Opinions of gifted students about science, technology and society

The aim of this study is to examine the views of gifted students at Science and Art Centers in Eastern Black Sea Region on the sub-dimensions of Science-Technology-Society (STS) approach in terms of grade level and gender. The research was carried out with 251 gifted students (5, 6, 7, 8th) enrolled in Samsun, Ordu, Giresun, Trabzon and Rize Science and Art Centers in the Eastern Black Sea Region in the first semester of 2018-2019 academic year. In the research, survey method was used within the scope of quantitative research approach, and data were collected by Views on Science-Technology-Society (VOSTS) survey. For the analysis of the data obtained, statistical analysis package program was used to determine the percentage of the answers given as a result of VOSTS survey. The results of the study revealed that in the views of the gifted students about STS, only three of the responses they gave to the VOSTS (TR) questionnaire showed the expected level of answers, and in the other items, the views they had completely coincided with the non-gifted students. It was found that the opinions of gifted students about STS differed in favor of girls in only four items in terms of gender, while the other items did not show any difference as expected. As a result, it was found that the opinions of the gifted students about STS differed in terms of class level only in one item and in contrast to the expected in three items, whereas the other items did not differ as expected. From this point of view, it is recommended that the STS opinions of the students should be continuously monitored and STS opinions should be included in the student identification for science and art centers. Keywords: Opinions About Science-Technology-Society, Gifted Students, VOSTS Survey