Exploring obstacles faced by gifted minority students through Bronfenbrenner's bioecological systems theory

For the past several decades, issues such as underrepresentation of racial/ethnic minority students in gifted programming, as well as the widening of the existing achievement gap between specific minority and majority groups have persisted. The majority of gifted education researchers studying underrepresentation in gifted programming focus on consequences resulting from a single setting in which the student interacts (e.g. home, school). Consequently, less attention is given to the nested network of interactions between multiple settings that play a role in underrepresentation. It is our goal to examine the existing frameworks that have been used to understand the obstacles faced by students who are underrepresented in their school's gifted programs. By providing examples of proximal processes and the Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) model, we show how Bronfenbrenner's bioecological systems theory provides the most suitable framework for exploring (1) identification issues for underrepresented minority students with gifted capabilities who have not been formally identified for gifted programming and (2) challenges faced by underrepresented minority students who have participated in a gifted program after having been formally identified as gifted. Research and educational implications are discussed.