Special Talented Children Education Research and Application Center
About Us
The primary objective of the Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University Special Talented Children Education Research and Application Center is to provide comprehensive guidance to families and educators regarding the characteristics of special talented children. The center conducts diagnostic assessments for identification and develops specialized programs for children, parents, and teachers to support the academic, social, and emotional development of special talented individuals.
A Special Talented child is defined by experts as an individual who demonstrates high-level performance and motivation in areas such as intelligence, creativity, arts, sports, leadership capacity, or specific academic fields compared to their peers.
Fields of Activity The Center operates across the following domains:
- Informing families and teachers, primarily in the university's region and beyond, about the defining characteristics of special talented individuals.
- Organizing specialized programs for special talented children, their families, and educators to bolster academic, social, and emotional growth.
- Identifying special talented children's high-level thinking skills and implementing programs designed to cultivate these abilities.
- Monitoring global developments in the field and organizing conferences, seminars, and similar scientific symposia.
- Providing professional development for teachers of special talented students, specifically focusing on the preparation of differentiated curricula.
- Establishing academic and institutional partnerships with scientists and relevant organizations within the Center’s scope of study.
- Publishing original works and translated academic literature related to special talented education.
Administration Director: Assoc. Prof. Nüket AFAT
Assistant Director: Asst. Prof. Fazilet YAVUZ BİRBEN
Executive Board
Assoc. Prof. Nüket AFAT – Director / Faculty of Education
Asst. Prof. Fazilet YAVUZ BİRBEN – Assistant Director / Faculty of Education
Asst. Prof. Osman SÖNER – Member / Faculty of Education
Asst. Prof. Hatice TANIK – Member / Faculty of Education
Asst. Prof. Beyza KIRCA – Member / Faculty of Education
Advisory Board
Prof. Mustafa Yüksel ERDOĞDU – Member / Faculty of Education
Prof. Hatice VATANSEVER BAYRAKTAR – Member / Faculty of Education
Prof. Halil EKŞİ – Member / Marmara University, Atatürk Faculty of Education, Dept. of Educational Sciences
Prof. Zekiye Ümit Tülin DAVASLIGIL – Member / Maltepe University, Faculty of Education, Dept. of Special Education
Prof. Serap EMİR – Member / Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Hasan Ali Yücel Faculty of Education, Dept. of Special Education
Assoc. Prof. Necmettin ÖZMEN – Member / Faculty of Education
Assoc. Prof. Elif Esra ARIKAN – Member / Faculty of Education
Assoc. Prof. Faruk KANGER – Member / Faculty of Islamic Sciences
Assoc. Prof. Esra TÜRK – Member / Faculty of Islamic Sciences
Assoc. Prof. Ahmet Faruk LEVENT – Member / Marmara University, Atatürk Faculty of Education, Dept. of Educational Sciences
Assoc. Prof. Marilena Zinovia Leana TAŞCILAR – Member / Istanbul Medeniyet University, Faculty of Educational Sciences, Dept. of Special Education