5.3.6 Ethical Challenges Using Participatory Methods with Gifted Adolescents

Aims Black students are the most underrepresented group in gifted education in America. Even when these students are identified, there are still challenges to their participation in gifted programmes. Few researchers have focused on how Black gifted students fare once they are in a program. Ethical considerations around video methodologies have prevented me from using those proven methods to elicit stories from these students; I am instead using participatory audio methods to capture the voices of Black gifted students. Students’ reflections about their experiences at school can tell us a great deal about what, if any, gifted programmes and services work best to recruit and retain students of colour. Methods This presentation will address key ethical challenges in using participatory methods in qualitative research with adolescents, primarily video and audio methods. Participatory video involves participants filming themselves or others to tell their story. My original intent was to have Black gifted students film either places or people that would illustrate their daily experiences at school. After contacting several school districts, it was clear that most, if not all, prohibited any video recording of students for academic research purposes. In order to capture the voices of these students, I settled for audio diaries, which allows participants to speak freely about their experience, but misses the important choice of visual representation that can also speak volumes. Findings Researchers have stated that cultural norms play a huge part in why Black students are underrepresented in gifted programmes. Black students in America report being accused by their peers of being "too white" if they participate in gifted programmes. The initial findings of the audio diaries will provide a glimpse into how these students navigate their educational surroundings by providing narratives about what type(s) of programmes and services ensure that these students have their academic, social and cultural needs met. Conclusions There is a noticeable lack of research on the voices of Black students in gifted programmes. My intent is to address this identified gap in the research by having them tell their own stories using audio diaries. In order to retain and help foster the development of Black gifted students, participatory research methods are key; therefore, more research needs to be done to address the ethical questions around working with children and adolescents. These findings will have wider implications for discussions as to how we include marginalized groups in gifted education around the world.

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