbus. CHRIS W O O D (CEC W A
Federation), Assistant Professor, Department of
Counseling and School Psychology, Seattle Uni-
versity.
Correspondence concerning this article should be
addressed to Malik S. Henfield, University of
Iowa, Department of Counseling, Rehabilitation
and Student Development, School Counseling
arid Counselor Education, N352 Lindquist Cen-
ter, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1529, 319-335-5942
(e-mail: [email protected])
Manuscript received October 2006; accepted May
2007.
4 S O Summer 2008
