Leaving our Brightest in the Dark: A Practical and Political Analysis of American Gifted Education Policy
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2009
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Haverford College. Department of Political Science
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Award
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eng
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Haverford users only
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Abstract
This piece examines the current state of gifted education in America, offers policy suggestions for gifted education's future success and examines the suggestions put forth in relation to the current socio-political climate. Presently, gifted education deals with two significant obstacles: (1) the popular perception that the gifted population consists of high achieving students and therefore do not need extra assistance and (2) the presence of the federal education legislation No Child Left Behind, which causes schools to divert significant funds and resources away from gifted education. The policy presented in this piece focuses on securing a federal mandate for the identification and service of gifted students, increasing the funding of gifted programs in a responsible manner, improving the methods utilized for identification and increasing the number of teachers prepared to deal with the special needs that gifted learners present. The analysis of the political feasibility of the policy I present is the culminating point of the piece. In this section, I examine the current socio-political atmosphere and superimpose it upon my policy, analyzing portions of my suggested framework with political theory and reality. The depth and breadth of the analysis presented in this piece speaks nicely to the complexities of education policy at the federal level. Ultimately, the arguments presented in this work create a rather comprehensive view of the past, present and future of gifted education in America.