Equity in cross-cultural gifted screening from a Philippine perspective

Abstract

This paper discusses issues on cross-cultural gifted screening from a Philippine perspective. Research on gifted education in the Philippines, and Southeast Asia in general, is still nascent. The main focus of this review of literature is on equity of the gifted education screening process across wide socioeconomic, cultural, and linguistic differences within the student population. On account of the relative lack of specific literature on Philippine gifted education, this review links the findings in gifted education research from Western-based countries and relates the findings to the Philippine context. For example, although the Philippines do not have as much of an issue of racial inequity in schools as the United States, the same inequity because of socioeconomic factors can be tackled similarly. The implication of alternative assessments, and their utility in cross-cultural gifted education, are also examined.