Editorial: School Districts Should Support Gifted Programming

Rural communities and school systems are the heart of many states across the nation. Yet, many of the challenges facing rural gifted education remain unanswered. There is limited research or policy focused on gifted students, teachers of the gifted, or gifted programming in rural settings. Understanding how culture defines rural communities and influences educational decisions is key in overcoming challenges within gifted programs. This study seeks to explore some of the perceived challenges and the influence of rural culture in providing gifted services in four rural school districts in Texas. Findings highlight the struggles of rural gifted programs to identify and serve gifted students. These struggles fall into three categories: limited funding, limited time, and limited resources available for gifted programs.

Download Full-text

An Investigation of Sex-Bias in Classroom Teachers' Speech and Language Referrals

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/0161-1461.1103.169 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 169-174 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ellen Marie Silverman ◽

Katherine Van Opens

Keyword(s):

School Districts ◽

Voice Disorders ◽

Communication Disorders ◽

Sixth Grade ◽

Sex Bias ◽

Classroom Teachers ◽

Communication Disorder ◽

Primary Procedure ◽

Teacher Referrals ◽

Grade Classroom

Kindergarten through sixth grade classroom teachers in four school districts completed questionnaires designed to determine whether they would be more likely to refer a boy than a girl with an identical communication disorder. The teachers were found to be equally likely to refer a girl as a boy who presented a disorder of articulation, language, or voice, but they were more likely to refer a boy for speech-language remediation who presented the disorder of stuttering. The tendency for the teachers to allow the sex of a child to influence their likelihood of referral for stuttering remediation, to overlook a sizeable percentage of children with chronic voice disorders, and to be somewhat inaccurate generally in their referrals suggests that teacher referrals are best used as an adjunct to screening rather than as a primary procedure to locate children with communication disorders.

Download Full-text