A Comparative Analysis of Gifted and Typically Developing Secondary School Students’ Perceptions of the Future

Abstract

This study is to examine the future perceptions of typically developing and gifted secondary school students. The participants consisted of sixth-grade students, typically developing and gifted, enrolled in two different secondary schools in the Marmara region of Turkey during the 2022-2023 academic year. The study, which was designed as a basic qualitative study, used a phenomenological study design. The future perceptions of typically developing and gifted students were assessed through story completion and drawing activities. The story completion activity revealed that the future literacy dimension of fictionalizing the future used the expressions corresponding to the dystopia (future anxiety) sub-dimension more intensely than the utopia (future hope) sub-dimension. In the drawing activity, it was observed that participants frequently used objects related to the Utopia sub-dimension. However, the fact that they did not include many expressions corresponding to the dimensions of preparing for the future, planning, and controlling the future shows that their future expectations are harmful and that they feel inadequate in terms of preparing, planning, and controlling against these negativities. For this reason, it would be beneficial to conduct studies on the development of future literacy skills in the curriculum so that students can take action to prepare for the future.