Abstract:

When the relevant literature is examined, it is possible to find many studies on leadership skills along with leadership characteristics, but there are limited studies on leadership in children (Mullarkey, Recchia, Lee, Shin, & Lee, 2005; Duran & Zembat, 2020). The training of intelligent and gifted leaders is essential for national and international progress. Therefore, education programs for leadership skills should be created for gifted children from an early age (Parker & Begnaud, 2004). There is a need for training programs to develop leadership skills to be organized for students with leadership potential. With this research, it is aimed to determine the effectiveness of the leadership skills development program prepared for special talents. In addition, it is aimed that the educational program, the effectiveness of which was determined within the scope of the research, is realized for the gifted students to realize their leadership potential and to discover the ways to realize their existing potentials. In this study, a mixed research method, including both qualitative and quantitative approaches, was used to obtain more reliable results. The study group consisted of 54 students (26 in the experimental group, 28 in the control group) in the 9-11 years of age group, who were identified as gifted students and continued the same Science and Art Center support education program in Istanbul. In Science and Art Centers, there is an education and training process that differs from the curriculum and determined goals in general education. In these centers, there are 5 programs: Adaptation Program, Support training program, Individual Talent Recognition Program, Special Talent Developing Program and Project Production and Preparation. In the research, the “Problem solving inventory for primary school children” developed by Serin, Bulut Serin and Saygılı (2010) and the “Leader student   scale” developed by Tüysüz (2007) were used. The student leader scale consists of basic leadership, personal ability, problem solving, teamwork and social service sub-dimensions. In line with the findings obtained from the research, it has been determined that the Leadership Education Program has positive contributions to the development of students' problem-solving skills and leadership skills.

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