Examining the tendencies of parents of gifted children to guide their children toward scientific fields

Abstract

The influence of families on the career choices of gifted students is undeniable. This study aims to examine the extent to which the families of gifted students—enrolled in Science and Art Centers, which are institutions providing support education for the gifted in Turkiye—encourage their children to pursue careers in scientific fields. The participant group consisted of 278 parents (M=91, F=187) whose children are enrolled in different SACs located in Ankara. The research group was formed using a purposeful sampling method, with the primary criterion being that participants must be SAC parents. The study employed the survey model, a quantitative research method, to collect data. The SPSS program was used for data analysis. An assessment of the data revealed that it followed a normal distribution. For analyzing variables such as gender, children’s grade levels, and ages, arithmetic means, standard deviations, and dependent samples t-tests were utilized. The ANOVA test was applied to examine the variables of the number of children and the parents' education levels. A significance level of p<.05 was used to determine differences between variables. The findings indicated that SAC parents exhibited high levels of guiding their children toward science, establishing a scientific foundation, introducing them to scientific concepts, and encouraging practical applications. A notable difference was observed in the level of guiding children toward science based on the number of children in the family, with parents of single children differing significantly from those with two, three, or more children. The study revealed a significant difference in the levels of orientation toward science between parents with a high school education and those with undergraduate or graduate education. However, no significant difference was found among parents with an associate degree, bachelor's degree, or higher education levels, and high school graduates. Similarly, no significant difference was observed in parents' efforts to orient their children toward science based on their gender, age, or their children's grade level.

Keywords

• Science and Art Center
• Parents of gifted
• Guiding and counselling of gifted
• Career choices of gifted children

Supporting Institution

Ministry of National Education of Turkiye

Ethical Statement

Ethics committee approval was obtained for this research by Karatekin University Science, Mathematics and Social Sciences Ethics Committee (Date: August 23, 2024, Number: 43).

Thanks

I would like to thank the parents who voluntarily participated in this study, the ethics committee that provided the necessary ethics committee approval for the study, and the journal team that published my study

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