ORCID

0009-0001-6736-0567

Keywords

Giftedness identification, Racial and ethic diversity, Underrepresentation, Education equity, Third grade students, Florida urban and rural school districts

Abstract

This study examines the proportional representation of Black, Hispanic, White, and Asian third-grade gifted students across urban and rural school districts in the U.S. state of Florida. It incorporates secondary quantitative datasets for the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 school terms from the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE, n.d.), collected in the Fall 2024, along with qualitative data gathered in Spring 2025 from the websites of sixty-seven county-based school districts. Significant disparities among all groups of racially and ethnically diverse students were exposed through the quantitative data analysis. Notably, Black, Hispanic, and Asian students, especially in rural areas, were shown to continue to be underrepresented, while White students were continually overrepresented across the two school terms. The qualitative analysis of school district websites reveals that information about the gifted education program is inconsistently published across all categories. Specifically, the study findings suggest that insufficient information about gifted education was published in most school districts, except for seven that provided policies, instruments, and the organization of the gifted program. Documentation from the school districts highlighted the absence of a coherent policy on giftedness identification due to uneven thresholds for Plan B students. According to the study’s results, even reporting policies are necessary so that all school districts, regardless of location (urban or rural), address cultural and ethnic diversity, and adapt systematic practices to identify gifted students with diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Completion Date

2025

Semester

Fall

Committee Chair

Judit Szente

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

The School of Teacher Education

Format

PDF

Identifier

DP0029837

Document Type

Thesis

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

Download

Share

COinS