A culturally responsive, ecological approach to cultivating and engaging twice-exceptional black males in gifted and talented and special education

Cultivating and engaging twice exceptional (2E) Black males, and making advanced academic programs and special education (SPED) services culturally responsive, more inclusive and equitable, are vital to these students’ academic success. Compared to other students, Black males are often overrepresented in special education or over-referred for services and, conversely, underrepresented in gifted and talented educational (GATE) programs. Unfortunately, Black male students rarely get the support needed to be successful in P-12 schools and settings. More discussion is needed at the intersection of being both gifted and talented and having a disability when Black and male. Specifically, in this article, we introduce our culturally responsive, ecological framework that builds upon: (a) Boykin’s Afro-centric cultural styles model and (b) Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory to work with twice exceptional Black males. We explain both Boykin’s Afro-centric cultural styles model and Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory and then merge them so that the cultural and ecological needs of Black males who are 2E are understood and addressed in school settings. Recommendations are offered for researchers, policy makers, district and building level administrators, teachers, school counselors, and families.