Gifted students' perfectionism, school motivation, learning styles and academic achievement

The main aim of this study was to investigate gifted students? perfectionism, school motivation, learning styles and academic achievement. The study also compares gifted and non-gifted students in respect of these variables given above. In the study, relationships among gifted students? perfectionism, school motivation, learning styles and academic achievement were also investigated.This study is a cross-sectional study which is developed as a form of causal comparative method. The sample of the study consists of 386 (Female= 164, Male= 222) gifted primary-second phase students attending to Science and Arts Centres in different parts of Turkey and 410 (Female= 209, Male= 201) non-gifted primary-second phase students studying in the city of Trabzon. Information Gathering Form, Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale, School Motivation Scale and Learning Styles Scale were used as data gathering tools. Pearson?s Coefficient, Chi-Square, t- test and F-test were used to analyse the data.Results showed that scores of non-gifted students were significantly higher than gifted students? scores regarding positive and negative perfectionism, school motivation and auditory learning style variables. On the other hand, scores of gifted students were significantly higher than non-gifted students? scores regarding visual and kinaesthetic learning styles and academic achievement variables. It was founded that there was a positive significant relationship between gifted students? academic achievement and positive perfectionism. Results also show that gifted girls? scores were significantly higher than gifted boys? scores regarding negative perfectionism and auditory learning style variables. Some significant differences were also recorded among research variables of gifted students in terms of grade levels. Some results were parallel to the related literature, others not. This was also discussed with in the light of the current literature.Key Words: Giftedness, Positive and Negative Perfectionism, School Motivation, Learning Styles, Academic Achievement.