5.1.6 Career Interests in Science Among Malaysian Gifted and Talented Students

This research study examines the career personality interest and its inclination towards sciences and non-sciences field among gifted and talented students (GTs) in Malaysia. The awareness in understanding career personality interest and utilizing it in making career choices will help to increase learning motivation for GTs to achieve academic excellence which in turn, will stimulate personal potential development. This is a quantitative research study that involves a survey method in the data collection. Data on career personality interest code and the inclination towards sciences field were analysed descriptively. The profiles of GTs' personality career interest is obtained directly from Career Interest Test by Amla, Zuria & Ramlee's (2008) and the compatibility of GTs' personality code with an inclination toward interest in sciences field is obtained through the categories of compatibility degree of Holland's Three-Point Code (1979). In relation to that, based on Holland's Three-Point Code, an aspect of career interest inclination is divided into two parts which are: (A) Inclination of interest in sciences field, and (B) Inclination of interest in non-sciences or social sciences field. Interest in sciences field is divided into four categories; (i) high inclination of interest in sciences, (ii) medium-high inclination of interest in sciences, (iii) medium low inclination of interest in sciences, and (iv) mixed science and non-science inclinations. On the other hand, interest in non-science or social science field is divided into three categories which are incline personality of (i) Artistic, (ii) Social, and (iii) Enterprising. The samples involved two hundred and thirteen GT students aged between 12 to 16 years old from Malaysia National Gifted Center, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

The findings showed that GTs in this study have a high inclination on Investigative personality (22.15), followed by Social (19.88), Artistic (15.94), Conventional (15.64), Realistic (14.79), and finally Enterprising (11.60). The overall findings on the career personality inclination toward the sciences field showed that 73.24% GTs have a tendency in the sciences field whereas 26.76% is in a non-science field. Inclination towards science showed that 6.57% of GTs are in the high category, followed by 15.49% in medium high category, 21.13% in the medium-low inclination for science category, and 30.05% in the mixed inclination for sciences field category. As a result, school counsellors and subject matter teachers play an important role in guiding and deepening career interest and preparing a career path planning for GTs.

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