Üstün Yetenekli Çocukları Olan Anne Babaların Çocuklarının Eğitimine Yönelik Algıları

Education begins in the family. Therefore, the family has a critical role in a child‘s development and education. It is known that the family plays a crucial role in the talent development of their children. In this regard, with their special features, the status of gifted children gains more importance. It is essential to identify the role and the function of parents in identifying and developing gifted children‘s talent. Renzulli (1999) states that gifted children represent an important group among the students with special educational needs. He also reports that giftedness indicates different needs. The Ministry of National Education (Meb, 2007) identifies the gifted and talented children as whose higher levels of performance in terms of intelligence, creativity, art, sports, leadership capacity or specific academic areas than their peers are acknowledged by specialists. Silverman (2010) identifies the giftedness as asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from norms. Characteristics of gifted children include speed in acquisition and retention of knowledge; remarkable research, inquiry and curiosity; innate motivation; inquiry of the existence; conceptual summarisation; synthesis; emphasis on reality, equality and impartiality; research for arranging people and events; extensive vocabulary, advanced unlimited knowledge; high expectations of self and others; creativity; high concentration; long attention spans and persistence in the areas of interest (Webb, 1994). As Silverman (2010) points, children learn first from their parents. Parents can process the personal interests of their gifted children with further assistance and meet their needs by offering appropriate educational opportunities. According to Olszewki-Kubilius (2008), parents are the engineers of the learning environments that promote talent development. Their perspectives can influence a talented child and his/her abilities. Sungur (2005) claims that creative learning begins at home. In light of the information mentioned above, it can be concluded that the needs and educational characteristics of gifted children, whose developmental stages are different from their peers in terms of intellectual, emotional and physical developments or in one or more of these abilities, can differ from average children. It is self-evident that parents who deal with the education of their gifted children directly have great responsibilities. In this regard, the education of parents of gifted children becomes crucial. Davaslıgil (2000) emphasizes that parents of gifted children need even more education than parents ofaverage children. In light of the information given above, parents of gifted children should be highly attentive in the development process of their children and they should manage this process with great awareness. It is observed that parents of gifted children have difficulties in many issues in the education process of their children and try to overcome these difficulties with their own dedicated efforts. It is also observed that the services related to the parental education are quite limited in our country. This study aims at finding answers to how parents of the gifted perceive themselves regarding their children‘s education and identifying the areas they need to be supported. The purpose of this study is to identify the perceptions of parents of gifted children about themselves regarding their children‘s education. Method: Target population of the present study is 110 parents whose children attended Adana Science and Art Center in the 2008-2009 education year. The participants are 94 parents who expressed their opinions. The data were collected through a questionnaire which consisted of 28 items. The alpha internal consistency coefficient of the items was found .87. The first part of the questionnaire aimed to identify personal information about parents. In the second part, there werefive-point likert type expressions including the perceptions of parents about themselves regarding their children‘s education. The study has made use of descriptive survey method. Analysis of the data was conducted using percentages and frequencies of the responses given. T-test for independent groups and one-way variance analysis were conductedwith a view to identifying differences in terms ofthe regarding their children‘s education according to their education level, occupation, age, and gender. Results: Results show that the parents think they have enough knowledge to provide their children with love because who they are not because they are successful, (X=4.87), teach them to use their abilities for the benefit of both themselves and the society (X=4.69), encourage the mental, social, and physical development (X=4.58), find nice expressions in order to praise their children for the things they do (X=4.58), andprovide their children with learning activities which facilitate to take their own decisions starting from early ages (X=4.51). Arithmeticmean scores of the parents‘ responses to the questionnaire reveal that the parents cannot provide enough guidance on such issues as creating the environment for their children‘s hobbies (X=3.71), finding a place to exhibit their products (X=3.71), sharing hobbies with their children and teaching something about them (X=3.90), taking their children to the trips in the areas of their interests (X=3.74), taking them to lectures, seminars, or activities organized by private groups or public organizations (X=3.32). However, no significant differences were found according to their gender, age, occupation, and education level in terms of the parents‘ perception of themselves regarding their children‘s education. It was found that parents‘ perceptions about themselves increase with the increase in their education level. Those who perceived themselves most qualified in their children‘s education are the parents who do not work (X=122.39). This group was followed by retired parents (X=121.166). It was also found that parents aged between 31 and 35 find themselves qualified in their children‘s education; similarly, mean scores of the parents aged between 36 and 45 were found to be close to the scores of those aged between 31 and 35. In line with the data obtained from thestudy, parents can be provided with information about the characteristics and needs of gifted children. They can be equipped with the skills that will help them identify and foster their children‘s talent development. Special recreation areas can be built up with a view to helping parents and children spend time together.