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Publication Date

2024-5

First Advisor

Patricia Marten DiBartolo

Document Type

Honors Project

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Keywords

standards, expectations, gifted education, stereotypes

Abstract

The narrative experiences of Women of Color suggest they are held to higher standards in elite academic spaces. A recent empirically and experimentally grounded theory, Biernat’s (1995) Shifting Standards Model (SSM), predicts that individuals from devalued groups may be held to higher standards in specific contexts. The current study seeks to understand how the SSM can be used to understand the standards held for Black female gifted students. A total of 201 participants evaluated an elementary school-aged female student for admittance into a gifted program. A 3 (Race: White, Black, Race not specified) x 2 (Resource Constraint: Zero Sum, Non-Zero Sum) between-group design was used. The Race not specified level was excluded from final analyses due to poor attention check data. No interaction between Race and Resource Constraint were found. A main effect of Race was found on participant excitement about their referral decision, such that participants were more excited about their decision after evaluating the Black student. I found little evidence to support the Shifting Standards Model in this context. These findings are potentially limited by statistical power, as well as the use of a medium effect size when a small effect size may have been more appropriate for the given context.

Rights

©2024 Anna Taylor. Access limited to the Smith College community and other researchers while on campus. Smith College community members also may access from off-campus using a Smith College log-in. Other off-campus researchers may request a copy through Interlibrary Loan for personal use.

Language

English

Comments

54 pages : color illustration. Includes bibliographical references (pages 30-34).

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