Abstract

The purpose of this research is to present the definition of ‘giftedness’ made by the parents who have gifted children.The study is of importance for presenting the term of giftedness from parents of gifted students as a result of their experiences. Also, this study has a great importance as it allows us to have more information about gifted children, to organize educational programs according to these children, to emphasize the outstanding characteristics in gifted children and to get suitable data that can be used during the selection process of gifted children. The content analysis was used from qualitative data analysis approaches in this study. The study group of the research is consisted of 50 parents who havea gifted children. Within the scope of this research, the answers of an open–ended question ‘Can you make a definition for ‘gifted children’ by considering your own child?’ were analyzed.  The answers given by parents were grouped under 3 themes. These are: Academic features, Personal features and Creativity. The term ‘giftedness’ was defined through the eyes of parents who have gifted children and it was defined precisely with the expressions of parents who closely experience gifted children.

Key words: giftedness, perceptionof parents.