Chapter One An Introduction to the Topic of Cultural Diversity - NAGC

can promote understanding of diversity in classrooms and affect the identification and
education of talented CLED students. When students’ cultural, linguistic, and ethnic
backgrounds are considered, the identification of gifted characteristics increases, as do
student expectations and access to gifted programming.
Personal Cultural Awareness
Culture, in anthropological terms, includes all of the ways of living practiced by a
group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to the next (Cross, Baker, &
Stiles, 1997) and includes values, beliefs, attitudes, and norms unique to a group of
people connected by race, gender, location, religion, or social class (Ford & Harris,
1999). It is critical for educators to be aware of themselves as having distinctive cultural
experiences before they can try to support and nurture the cultures of their students
(Arredondo, 1999). It is this personal journey that helps educators gain perspective about
one’s cultural background. This understanding can increase the awareness of how
students receive information and form relationships within the context of their culture. If
educators have an increased understanding of the impact of culture on the learning
environment, they can change their classroom environments to nurture CLED students’
gifts and talents.
It is essential to understand how the general characteristics used for identifying
gifted behaviors may differ within a cultural context and the influence cultural behaviors
could have on the identification of giftedness in CLED students. It is this interaction of
culture, environmental influences, and performance levels that must be considered when
seeking to identify giftedness in CLED students (Baldwin, 1978). Racial and ethnic
behavioral customs influence how advanced abilities may manifest themselves and may
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