Abstract:

The present study aimed to determine the critical reading self-efficacy levels of gifted students and to discuss certain variables that affect self-efficacy levels. The study was conducted with 299 (Female: 138, Male: 161) students attending four Science and Arts Centers (SACs) in Ankara during the 2022-2023 academic year. The participant were 5th and 6th grade students in the Recognition of Individual Talent (RIT) program. Participant Data Form and Critical Reading Self-Efficacy Scale were used to collect the omit data. The study was designed with the quantitative relational research method and the analyses were conducted on the SPSS software. The study findings were analyzed with descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, and ANOVA. Analysis findings revealed that the critical reading self-efficacy levels of the gifted students were high. Ownership of a private library significantly affected the critical reading self-efficacy levels of the gifted students. In other words, the critical reading self-efficacy level of the students who had a library was higher than those who did not. Furthermore, students who read books every day had higher critical reading self-efficacy skills when compared to the students who did not read books every day. Other study findings demonstrated that gender, education level of the parents and household income did not have a significant effect on the critical reading self-efficacy level. In the study, it was also determined that gifted students mostly read science fiction and scientific books.

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