Investigation of gifted students mathematics and physics achievements in terms of different variables

Saniye Mecek,Erdal Taşlıdere

doi:10.14527/pegegog.2015.040

Saniye Mecek, Erdal Taşlıdere

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.14527/pegegog.2015.040

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether 7th and 8th grade gifted students' academic achievements in mathematics and physics differ in terms of age, gender, grade level and number of siblings. Survey research method was used and 339 students, attending Science and Art Centers from 27 province, formed the sample of study. Mathematics and physics achievement tests and a demographic survey scale were developed by the researchers to measure and collect information about students' achievements and demographics properties. The validity and reliability evidences were established. The results denoted that there was a significant difference between students' collective dependent variables of mathematics and physics in terms of grade level and gender at the .05 significance level. But no significant differences were found for the gender and the number of sibling. Moreover 8th grade students' achievement in both physics and mathematics were significantly greater than those of 7th grade students. The results also denoted that students' mathematics and physics achievements differ significantly in terms of age. Although mathematics achievement increases with respect to age level, the same relation was not detected for the physics achievement. It is thought that the results of current study would contribute to the literature for the gifted students who comprised approximately 2% of the society.

Highlights

Children whose performance in the fields of social intelligence, creativity, art, leadership capacity or in special academic fields is at a higher level than that of their peers are identified by experts and defined as children with superior intelligence or gifted children (Science and Art Centers (BILSEM) Directive, 2007)
Academic achievement is an essential goal for gifted students as it is for all students
The results show that 3% of the variances in the MBAS, and 2% of the variances in the FBAS were explained by grade level

Summary

Introduction

Children whose performance in the fields of social intelligence, creativity, art, leadership capacity or in special academic fields is at a higher level than that of their peers are identified by experts and defined as children with superior intelligence or gifted children (Science and Art Centers (BILSEM) Directive, 2007). These individuals constitute 2% of the population. According to Baykoç (2014), the early diagnosis of children with superior intelligence is crucial for them to improve their skills These students attend Science and Art Centers (BILSEM) as well as formal education. The academic achievements of gifted students who have Dyslexia and other special learning difficulties are generally low (Ataman, Dağlıoğlu & Şahin, 2014)

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