Gifted and Talented Education (GATE): Student and Parent Perspectives

This qualitative study explored student and parent perspectives on the extent to which gifted and talented programs met the educational needs of gifted students in Grades 4 to 7. Fifty-two interviews were conducted with students and parents from 10 public schools including seven neighborhood schools and three magnet schools. Participant perceptions were considered through Renzulli’s (2002) three-ring conception model, which defines gifted behavior according to three traits: above-average ability, high levels of task commitment, and high levels of creativity. Results indicated that the gifted and talented programs in neighborhood schools were inconsistent in differentiating instruction to meet the educational needs of gifted students, whereas gifted education in magnet schools was described as consistently meeting gifted students’ needs. Despite gifted program inconsistencies in neighborhood schools, parents and students from those schools were typically unwilling to transfer to magnet schools citing convenience, diversity of student population, and friendships. All parents pressed for increased funding of gifted and talented education (GATE).