Twice-Exceptional Learners: Effects of Teacher Preparation and Disability Labels on Gifted Referrals Teacher Education and Special Education 33(4)319-334 © 2010 Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Chiidren Reprints and pernnission: sagepub.com/journaisPermlssions.nav DOi: 10.1177/0888406409356392 http://tese.sagepub.com tSAGE Margarita Bianco' and Nancy L. Leech' Abstract The goal of this mixed methods study was to explore differences among teachers (n = 52 special education teachers, n = 195 general education teachers, and n = 30 gifted education teachers) on their perceptions of students with disabilities and their willingness to refer them to a gifted and talented program. In this follow-up to an earlier work, data reveal that teachers' decisions for referral are significantly influenced by their teaching credentials and by the presence or absence of a disability label. When compared to teachers of gifted students and general education teachers, special education teachers are least likely to refer students to a gifted program, with disabilities and without. Results further indicate that all teachers are much less willing to refer students with disability labels to gifted programs than identically described students with no disability labels. Keywords twice-exceptional, gifted, teacher perceptions, gifted referrals The potential for giftedness exists in all seg- ments of the population, including students with disabilities. For many reasons, students with disabilities—or twice-exceptional learners—remain underrepresented and under- served in gifted programs throughout the country (Davis & Rimm, 2004; L. J. Johnson, Kames, & Carr, 1997). Given that one of the most common methods for screening students for gifted identification includes teachers' observations and nominations (Davis & Rimm, 2004; Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2009), teachers' perceptions of students with disabilities and their knowledge of gifted characteristics become a critical component for initial identification of potential giftedness among twice-exceptional learners. Twice-exceptional students have been described as students "with special intellectual- processing problems [leaming, commtinication. and/or behavioral disabilities] that neverthe- less, maintain an extraordinary high general intellectual potential" (Gallagher, 1988, p. 110). In the absence of accurate prevalence data, the highest incidence of giftedness among students with disabilities is most likely among students with leaming disabilities (LDs; Miller & Terry- Godt, 1996), given the increased attention in identifying characteristics of this subpopula- tion of twice-exceptional learners. For many gifted students with LDs and other twice- exceptional learners, the students' disabilities frequently mask their gifted abilities, thus causing both exceptionalities to appear less 'University of Colorado, Denver, Colorado, USA Corresponding Author: Margarita Bianco 1380 Lawrence Street, Campus Box 106, Denver, CO 80217 Margarita.Bianco@ucdenver.edu