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

The acceptance of cultural differences and recognition of the rights of people to
maintain their own culture and beliefs requires a change in attitude on the part of
educators who must develop a respect for cultures, values, personal traits, and behaviors
different from their own (Maker & Schiever, 1989). Raising the cultural awareness of
classroom teachers is the primary method to improve nomination and identification of
CLED students as gifted and talented (Rhodes, 1992).
Academic and Emotional Needs of CLED Students
Issues of Poverty
CLED students often come from low socioeconomic status (SES) homes and may
not demonstrate skills at the same levels as their higher SES peers. A principal factor in
this gap is that families in poverty must choose between basic needs and the costs of
books, educational games, and forms of enrichment and home opportunities (Slocumb &
Payne, 2000). The educational system can provide a lifeline for low-SES students in
breaking the cycle of poverty if the system opens up opportunities for more students
(Slocumb & Payne, 2000). For CLED students and low-SES students to be successful
with challenging curricula, educators must redefine the instructional environment and
build on the skills and strengths that CLED students possess. Exposing students to what
Renzulli (1994) has called “high-end” learning while filling in the gaps, will produce
higher achievement than relegating CLED students to only remediation of their basic
skills (Kaplan, 1999).
Learning Styles
Ewing and Yong (1993) found that CLED students may differ in learning,
preferred modalities, and instructional strategy preference as some broad, generalized
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