Culturally Responsive Educators and Talent Development

Abstract

This chapter addresses the role that educators play in underrepresentation and access to talent development services through a culturally responsive teaching model. Talent development as a districtwide approach to serving gifted students and students with potential is still an emergent practice. Implementation requires the alignment of a school district's cultural values, curricular approaches, change models, and leadership initiative to carry out the approach. Talent development as a districtwide approach to serving gifted students and students with potential is still an emergent practice. Gifted education and advanced academics were designed through a dominant cultural lens, and this is why that lens needs to change to see the strengths in all students. Gay identified deficit thinking as a significant element of educational paradigms that prevent equity and access in education.