Üzeyir OGURLU, Serap EMİR
*Dr. Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey.
***Dr, İstanbul University, İstanbul,Turkey.

Abstract

Problem Statement: The presence of leaders who will lead societies to success is an important gain for a society. In the present time, leadership development has become a strategic requirement. Although there is a common agreement on the need for leadership education, there are few studies on the education process of leadership and the efficacy of leadership programs in schools. Moreover, leadership and giftedness have been regarded as related, but leadership training is neglected in gifted education. The efficiency of current leadership development programs should be examined, and new effective programs should be developed for young and skillful leaders. This study reports preparation, implementation, and testing effectiveness of a leadership development program that aims to develop the leadership skills of non-gifted students and gifted students who are more likely to become leaders in the future.

Purpose of Study: This study aimed to investigate the effects of a leadership skills development program on development of students’ leadership skills as applied to gifted and non-gifted students in the second level of primary education on development of students’ leadership skills.

Methods: Pre-test/post-test control group experimental design was used. There were 21 students (7 gifted) in the experimental group and 20 students (6 gifted) in the control group. In this study, a leadership skills development program with 15 sessions was developed. The leadership program was applied to the experimental group, and then comparisons were made between the gifted and non-gifted students’ leadership skills based on scale results obtained from post-test scores and pre-test scores of experimental groups and control groups.

Findings and Results: The findings of the study revealed that the program designed to improve leadership skills had positive effects on the leadership skills of both gifted and non-gifted students in the experimental group.

Conclusions and Recommendations: Leadership development programs may be useful for both gifted and non-gifted students. Therefore, more leadership training programs should be developed and implemented at all educational levels.

Keywords: Gifted students, leadership, leadership development program, leadership skills scale.