An Innovative Model for The Admission of Talented High School Students to the University: A Case Study

Abstract

The education of gifted students differentiates from regular education based on their status. Special education for talented individuals in Turkey has a variety of applications starting from elementary schoolage.. Although they receive different pieces of training, there are no transition processes similar to the differentiated practices provided in their education to move to a higher education institution. 983,000 12thgrade students have taken the university entrance exams in 2019. Assuming that 3% of the students who took the exam were gifted, approximately 30,000 gifted students have taken this exam. In line with the model recommended by Kırkıç for gifted students, the use of a different model in transition to university should be considered for gifted students. This study was carried out with a qualitative single case pattern, the purpose of which was to determine the participant's opinions about the summer school application, which can be used for the transition of gifted high school students to universities, which are higher education institutions. Participants of the study are a student who studies at the summer school determined by the purposeful sampling method and the supervisor of the laboratory in which she studies. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the laboratory studies process and the summer school application proposed by the model, where gifted high school student voluntarily attends during the summer holiday of the year she passed the 10th grade. Also, the opinions of the supervisor of the laboratory studies attended by the student were taken. Data were collected through interviews, observation, and renegotiation. Interview voice recordings were obtained with the permission of the participants. A descriptive analysis was done after obtaining the data. According to the results of the analysis, it was found that the activities performed by the gifted high school students in summer school based on their interests help them to decide their department after the university exam, increase their motivation, provide learning experience by doing and living, contribute to deep learning, create the opportunity to experience university life, and make them aware of the advantages and disadvantages of starting early. According to the results of the analysis, it was found that the activities performed by the gifted high school students in summer school based on their interests help them to decide their department after the university exam, increase their motivation, provide learning experience by doing and living, contribute to deep learning, create the opportunity to experience university life, and make them aware of the advantages and disadvantages of starting early.