District Gifted Education Coordinators’ Leadership Roles and Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Gifted education coordinators play critical roles in administration and supervision of gifted education and accelerated learning programs in their districts. However, these roles are ill-defined in the literature. During the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders have been called upon to support educators and administrators in a variety of ways. This exploratory study sought to investigate the experiences of district gifted education coordinators during the first year of the pandemic. Qualitative data were collected from a national sample of 11 district gifted education coordinators through semi-structured interviews. An inductive thematic analysis revealed four categories that addressed their roles during this period: (a) professional responsibilities, (b) instructional leadership, (c) program management, and (d) communication and collaboration. The overarching theme across all interviews was the rapid need to pivot and adapt to constant change to ensure equitable access to advanced instruction. Implications for administrators of gifted education programs and areas for future study are addressed.