Fulbright Statement of Purpose
Teaching Gifted Immigrant Students in Finland
I propose to research evidence-based teaching practices employed by Finnish teachers to service their gifted immigrant students. I will spend a year in Finland working with one of Europe’s most prolific gifted education researchers, Professor Kirsi Tirri at the University of Helsinki. Professor Tirri will provide academic guidance on processes such as research design, data collection, and presentation of findings.
The United States of America struggles to educate gifted students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and students of color. Gifted students are defined as students who perform, or have the ability to perform at higher academic levels than their age-level peers. Consistently, students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, racial and cultural minorities and immigrant origins are underrepresented in gifted programs, i.e., accelerated classes, specialized schools, and pull-out services. This happens despite research to prove intelligence is not limited to a certain racial or ethnic group.
I teach in a school that faces this problem. White students are 56% of the gifted program even though they make up only 23% of the total population. Immigrant students with the same test scores as white students are less likely to be referred to the gifted program. Teachers frequently question why students from minority cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds receive gifted services, but rarely question the white students in the program.
There are many factors that contribute to the lack of quality instruction for gifted learners from these backgrounds. Some factors include: teacher bias, language barriers, unfair identification practices, and lack of training in best practices. My study will focus on evidence-based teaching practices for gifted students from immigrant backgrounds.
As a gifted teacher, I see firsthand how important it is to provide challenging instruction for gifted learners. I fear that if we continue underserving immigrant students with high potential, our nation will lose out on talent that could stimulate economic growth, technological advancements, and political progress. The lack of quality instruction for all learners in the United States is evidence that this is a necessary area to research.
Finland’s focus on equity in education, plus its recent surge in immigrant populations, make it an ideal country for this research topic. Finland provides high-quality education for all students no matter their background. This is evidenced by their above-average scores on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the lack of gaps in achievement between immigrant-origin youth and Finnish-born students, and the focus on evidence-based teaching practices in pre-service training programs (Sahlberg, 2015).
In fact, Finland is so effective in educating all of their students, their schools do not have separate programming for gifted students. Instead, they focus on personalized learning based on individual students’ needs within the general education classroom. Additionally, young Finnish immigrants believe they can succeed at the same or higher rates than their Finnish-born counterparts (Holmberg, et al., 2018). Finland has been able to continue equitable teaching practices even as immigrant populations increase and schools diversify.
As a fourth-year teacher, during a global pandemic, I see the importance of cultivating talent now, more than ever. Gifted learners grow up to be the world’s problem solvers. When immigrant populations are denied quality education, the whole nation suffers. This exchange would be an opportunity to investigate an issue that plagues the education of gifted immigrant students in the United States and many other countries.
My research will include interviews with Finnish teachers as well as observations of their lessons. I will work with the University of Helsinki’s Faculty of Educational Sciences department to develop interview and observation protocols based on their current work with local schools. The Educational Sciences department will also connect me to comprehensive schools with the highest immigrant populations in the area. I will interview and observe five teachers from these schools in Helsinki.
As a practitioner, I recognize the importance of building trust with classroom teachers to understand their practices. I will need to spend an extended period of time in each classroom that I visit to collect enough data to have a reliable and valid study. I will revisit classrooms multiple times over the course of a year. I will collect and analyze data from September 2021 to June 2022 in Helsinki. I will rely on Professor Tirri to make sure I follow proper cultural and ethical research protocols as well as to ensure the validity of the study.
I am qualified to conduct this research for a variety of reasons. My undergraduate honors thesis was on the underrepresentation of minority students in gifted programs. Through this experience, I learned foundational research and writing skills. Studying and teaching abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, and London, England gave me experience navigating international school systems. My years as a gifted teacher will allow me to build relationships with the teachers in Finland because I can relate to their experiences. In my current role, I lead a committee that focuses on equity and inclusion in the district’s gifted program. I have also presented at local, state, and national conferences on the topic of equity in gifted education. Most recently, I won the National Association for Gifted Children’s Curriculum Award for my unit on cultivating talent in young emerging leaders.
The research I conduct in Finland will be beneficial to my personal and professional development as well as to the field of gifted education at large. Upon my return to the U.S., I plan to apply to doctoral programs in international education to work with future teachers on equity and best practices in gifted education. I will submit my findings to present at the National Association for Gifted Children conference where I have presented previously. I will also submit to present at European Council for High Ability conference. Professor Tirri and I will co-author an article for publication to reach a wide audience of teachers and researchers. I plan to design and implement professional development for teachers based on this research. I will develop a practical guide for practitioners and administrators to ensure immigrant students are receiving the education they deserve. This research could change the way teachers service their gifted immigrant students.
