Superior mathematical creativity performances of gifted/talented girls in the olympiads: A grounded theory study

This study aims to develop a theory on the mathematical creativity of gifted female students who exhibit high performance in the Mathematical Olympiads by following an evidence-based process. In the research conducted with the grounded theory approach, data were collected from six gifted female students who were successful in the International Mathematical Olympiad, their parents, and teachers. The participants were determined using the snowball sampling method. Individual information forms, student interview forms, parent interview forms, and teacher interview forms were used as data collection tools. Data collection and data analyses were conducted simultaneously. As a result of the analyses, it was seen that the theory consisted of the dimensions of giftedness, creative personality traits, gender differences in the Mathematical Olympiads, Olympian identity, challenge in challenge in the Olympiads, advanced mathematics, advanced number sense, mathematical creativity, problem-solving and posing, transformative experiences, general high creativity, and chance. The dimensions of Olympian identity, challenge in challenge in the Olympiads, gender differences in the Mathematical Olympiads, and transformative experiences, which were not present in previous theories, emerged in this theory. The dimensions of giftedness, gender differences in the Mathematical Olympiads, and creative personality traits formed the identity of an Olympian with the effect of family-specific chance. Then, the impact of transformative chance, mathematical creativity, advanced mathematics, advanced number sense, challenge in challenge in the Olympiads, and problem-solving and posing dimensions revealed transformative experiences. With the addition of Olympic chance, superior mathematical creativity and high creativity performances emerged. All dimensions and theories were compared and discussed with the theories in the literature.