The role of racial-ethnic identity to the educational engagement of culturally diverse gifted New Zealand adolescents

Abstract

As part of a wider doctoral project examining the role of racial-ethnic identity in academic engagement, this qualitative study considered this issue among 31 gifted Year 9 early adolescents (aged 13-14 years) who attended large, multi-ethnic urban schools in Auckland, New Zealand. The study sought to understand the role that racial-ethnic identity played in the academic, social and interpersonal lives of culturally diverse gifted adolescents. The researcher interviewed gifted Pakeha, Maori, Samoan and Chinese students and examined, from their diverse perspectives, what their racial-ethnic identities meant for them in the school context and what they did to persist, thrive and achieve at school. The study question was 'How do gifted adolescents from diverse racial-ethnic groups organise their developing psychological capacities in conjunction with the evolving social, cultural, racial-ethnic and historical circumstances of their lives?' Identifying the coping strategies they employed was important because it offered an insight into the ways other culturally diverse gifted students might stay engaged and perform well in school, develop positive peer relationships, be resilient and feel positive about themselves, their racial-ethnic identity and their gifted futures.