Poverty and Low-Income Gifted

Does being financially poor hurt creativity, talent, or giftedness? At first glance, one may immediately want to respond to this question negatively because of the belief that creativity, talent, and giftedness are innate, not something that can be taught. However, after consulting the literature and reflecting more carefully, one has to conclude that yes, in some ways being poor or living in a low-income family can hinder the complete development of an individual's abilities, talents, and skills. To quote Barbara Kerr when talking about women in her book, Smart Girls Two, “Another major barrier to achievement by gifted women is a lack of money” and the “scarcity of funds is the primary barrier between minority women and achievement” (p. 159).

According to the 2006 Census report, ...