An analysis of the impact of the Quality Basic Education Act on gifted education programs in rural Georgia public schools

Statement of the problem. The purpose of this study was to determine what changes, if any, have occurred in gifted education programs in rural public school systems in the State of Georgia following the implementation of the Quality Basic Education Act (QBE).;Methods. The study was descriptive covering nine academic years, 1980-1989. The research variables included: total school enrollment, total gifted student enrollment, and total gifted teacher populations K-12 by school system; total number of gifted students and gifted teachers by categories of primary, intermediate, and secondary levels, local, state, and combined funding, and rural, nonrural, and combined geographic areas; and delivery models, identification materials, and testing materials for gifted education programs.;Data collection techniques included a national survey of gifted education state directors, a review of Georgia's State Department of Education student and teacher database, and a survey of gifted education programs in the 140 rural Georgia school systems. The Statistical Packages for Social Sciences and Harvard Graphics were utilized for data analysis. Available data on nonrural schools were included to provide a comparison base for rural schools.;Results. The 1985 passage of the Quality Basic Education Act was the study's focal point. The data revealed legislative changes in gifted education programs for Georgia's rural school systems; rural gifted student populations decreased over the nine academic years, 1980-1989; local funding increased for rural gifted teacher populations; rural school systems did not generate local funds in the same proportion as nonrural school systems; and changes occurred in gifted education delivery models, identification methods, and testing materials.;Conclusions. The findings yielded the following conclusions: (a) educational reform legislation produced changes in gifted education programs including delivery model design, gifted program appropriations, and guideline modifications; (b) with the enactment of QBE and changes in gifted education guidelines, gifted programs became more uniform statewide; (c) the number of state-supported gifted students and gifted teachers decreased for both rural and nonrural schools from 1980 to 1989; (d) rural schools incorporated delivery models (e.g. facilitator models) to serve more gifted students with less gifted teachers; and (e) rural school systems appeared to have appropriately implemented QBE policy guidelines for gifted education programs.