Being Gifted and Adolescent: Issues and Needs of Diverse Students

In this chapter, the author reviews the literature on adolescents from diverse backgrounds. The chapter begins with definitions of adolescence, giftedness, and diverse students, and this section is followed by a review of the literature on disproportionality in the context of the achievement gap. In the third section, the empirical literature on gifted adolescents from several groups, including African Americans, American Indians/Native Americans, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic Americans, is reviewed. The fourth and fifth sections focus on socio-cultural issues and adolescence as a critical period for development in gifted and talented students. The penultimate section highlights contemporary concerns related to adolescence, including research on the implications of artificial intelligence for schooling and the impacts of COVID-19. The chapter concludes with the implications for the adults who work with gifted adolescents and some questions for the field to consider.