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Department
Special Education
Office Location
415A MRL
Mailing Address
Peabody #228
230 Appleton Place
Nashville, TN 37203-5721
Direct Phone
615-322-4460
Fax Number
615-343-1570
Email Address
Donna Ford
Professor of Special Education
Ph.D., Cleveland State University, 1991
Research Area
Gifted with emphasis on minority children and youth; recruitment and retention of diverse students in gifted education; underachievement among diverse students; equity issues in testing and assessment; multicultural education; issues in urban education.
Short Biography
Donna Y. Ford, Ph.D., is Professor of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt in the Special Education department. Donna has been a Professor of Special Education at the Ohio State University, an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Virginia, and a researcher with the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. She also taught at the University of Kentucky.
Donna earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Urban Education (educational psychology) (1991), Masters of Education degree (counseling) (1988), and Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and Spanish (1984) from Cleveland State University.
Professor Ford conducts research primarily in gifted education and multicultural/urban education. Specifically, her work focuses on: (1) recruiting and retaining culturally diverse students in gifted education; (2) multicultural and urban education; (3) minority student achievement and underachievement; and (4) family involvement. She consults with school districts and educational organizations in the areas of gifted education and multicultural/urban education.
Dr. Ford's work has been recognized by various professional organizations: Research Award from the Shannon Center for Advanced Studies; the Early Career Award and the Career Award from The American Educational Research Association; both the Early Scholar Award (1994) and the Distinguished Scholar Award (2008) from The National Association for Gifted Children; and the Esteemed Scholarship Award from The National Association of Black Psychologists. She is the author of Reversing Underachievement Among Gifted Black Students (1996) and co-author of Multicultural Gifted Education (1999), In search of the dream: Designing schools and classrooms that work for high potential students from diverse cultural backgrounds (2004), and Teaching culturally diverse gifted students. Several other books are in progress. Donna has written over 100 articles and book chapters; she has made more than 500 presentations at professional conferences and school districts.
Dr. Ford, is co-founder of the Scholar Identity Institute for Black Males with Dr. Gilman Whiting. Donna has served two terms as board member of the National Association for Gifted Children, and has served on numerous editorial boards, such as Gifted Child Quarterly, Exceptional Children, Journal of Negro Education, and Roeper Review. She also reviews for several journals in such disciplines as urban education, child development, and counseling and development. Professional development includes membership in professional organizations, including the National Association for Gifted Children, Council for Exceptional Children, American Educational Research Association, Association for the Education of Gifted Underachieving Students, Association of Teacher Educators, American Counseling Association, and others.
Learn More about Donna Ford:
Courses Taught | Selected Publications
Awards | CV | Media Mentions
Selected Publications
Books
Tomlinson, C.A., Ford, D.Y., Reis, S.M., Briggs, C.J., & Strickland, C.A. (Eds.). (2004). In search of the dream: Designing schools and classrooms that work for high potential students from diverse cultural backgrounds. Washington, DC: National Association for Gifted Children.
Ford, D.Y. & Harris III, J.J. (1998). Multicultural gifted education. New York: Teachers College Press.
Ford, D.Y. (1996). Reversing underachievement among gifted Black students: Promising practices and programs. New York: Teachers College Press.
Articles (sample)
Ford, D.Y., Moore III, J.L., Milner, H.R. (in press). Beyond cultureblindness: A model of culture with implications for gifted education. Roeper Review, 27(2), 97-103.
Harris III, J.J., Brown, E.L., Ford, D.Y., & Richardson, J.W. (2004). American Americans and multicultural education: A proposed remedy for disproportionate special education placement and underinclusion in gifted education. Education and Urban Society, 36, 304-341.
Ford, D.Y. (2004). A challenge for culturally diverse families of gifted children: Forced choices between affiliation or achievement. Gifted Child Today, 27(3), 26-29.
Harmon, D.A., Moore III, J.J., & Ford, D.Y. (in press). Integrating multicultural education and gifted education: A curricular framework. Theory Into Practice.
Ford, D.Y. & Joseph, L.M. (in press). Non-discriminatory assessment: Considerations for gifted education. Gifted Child Quarterly.
Moore III, J., Ford, D.Y. & Milner, E. (in press). Recruitment is not enough: Retaining African-American students in gifted education. Gifted Child Quarterly.
Naglieri, J. A. & Ford, D.Y. (2003). Addressing under-representation of gifted minority children using the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT). Gifted Child Quarterly, 47, 155-160
Ford, D.Y. & Grantham, T.C. (2003). Providing access for gifted culturally diverse students: From deficit thinking to dynamic thinking. Theory into Practice, 42(3), 217-225.
Grantham, T.C. & Ford, D.Y. (2003). Beyond self-concept and self-esteem for African-American students: Improving racial identity improves achievement. High School Journal, 87(1),18-29.
Ford, D.Y. & Frazier Trotman, M. (2001). Teachers of gifted students: Suggested multicultural characteristics and competencies. Roeper Review, 23(4), 235-239.
Ford, D.Y. & Frazier Trotman, M. (2000). The Office for Civil Rights and non-discriminatory testing, policies, and procedures: Implications for gifted education. Roeper Review, 23(2), 109-112.
Ford, D.Y., Howard, T.C. Tyson, C.A., & Harris III, J.J. (2000). Creating culturally responsive classrooms for gifted minority students. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 23(4), 397-427.
Ford, D.Y., & Harris III, J.J. (2000). A framework for infusing multicultural curriculum into gifted education. Roeper Review, 23(1), 4-10.
Ford, D.Y., Tyson, C.A., Howard, T.C., & Harris III, J.J. (2000). Multicultural literature and gifted Black students: Promoting self-understanding, awareness, and pride. Roeper Review, 22(4), 235-240.