2.8.9 2e Literature: An International Content Analysis

The term “twice-exceptional” is an increasingly common concept within gifted education in the United States. However, how much is known about 2e outside of the field and how much of an inroad has the concept of 2e made into the rest of the world? In 2013, through a survey, Foley-Nicpon, Assouline and Coleangelo’s found that professionals in other fields remain largely unaware of the needs of twice-exceptional students. With lack of knowledge, and the resultant lack of services, there is a need to examine the degree to which twice-exceptionality is identified and addressed in other fields. This study provides the results of a literature content analysis that examined the literature cited in a library search over the last ten years that used the terms “2e” or “twice-exceptional” in its descriptions, providing a total of 563 articles in an OpenAthens search completed in December, 2017. Content analysis provides researchers a method that “uses a set of procedures to make valid interferences about text” (Weber, 1990, p. 9), including comparing communication content, media and disclosing differences in content. Content analysis uses both quantitative and qualitative methods on text and is a useful strategy for investigating shifts in language and concepts (Weber, 1990). For example, content analyses in special education have been conducted in research studies (Mastropieri, 2009), teacher education journal content (Rock, et al, 2016), teacher education methods (Brownell et al, 2005), and types of studies conducted around the world (Demirok, Baglama, & Besgul, 2015). All 563 articles were independently reviewed by both authors for topics and trends. Examined in this literature content analysis were the peer-review status, field of the journal, the country of origin, the type of article, the topic of the article, the type of research employed, and the background of the authors. Preliminary reliminary results indicate that a significant majority of articles found were in gifted education from the United States, although the number has been increasing over the past few years in special education and educational or school psychology journals and in international journals. The majority of the articles were either “calls to action” for greater inclusivity, provided curricular ideas, or were school psychology -based, focusing on cognitive measures. Most of the authors were from gifted education. When compared to a similar literature analysis done in special education, the literature in twice-exceptional was much more constricted. Recommendations for further publications and research directions will be presented.

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