Post your Cited Script here - make sure to include a title page
Diversity in Education:
Gifted Children, Special Needs Students,
and Gender Equity
By Dietrich May, Sheila Sarsfield, and Colleen Ashley
Dr. Cheri Toledo
C&I 212.6
Spring 2008
Classrooms in America today are filled with an extremely diverse collection of students. Diversity goes beyond ethnicity and culture; children also differ in abilities and educational needs. Gifted children, children with special needs, and the differences between genders are some of the variations that teachers need to be aware of in the classroom today.
Gifted Students
In the normal classroom setting there is going to be a diverse group of students throughout. One of the most overlooked groups is that of gifted students. These children are far smarter than the average child in their class and need special attention given to them also. Giftedness in schools usually refers to high general intelligence but according Gary Davis who wrote, Gifted Children and Gifted Education, there is “rarely a set criterion for who is gifted and who is not. Usually the criterion includes IQ scores, school grades and/or teacher recommendations” (Davis, 11).
The topic of gifted children in an educational setting is a highly debated area. American Education systems continually try to help educate “below average culturally disadvantaged, minority and physically impaired children” (Davis ix). Although this is good, they do not take into account the students that are far more intelligent than the other ones. These students are in the same classroom as the other children, but are not catered to correctly according to their skill level. There are a lot of schools that do not have the money to create an altogether separate program for gifted students, but if done correctly, teachers can include the students in the normal classroom (Smith 42).
According to Wilma Vialle who wrote the article "On Being Gifted, but Sad and Misunderstood" in the Educational Research and Evaluation journal, gifted students can also be afraid to show their abilities because they do not want to be made fun of (Vialle 569). Often gifted males are prone to being class clowns and females suppress their talent altogether if the students feel they are going to be alienated or made fun of because of their gift. Teachers should incorporate the children’s interest and try to get them to help other students. That way they will become involved and not be made fun of. If that does not work gifted students should be put in a program where they can interact with other gifted children (Maday 20).
There are many different problems that can arise with having gifted children in the classroom, but if the teacher works to get the student involved these students can benefit from the schooling just as much as any other student.
Special Needs
On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are many children with special needs. The regulations for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), formerly the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA), define a learning disability as a "disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations" (USDE IDEA 2004). Today, children with special needs are increasingly represented in general education classes but the majority are still placed in special needs classrooms. Even though Federal Law says that students with disabilities should be included with other students as much as possible, many children with disabilities have been separated into special education classes. Many different estimates of the number of children with special needs have appeared, ranging from 1% to 30% of the general population. In 1987, the Interagency Committee on Learning Disabilities reported that 5% to 10% is a reasonable estimate of the percentage of people affected by learning disabilities. The U.S. Department of Education (1995) concluded that more than 4% of all school-aged children have received special education services for learning disabilities. Also, in the 1993-94 school year, over 2.4 million children with learning disabilities were helped in one way or another (USDE History). The differences in estimates could be due to variations in the definition of special needs students.
The efforts put in place by the government to get special needs students into the general school population range from mainstreaming, or bringing students with special needs into regular classrooms for some classes, to full inclusion. These efforts make students with special needs and disabilities more visible to other students in the general population. This teaches the students acceptance.
It is believed that educating children with special needs alongside their non-disabled peers, allows children with special needs access to the general curriculum. Studies show that students with disabilities who are mainstreamed have higher academic achievement, higher self-esteem, and better social skills. But including special needs in the general classroom population doesn’t just benefit the disabled student. Many people believe that educating special needs students in a regular classroom creates an atmosphere of understanding and tolerance that better prepares students to function in the world outside of school. Non-disabled students who engaged in an inclusive physical education program reported increases in self-worth, tolerance, self-concept, and better understanding of people who are different from themselves. Students in the regular classroom also reported that including special needs students into the regular classroom was important because it prepared them to deal with disability that they may face in the future (Bailey 45-70).
Even though putting students with special needs in a general classroom has its benefits, mainstreaming special needs students has its disadvantages. Compared to full inclusion, mainstreaming special needs students has disadvantages including social issues, costs, and harm to both gifted students’ education and special needs students’ education. Gender
Another, perhaps less publicized, issue of diversity in education in gender. Gender equity means that girls and boys have equal educational opportunities, equal educational treatment, and equal educational outcomes. In 1972, the US Department of Education passed the Title IX Amendment, which stated: “No person in the United States, on the basis of sex, shall be excluded from participation in , be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance”
While some changes have since been seen, particularly in girls sports teams in public schools, the current state of education does not show equality for women. Society’s establishment of gender roles and preconceived notions about the sexes leads to differences in the goals of schooling among genders.
Society still raises girls with the clear option to be homemakers and not join the workforce, and so they don’t think they need to achieve as much. This is particularly seen in the areas of math and science. As early as seventh grade, boys rate math as more useful to them than girls do (Resources). Also, a larger portion of boys than girls receive top scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress in math and science (Gender Gaps 3). Girls also seem to have less options when it comes to direct exposure to career fields. According to the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, a recent study of fourteen schools’ vocational, or career preparation, programs found that more than ninety percent of the young women were grouped into five traditionally female occupations.
The portrayal of women in today’s curriculum is also important to consider when looking at gender equity. Males dominate social studies texts, and often only women who have made an outstanding contribution to areas or movements dominated by men are portrayed with any importance or emphasis. Also, required books in English courses have barely changed since 1907 and 1963, which predominantly feature white, male authors (deMarrais 264).
Within the classroom, we can see gender bias as well. Schools are geared more towards the learning styles of white males, which tend to be individualistic and competitive. Females tend to prefer connection and collaboration, valuing cooperation and understanding (Beyond Title IX). Teachers are often unaware of the gender bias they show in interactions with students. As indicated by the Mid-Atlantic Equity Center, male students receive more attention from teachers than females, whether it be acceptance, praise, or criticism, and are given more time to talk in class from preschool through college. Teachers also ask boys more higher order questions and encourage boys to come up with correct answers on their own more often than girls. Classroom jobs may be distributed according to the teacher’s perceptions of appropriate gender roles, asking boys perform physical roles as well as roles that require more responsibility, while girls are asked to perform chores like erasing the blackboard or straightening bookshelves.
While improvements in gender equity have been made over the past few decades, the educational system still requires reform to provide equal opportunities, treatment, and educational outcomes for boys and girls.
Diversity in education today provides a challenging job for teachers. By understanding issues like gifted children, students with special needs, and gender equity, teachers can more effectively educate students in preparation for their roles as the leaders of tomorrow.
Bibliography:
Bailey, D.B., Jr. (1994). Working with families of children with special needs. In M. Wolery & J.S. Wilbers (Eds.), including children with special needs in early childhood programs (pp. 45-70). Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
“Beyond Title IX: Gender Equity Issues in School.” 1993. The Mid-Atlantic Equity Center. 26 Feb. 2008 <__http://maec.org/beyond.html__>
deMarrais, Kathleen B., and Margaret D. LeCompte. The Way Schools Work: aSociological Analysis of Education. Second ed. New York: Longman USA, 1995. 249-288.
Davis, Gary A. Gifted Children and Gifted Education. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press, Inc., 2006.
Gender Gaps: Where Schools Still Fail Our Children. American Association of University Women Educational Foundation. Washington, DC, 1998. 26 Feb. 2008 <http://www.aauw.org.research/genderGaps.cfm>.
Smith, Chris M. M., ed. Including the Gifted and Talented: Making Inclusion Work forthe Gifted and Able Learners. New York: Routledge, 2006.
Sternberg, R. J., & Grigorenko, E. L. (1999). Our labeled children: What every parent and teacher needs to know about learning disabilities. Reading, MA: Perseus Publishing Group
United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. History: Twenty-Five Years of Progress in Educating Children With Disabilities Through IDEA. Date of Publication Unknown.
Vialle, Wilma. “On Being Gifted, but Sad and Misunderstood: Social, emotional, and academic outcomes of gifted students in the Wollongong Youth Study.” Educational Research and Evaluation 13 (2007): 569.
Here is Dietrich May's digital story
Post your Cited Script here - make sure to include a title page
Diversity in Education:
Gifted Children, Special Needs Students,
and Gender Equity
By Dietrich May, Sheila Sarsfield, and Colleen Ashley
Dr. Cheri Toledo
C&I 212.6
Spring 2008
Classrooms in America today are filled with an extremely diverse collection of students. Diversity goes beyond ethnicity and culture; children also differ in abilities and educational needs. Gifted children, children with special needs, and the differences between genders are some of the variations that teachers need to be aware of in the classroom today.
Gifted Students
In the normal classroom setting there is going to be a diverse group of students throughout. One of the most overlooked groups is that of gifted students. These children are far smarter than the average child in their class and need special attention given to them also. Giftedness in schools usually refers to high general intelligence but according Gary Davis who wrote, Gifted Children and Gifted Education, there is “rarely a set criterion for who is gifted and who is not. Usually the criterion includes IQ scores, school grades and/or teacher recommendations” (Davis, 11).
The topic of gifted children in an educational setting is a highly debated area. American Education systems continually try to help educate “below average culturally disadvantaged, minority and physically impaired children” (Davis ix). Although this is good, they do not take into account the students that are far more intelligent than the other ones. These students are in the same classroom as the other children, but are not catered to correctly according to their skill level. There are a lot of schools that do not have the money to create an altogether separate program for gifted students, but if done correctly, teachers can include the students in the normal classroom (Smith 42).
According to Wilma Vialle who wrote the article "On Being Gifted, but Sad and Misunderstood" in the Educational Research and Evaluation journal, gifted students can also be afraid to show their abilities because they do not want to be made fun of (Vialle 569). Often gifted males are prone to being class clowns and females suppress their talent altogether if the students feel they are going to be alienated or made fun of because of their gift. Teachers should incorporate the children’s interest and try to get them to help other students. That way they will become involved and not be made fun of. If that does not work gifted students should be put in a program where they can interact with other gifted children (Maday 20).
There are many different problems that can arise with having gifted children in the classroom, but if the teacher works to get the student involved these students can benefit from the schooling just as much as any other student.
Special Needs
On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are many children with special needs. The regulations for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), formerly the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA), define a learning disability as a "disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations" (USDE IDEA 2004). Today, children with special needs are increasingly represented in general education classes but the majority are still placed in special needs classrooms. Even though Federal Law says that students with disabilities should be included with other students as much as possible, many children with disabilities have been separated into special education classes. Many different estimates of the number of children with special needs have appeared, ranging from 1% to 30% of the general population. In 1987, the Interagency Committee on Learning Disabilities reported that 5% to 10% is a reasonable estimate of the percentage of people affected by learning disabilities. The U.S. Department of Education (1995) concluded that more than 4% of all school-aged children have received special education services for learning disabilities. Also, in the 1993-94 school year, over 2.4 million children with learning disabilities were helped in one way or another (USDE History). The differences in estimates could be due to variations in the definition of special needs students.
The efforts put in place by the government to get special needs students into the general school population range from mainstreaming, or bringing students with special needs into regular classrooms for some classes, to full inclusion. These efforts make students with special needs and disabilities more visible to other students in the general population. This teaches the students acceptance.
It is believed that educating children with special needs alongside their non-disabled peers, allows children with special needs access to the general curriculum. Studies show that students with disabilities who are mainstreamed have higher academic achievement, higher self-esteem, and better social skills. But including special needs in the general classroom population doesn’t just benefit the disabled student. Many people believe that educating special needs students in a regular classroom creates an atmosphere of understanding and tolerance that better prepares students to function in the world outside of school. Non-disabled students who engaged in an inclusive physical education program reported increases in self-worth, tolerance, self-concept, and better understanding of people who are different from themselves. Students in the regular classroom also reported that including special needs students into the regular classroom was important because it prepared them to deal with disability that they may face in the future (Bailey 45-70).
Even though putting students with special needs in a general classroom has its benefits, mainstreaming special needs students has its disadvantages. Compared to full inclusion, mainstreaming special needs students has disadvantages including social issues, costs, and harm to both gifted students’ education and special needs students’ education.
Gender
Another, perhaps less publicized, issue of diversity in education in gender. Gender equity means that girls and boys have equal educational opportunities, equal educational treatment, and equal educational outcomes. In 1972, the US Department of Education passed the Title IX Amendment, which stated: “No person in the United States, on the basis of sex, shall be excluded from participation in , be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance”
While some changes have since been seen, particularly in girls sports teams in public schools, the current state of education does not show equality for women. Society’s establishment of gender roles and preconceived notions about the sexes leads to differences in the goals of schooling among genders.
Society still raises girls with the clear option to be homemakers and not join the workforce, and so they don’t think they need to achieve as much. This is particularly seen in the areas of math and science. As early as seventh grade, boys rate math as more useful to them than girls do (Resources). Also, a larger portion of boys than girls receive top scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress in math and science (Gender Gaps 3). Girls also seem to have less options when it comes to direct exposure to career fields. According to the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, a recent study of fourteen schools’ vocational, or career preparation, programs found that more than ninety percent of the young women were grouped into five traditionally female occupations.
The portrayal of women in today’s curriculum is also important to consider when looking at gender equity. Males dominate social studies texts, and often only women who have made an outstanding contribution to areas or movements dominated by men are portrayed with any importance or emphasis. Also, required books in English courses have barely changed since 1907 and 1963, which predominantly feature white, male authors (deMarrais 264).
Within the classroom, we can see gender bias as well. Schools are geared more towards the learning styles of white males, which tend to be individualistic and competitive. Females tend to prefer connection and collaboration, valuing cooperation and understanding (Beyond Title IX). Teachers are often unaware of the gender bias they show in interactions with students. As indicated by the Mid-Atlantic Equity Center, male students receive more attention from teachers than females, whether it be acceptance, praise, or criticism, and are given more time to talk in class from preschool through college. Teachers also ask boys more higher order questions and encourage boys to come up with correct answers on their own more often than girls. Classroom jobs may be distributed according to the teacher’s perceptions of appropriate gender roles, asking boys perform physical roles as well as roles that require more responsibility, while girls are asked to perform chores like erasing the blackboard or straightening bookshelves.
While improvements in gender equity have been made over the past few decades, the educational system still requires reform to provide equal opportunities, treatment, and educational outcomes for boys and girls.
Diversity in education today provides a challenging job for teachers. By understanding issues like gifted children, students with special needs, and gender equity, teachers can more effectively educate students in preparation for their roles as the leaders of tomorrow.
Bibliography:
Bailey, D.B., Jr. (1994). Working with families of children with special needs. In M. Wolery & J.S. Wilbers (Eds.), including children with special needs in early childhood programs (pp. 45-70). Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
“Beyond Title IX: Gender Equity Issues in School.” 1993. The Mid-Atlantic Equity Center. 26 Feb. 2008 <__http://maec.org/beyond.html__>
deMarrais, Kathleen B., and Margaret D. LeCompte. The Way Schools Work: a Sociological Analysis of Education. Second ed. New York: Longman USA, 1995. 249-288.
Davis, Gary A. Gifted Children and Gifted Education. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press, Inc., 2006.
Gender Gaps: Where Schools Still Fail Our Children. American Association of University Women Educational Foundation. Washington, DC, 1998. 26 Feb. 2008 <http://www.aauw.org.research/genderGaps.cfm>.
Maday, Cheryl. “Coping with Unwanted Gifts.” Psychology Today 32.6 (1999): 20.
“Resources to Infuse Equity.” WEEA’s Equity Resource Center. Women’s Educational Equity Act. 26 Feb. 2008 <__http://www2.edc.org/WomensEquity/__>.
Smith, Chris M. M., ed. Including the Gifted and Talented: Making Inclusion Work for the Gifted and Able Learners. New York: Routledge, 2006.
Sternberg, R. J., & Grigorenko, E. L. (1999). Our labeled children: What every parent and teacher needs to know about learning disabilities. Reading, MA: Perseus Publishing Group
United States Department of Education, Building a Legacy: IDEA 2004. Accessed March 10, 2008 <__http://idea.ed.gov/explore/home__>.
United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. History: Twenty-Five Years of Progress in Educating Children With Disabilities Through IDEA. Date of Publication Unknown.
Vialle, Wilma. “On Being Gifted, but Sad and Misunderstood: Social, emotional, and academic outcomes of gifted students in the Wollongong Youth Study.” Educational Research and Evaluation 13 (2007): 569.