Addressing giftedness in LBOTE student populations: Issues in identification, professional development and home–school partnerships

The 1972 Marland Report stated that gifted education services were often not made available to various sub-populations of students, despite the fact that gifted students are found across all cultural groups. The underrepresentation of these minority students in gifted education programs has been recognised in the literature for several years, however, only recently has serious attention been given to the inclusion of Language Background other than English (LBOTE) and English Language Learners (ELLs) in gifted education programs. This paper will address giftedness in LBOTE student populations through exploring the issues of identification, professional development and nurturing home–school partnerships to support gifted LBOTE children, in the school and home environments.