Counseling needs and experiences of gifted/talented students, and school counselors' professional competence related to gifted/talented students

There are distinct differences between the views of scholars in terms of gifted students' identification, orientation and education. However, there is a broad consensus that developmental and psychological characteristics of gifted students differ from non-gifted peers. Examination and interventions on the developmental characteristics and psychological needs are conducted in psychological counseling and guidance area. In this study, counseling needs and experiences of gifted students, and school counselors' professional competence related to gifted students were investigated. Adapting the scales, developed for this aim, to Turkish culture was among the main aims of this study. In addition, to investigate the relationships between several variables and gifted students' counseling needs and experiences, and school counselors' competence about gifted students were the other aims of the study. This study was designed in accordance with the sequential explanatory pattern of mixed research methods. The sample of the study consist of four groups including parents (N=242), gifted students (N=343), and two different school counselor groups (N1=193, N2=8). Problem Inventory for Gifted/Talented, Scale of Gifted Students' Experiences in Counseling and School Counselors' Knowledge, Perceptions and Involvement Concerning Gifted/Talented Students Scales were used to gathering data. Different analysis techniques were used to adapt the scales and to investigate other research questions. The scales were adapted to Turkish culture as a result of validity and reliability analyses by considering cultural factors and psychometric properties. According to the findings obtained by the application of the adapting scales; "education panning" and "special talent programs" were expressed by parents as the first issues that guidance and counseling services were needed for their gifted children. Counseling needs expressed by parents were varied depending on the age of child. According to this finding, hypersensitivity and perfectionism were more common in preadolescence while inattentiveness and irritability were more often observed during adolescence. Counseling needs of gifted students were varied depending on age and gender interaction. The result showed that there was no significant difference between the views of parents about their children's counseling needs. However, significant differences were observed in the counseling needs depending on the parents' educational levels. In this study examining students' experiences in school counseling, it was revealed that gifted students have some educational, career and psycho-social concerns. It was determined that the levels of help-seeking from counseling services for these students with these kinds of problems were low. It was seen that counseling experiences were not different based on gender and educational level. The regression model established to explain the level of school counselors' involvement activities related to gifted students explains 41% of total variance. In this model, it was determined that school counselors' levels of knowledge and perception on gifted students were significant predictors. It was determined that school counselors' experience and education for gifted students don't explain the dependent variable significantly. It was found that the level of knowledge and involvement for gifted students of school counselors, working at Science and Art Centers, were significantly higher than working at other schools. There was not a significant relation between the level of knowledge, perception and involvement activities about gifted students for teachers with counseling bachelor degree and without counseling bachelor degree. The results of the interviews with the school counselors supported the results of the quantitative part of this study. The interview content showed that school counselors didn't have enough knowledge and skill about gifted students. The counselors mentioned that guidance services formed with current practices were far away from meeting gifted students' needs. In this study consisting of five scales' Turkish adaptation, it was determined that counseling services differing by parents, students, school counselors and gifted students were needed however current practices were not enough to meet their needs. The counseling needs of gifted students in this study were similar with the literature. Besides, there were differences between counseling practices for gifted students in Turkey and developed countries. The results showed that more recent practices were needed in terms of the planning and practices of counseling services for gifted students. Also, it was suggested to do interdisciplinary studies for gifted students' psycho-social needs, in different developmental stages and educational levels. Key Words: Gifted/Talented Students, Psychological Counseling and Guidance, School Counselor, Parents, Scales for Counseling Services.