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Underachievement among gifted students of color: implications for educators
Theory Into Practice, Spring, 2005 by James L. Moore, III, Donna Y. Ford, H. Richard Milner
One of the most effective ways to help gifted students of color cope with negative peer pressures is to involve them in initiatives where they have an opportunity to learn from and interact with similar peers academically. These positive interactions provide students of color with opportunities to develop meaningful relationships with peers on the same academic level. In addition to positive peer interactions, college students and adult professionals from diverse racial groups can serve as mentors and role models for students of color. Gifted students of color can also be exposed to other positive influences through books, career shadowing experiences, and virtual Internet interactions (e.g., synchronous chat rooms, asynchronous electronic communications, etc.). To also assist with developing effective coping skills when faced with negative peer pressures or social slights (e.g., discrimination), school counselors may want to develop and offer anger management and conflict resolution programs for these students. Ford et al. (in press) postulated that students are more likely to persistent academically when they are able to cope with academic, social, and personal challenges.
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Conclusion
Many school and nonschool factors contribute to underachievement and low achievement among students, especially students of color. Regardless of the factor, they commonly require specific interventions. Too often, the solutions appear to be obvious; however, when it comes to students of color, they are relegated to phantom strategies and approaches. We postulate that underachievement and low achievement among gifted students of color can be better understood and addressed when teachers, school counselors, and administrators deal first with their deficit thinking related to students of color and focus on the school and nonschool needs of these students. The more knowledgeable and well-trained these educational professionals are, the more likely they will be to improve educational outcomes for students of color.
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