This chapter examines trends and issues concerning inequities in participation by ethnic/minority children in gifted education programs. The first section provides a brief historical perspective on past trends and issues concerned with the identification of gifted ethnic/minority students. Theories of cultural deficits, cultural differences, cultural diversity, and cultural specificity, as well as their impact on identification and education practices are presented. The second section focuses on the current status of research and practices concerned with gifted ethnic/minority students. New initiatives including the use of multiple criteria for identification and implications of research on multiple intelligence and the components of intelligence are considered. Recommendations encourage educators to focus on behaviors rather than relying on psychometric techniques to identify gifted students. Multicultural, cross cultural, and cultural context perspectives are encouraged for viewing giftedness in ethnic/minority groups. The final section presents implications for the future, focusing on the paradigmatic shift that is occurring in identification and programming for the gifted, especially gifted ethnic/minority students. (26 references) (DB)