Abstract:
This study explored the experiences of Black girls in gifted and advanced programs in Title I Miami-Dade County Public Schools using critical race theory as a theoretical framework to construct counternarratives, explore gifted programs as property of Whites, and address microaggressions committed against five minority girls in advanced programs. I also studied how the intersectionality of race and gender interacted to create a narrative profile of each profile. A bricolage of methodologies, theoretical frameworks, and research designs was used to explore the “wholeness” of these experiences. Black girls who participated were identified as gifted or on an accelerated track in elementary school, in a gifted program or advanced courses in middle school and the early years of high school, and participated in advanced programming in the latter part of high school. Each attended a Title I school in Miami-Dade County Public Schools at some point in their educational career and matriculated within 1-3 years of the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using Siedman’s three-interview series, as well as single focus group and a focus group follow-up interview with each participant. In vivo, values, and descriptive coding were used for first-round coding and pattern coding for second-round coding. Narrative profiles highlighted the experiences of Black girls in gifted and advanced programs. Five themes and 16 categories formed from the study: being a token Black girl, being “woke,” resilience in the face of adversity, advanced programs as a vehicle to success, and the perception of the construct of giftedness.