Date of Submission
Spring 2022
Academic Program
Psychology
Project Advisor 1
Elena Kim
Project Advisor 2
Justin Dainer-Best
Abstract/Artist's Statement
This paper explores the repercussions of gifted and talented programs in the United States, looking specifically at resulting psychological effects and social justice implications. This analysis is positioned within the discussion of global power struggles for technological advancement. After the success of the Russian Sputnik satellite in 1957, the United States bolstered initiatives in education to ensure they were producing students who could contribute to the prowess of the nation. Gifted programs allowed for a more in-depth focus on those children deemed useful to the labor market. This resulted in additional pressures placed on certain students to excel. The anointment effect, a phenomenon whereby students who are chosen to be a part of a gifted program are more confident in their abilities, will be the focus of this paper. The excluded students learn to doubt their academic capability and reject the possibility of higher achievement. The mode of student identification, IQ tests and standardized tests, perpetuates segregation by economic class, race, and gender, and fundamentally changes student self-perception by creating a binary of gifted and non-gifted. In this paper I provide historical analysis of education policies in the U.S. and discuss associated criticisms. I present two case studies to illustrate the anointment effect within student experiences in the New York City school system. I argue that to move forward, all students must receive the same attention, opportunities, and resources. Finally, I propose a program that provides accelerated learning for all students, which would remove segregating practices in education and would leave no child behind.
Open Access Agreement
Open Access
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Gossett, Emma Caroline, "WHO IS ANOINTED? The Psychological and Social Justice Implications of Gifted and Talented Programs in the United States" (2022). Senior Projects Spring 2022. 154.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_s2022/154
This work is protected by a Creative Commons license. Any use not permitted under that license is prohibited.
Included in
American Politics Commons, Child Psychology Commons, Cognitive Psychology Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Developmental Psychology Commons, Educational Sociology Commons, Education Policy Commons, Policy History, Theory, and Methods Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, School Psychology Commons, Social History Commons, Social Justice Commons, Social Psychology Commons, United States History Commons