A Comparative Analysis of the Reading Comprehension Levels and Reading Attitude Skills of Gifted and Nongifted Fifth Grade Students

Abstract

Gifted children differ from their nongifted counterparts in that they show different ways of thinking, maintain higher levels of attention, manifest advanced cognitive skills, and enjoy researching and exploring (Clark, 2012). These differences are also reflected in their attitude to reading and reading comprehension skills. Regarding this, the current study aims to examine the reading attitudes and reading comprehension skills of a group of gifted and nongifted fifth grade students. The participants of the study comprise of 401 children (168 gifted, 223 nongifted). Data for the study were collected through the Personal Information Form designed by the researchers, the Reading Comprehension Test prepared based on the questions in the Free Boarding and Scholarship Examination for the Fifth Graders administered by the Ministry of Education, and the Reading Attitude Scale developed by Karahan (2018). Data were analyzed with SPSS 24.0 program (independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance [ANOVA], and pearson correlation analysis). The findings of the study indicate that gifted students’ reading comprehension skills differ significantly from those of the nongifted, which shows that gifted students have higher levels of reading comprehension than their nongifted peers. Considering the variables including gender, pre-school education, and time allocated for daily extracurricular reading, a significant difference was found among the gifted students who allocated two or more hours for daily extracurricular reading. That is, the students in this group showed higher reading comprehension skills than the others. However, no significant difference was found between reading attitude and time allocated to extracurricular reading for the gifted. Similarly, no significant difference was observed between extracurricular daily reading duration and reading comprehension skills for the nongifted participants. While a significant difference was observed between the pre-school education status of the nongifted female students and their reading comprehension skills and reading attitudes, no significant difference was found for the nongifted male students. No significant difference was observed between the reading attitudes of the gifted students and their reading comprehension skills. However, a significant difference was observed between the nongifted students’ reading attitudes and reading comprehension skills.

Keywords

• special education,
• non gifted,
• reading comprehension,

Beşinci Sınıf Olağan Gelişim Gösteren ve Özel Yetenekli Öğrencilerin Okuma Tutumları ve Okuduğunu Anlama Becerilerinin İncelenmesi

Öz

Özel yetenekli çocuklar, düşünme biçimlerinin farklı olması, dikkat seviyelerinin yüksek olması, araştırma yapmayı ve keşfetmeyi sevmeleri ve yüksek bilişsel seviyelere sahip olmaları bakımından olağan gelişim gösteren çocuklardan farklılık göstermektedirler (Clark, 2012). Bu farklılıklar onların okuma tutumlarına ve okuduğunu anlama becerilerine de yansımaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı beşinci sınıf olağan gelişim gösteren ve özel yetenekli öğrencilerin okuma tutumları ve okuduğunu anlama becerilerini incelemektir. Bu amaçla yapılan çalışmaya 168’i özel yetenekli ve 223’ü olağan gelişim gösteren olmak üzere toplam 401 çocuk katılmıştır. Araştırmada veri toplama araçları olarak kişisel bilgi formu, Millî Eğitim Bakanlığı tarafından yapılan Parasız Yatılılık ve Bursluluk Sınavı (PYBS) ortaokul 5. sınıf öğrencileri için hazırlanan sorulardan derlenen Okuduğunu Anlama Testi ve Karahan (2018) tarafından geliştirilen Okumaya Yönelik Tutum Ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Veriler SPSS 24.0 programı ile (bağımsız örneklem t testi, tek yönlü varyans analizi [ANOVA], pearson korelasyon analizi) analiz edilmiştir. Analizler sonucunda elde edilen bulgular, okuduğunu anlama becerisi özel yetenekli öğrencilerin lehine anlamlı bir şekilde farklılaştığına işaret etmektedir. Bu durum özel yetenekli öğrencilerin olağan gelişim gösteren öğrencilere göre daha yüksek düzeyde okuduğunu anlama becerisine sahip olduklarını göstermektedir. Cinsiyet, okul öncesi eğitim alma durumu ve ders dışı günlük okumaya ayrılan süre değişkenleri doğrultusunda yapılan analizler dikkate alındığında, ders dışı günlük okumaya ayrılan zaman ile okuduğunu anlama becerisi özel yetenekli öğrencilerde günlük ders dışı okuma saati 2 ve üzeri olanlarda anlamlı farklılık tespit edilmiştir. Buna göre, ders dışı günlük 2 saat ve üzeri okuma yapan özel yetenekli öğrencilerin okuduğunu anlama becerilerinin daha yüksek olduğu belirlenmiştir. Okuma tutumu ile ders dışı okumaya ayrılan süre arasında ise anlamlı bir farklılık belirlenmemiştir. Olağan gelişim gösteren öğrencilerin ders dışı günlük okuma ile okuduğunu anlama becerilerinde anlamlı bir farklılık tespit edilmemiştir. Hem kız hem erkek özel yetenekli öğrencilerin okuma tutumları ve okuduğunu anlama becerileri ile okul öncesi eğitim alma durumları arasında anlamlı bir farklılık tespit edilmemiştir. Olağan gelişim gösteren kız öğrencilerin okul öncesi eğitim alma durumu ile okuduğunu anlama becerileri ve okuma tutumları arasında anlamlı farklılık belirlenirken, olağan gelişim gösteren erkek öğrencilerin okul öncesi eğitim alma ile okuduğunu anlama becerileri ve okuma tutumları arasında anlamlı farklılık tespit edilmemiştir. Özel yetenekli öğrencilerin okuma tutumları ile okuduğunu anlama becerileri arasında anlamlı farklılık gözlenmemiştir. Ancak olağan gelişim gösteren öğrencilerin okuma tutumları ile okuduğunu anlama becerileri arasında anlamlı farklılık gözlenmiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Özel eğitim
• olağan gelişim
• özel yetenek
• okuduğunu anlama
• okuma tutumu

Kaynakça

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