Level and sources of anxiety affecting gifted students who attend science and art centers

In recent years, gifted education started to gain importance in Turkey as in the rest of the world. Within this scope, 135 Science and Art Centers (SACs) were established in 81 cities in Turkey by 2018. This study investigated the state and trait anxiety level of gifted students within SAC which is located in Ankara. Furthermore, sources of the anxiety were explored. Forty-four high school students in SAC were chosen through a convenience sampling method in order to complete the Turkish version of the State – Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and six students, six parents and four teachers were interviewed. In the study, since quantitative data supplemented with qualitative data, the results were analyzed by using both quantitative and qualitative data analysis method. According to the results, high school gifted students in SACs have average state and trait anxiety level and there is no significant difference in both kinds of anxiety level in respect to ages. Although, the state anxiety levels of female students and male students are not different, the trait anxiety level of female students is significantly higher than male students. According to the interviews, expectations and pressure are the most affecting factors to the anxiety. Social interaction; exams; unexpected situations; fear of being unhappy, being alone and making mistakes; perfectionism; wishing to have a good future and to prove oneself are the following factors. In addition, teachers and students agreed that SACs help students to decrease their anxiety level.