Career plans of gifted children in agriculture and biotechnology: The example of Türkiye

Abstract

The pandemic played a role as a good indicator and accelerator regarding the importance of agriculture and biotechnology. However, it is not possible to say that awareness on this issue is fully formed. In particular, there is a need for an analysis of the situation of developing countries in directing their gifted potential to this field. In this study, using the document analysis technique, one of the qualitative research types, about the situation of directing Turkey's gifted potential to the field of agriculture and biotechnology; Educational curricula and university programs were examined. While there is no achievement directly related to agriculture in the social sciences curriculum (only one, in the surrounding areas), there are 4 achievements related to biotechnology in the science curriculum. It has been determined that programs related to agricultural engineering have very low scores in university entrance rankings (between 197-484.000). It was determined that there are only 59 programs in higher education and only one is at a private university. It is not possible for gifted students to have a career plan in a field related to agriculture. In this respect, gifted children can be supported in terms of career planning and guidance in this field through necessary curriculum arrangements, guidance programs, and university honor programs.