Parent Engagement in Identifying and Serving Diverse Gifted Students: What Is the Role of Leadership?

Abstract

Parents play a vital role in identifying and cultivating talent for diverse gifted children but their experiences with schools and educational leaders are rarely studied. To examine parent perspectives on identifying and serving diverse gifted students, we conducted six focus groups with 39 parents of K-12 children from culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse backgrounds (CLED), and/or identified as twice exceptional (2E). Thematic analysis and its six-phase approach was used to analyze data. We found (a) that the majority of parents advocated for their gifted and talented children, (b) a lack of consistent and comprehensive strategies by educational leaders to promote parent engagement, (c) disproportionate communication from district leaders rendered engagement efforts less effective, (d) GT identification remained problematic to some parents, and (e) front line educators served a critical role in the bilateral relationship between school and family. Implications are discussed for researchers and educational leaders.