Listen to the Voices of Gifted Chinese Students in New Zealand: A Culturally Responsive Framework

Abstract

New Zealand is known as a nation of immigrants with increasing cultural diversity. Currently, in Auckland, almost a quarter of residents identify with an Asian ethnicity, the largest subgroup of which is Chinese. In the field of gifted and talented education, providing access to a culturally diverse environment is an important aspect of meeting gifted students’ special needs. Although the New Zealand educational context has placed added emphasis on culturally differentiated instruction for Māori and Pasifika gifted students, New Zealand primary schools’ implementation of approaches to address the learning needs of Chinese students has been largely unexplored. In this article, we present a summary of research which explored the beliefs and perceptions of Chinese gifted and talented students, their parents, and teachers of gifted and talented students within New Zealand using interviews and Q methodology. Our Q methodology consisted of 48 statements which were sorted by 10 Chinese students, their parents, and 10 New Zealand teachers. The data were analyzed using factor analysis. By drawing on the voice of the participants and on the results of the Q methodology, a culturally responsive theoretical framework was developed. This framework aims to contribute to our understanding of the learning needs of gifted Chinese students in New Zealand and to promote an ongoing partnership between Chinese families and the school. We also explain how these elements can be translated into partnership practices within the school context. The importance of listening to voices of minority groups and immigrant families is emphasized.