Emotionally/Behaviorally Disabled: Educators' Referral and Placement Decisions to Gifted and Talented Programs

Emotionally/Behaviorally Disabled: Educators' Referral and Placement Decisions to Gifted and Talented Programs

Socio-culturally diverse students with disabilities are underrepresented in gifted and talented programs. This study investigated the differences in educators¿ referral and placement decisions based on a students¿ disability label, socio-economic status (SES), and ethnicity. Two hundred and eighty five educators¿ (classroom teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers) across a Florida school district participated in the study. Educators¿ were randomly assigned to treatment and control case vignettes that described a student with emotional/behavioral disabled (EBD) and gifted characteristics. A three-way factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to measure the differences in educators¿ referral and placement decisions based on a student¿s disability label, socio-economic status, and ethnicity. Implications are discussed and recommendations for future research are made.