Why Acceleration is a Controversial Debate Among Educators?

The concept of “acceleration” continues to pay subject to a number of controversial debates in education. Much of the controversy around the concept can be associated with the beliefs and attitudes of educators, which have little or no grounds in research (Vialle, Ashton, Carlon, & Rankin, 2001). While acceleration takes on many forms, educators often correlate the concept with radical acceleration or multiple grade skipping. Teachers oppose acceleration because they believe that students’ social and emotional needs come before their academic ones (Vialle, Ashton, Carlon, & Rankin, 2001). On the other hand, research on acceleration consistently indicates positive academic attainments for those who are accelerated (Assouline, Colangelo, VanTassel-Baska & Lupkowski-Shoplik, 2015; Benbow, 1992; Gross, 1992; Kulik & Kulik, 1991, 1992; Rogers, 2015; Swiatek, 1993). This paper aims to examine the reasons for the continuous gap between the effectiveness of research on acceleration and educators’ attitudes toward it; thus, I will be analyzing the factors that are believed to influence practitioners’ resistance toward using acceleration as an intervention strategy with gifted and talented students.

Why Acceleration is a Controversial Debate Among Educators?

The concept of “acceleration” continues to pay subject to a number of controversial debates in education. Much of the controversy around the concept can be associated with the beliefs and attitudes of educators, which have little or no grounds in research (Vialle, Ashton, Carlon, & Rankin, 2001). While acceleration takes on many forms, educators often correlate the concept with radical acceleration or multiple grade skipping. Teachers oppose acceleration because they believe that students’ social and emotional needs come before their academic ones (Vialle, Ashton, Carlon, & Rankin, 2001). On the other hand, research on acceleration consistently indicates positive academic attainments for those who are accelerated (Assouline, Colangelo, VanTassel-Baska & Lupkowski-Shoplik, 2015; Benbow, 1992; Gross, 1992; Kulik & Kulik, 1991, 1992; Rogers, 2015; Swiatek, 1993). This paper aims to examine the reasons for the continuous gap between the effectiveness of research on acceleration and educators’ attitudes toward it; thus, I will be analyzing the factors that are believed to influence practitioners’ resistance toward using acceleration as an intervention strategy with gifted and talented students.

Gifted Education in Algeria: Challenges and Reforms

One of the most powerful aspects EFL teachers need to take into consideration is to meet the learning needs of all learners without exception. In Algeria, EFL teachers face the challenge of identifying, understanding, and coping with the exceptional needs of gifted learners (GLs) at middle schools. This genre of learners who demonstrate high abilities and special cognitive and intellectual qualifications need particular care and guidance from their teachers at school. Hence, the aim of this work is to see how the general education English teacher identifies, understands and deals with GLs in the Algerian EFL classroom. The purpose is to shed light on the qualities of GLs, the challenges they encounter inside the English session in addition to the mistakes committed by teachers when treating this kind of learners. The sample of this work is composed of 20 Algerian middle school teachers who had the experience of teaching GLs in their classes. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire and participant observation. The findings of the study show to what extent grade skipping, outdoor education and personalized learning (among other suggestions) can serve as effective methods to cope with the unique capabilities of GLs as well as to help them achieve their full potential and improve their academic performance more and more.

Gifted Educational Provisions for Gifted and Highly Able Students in Victorian Schools, Australia

This article summarizes the main educational provisions developed and implemented for gifted and highly able students in Victoria, Australia. It emphasizes the strong influence that different governments have had on policies and guidelines providing for the education of these students. Among the options offered it is possible to differentiate those based on acceleration and high ability grouping. Accelerated learning options include early entry, grade skipping, subject acceleration, Higher Educational Studies program, and International Baccalaureate. High ability grouping includes Select Entry Accelerated Learning programs, select entry high schools, specialized high schools. The identification of students’ advanced intellectual and academic needs and the implementation of effective provisions for these students are strongly related to the level of knowledge and attitude that teachers have towards gifted and highly able students. The implications of the current educational provisions are discussed to reflect and promote better guidelines and more research in the field.

Determining Attitudes Toward Ability: A New Tool for New Understanding

The purpose of this study is to explore teacher attitudes toward gifted students in several distinct areas and to provide psychometric evidence of reliability and validity for the use of an instrument titled “Determining Attitudes Toward Ability” (DATA) to measure specific components of teacher attitudes. Subscales of Focus on Others, Problems With Acceleration, Grade Skipping, Identification, and Curriculum/Policy and ranking the goals of gifted programming allow precise understanding of teacher attitudes regarding important factors in gifted education. This study represents the initial efforts to provide a psychometrically evaluated instrument that reflects developments in the field of gifted education.

Grade Skipping From the Perspective of Teachers in Germany

The present study explored teachers’ perspectives on one specific type of acceleration, namely, grade skipping. In addition, we investigated the extent to which teachers’ beliefs about students’ academic, motivational, and social development after grade skipping may explain teachers’ acceptance of this accelerative strategy. Moreover, we examined whether teachers’ acceptance is linked to their decisions about using this intervention. Using data from the PARS project, which included 316 teachers from 18 secondary schools in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, we assessed teachers’ acceptance, beliefs, and perceived knowledge about grade skipping using 4-point rating scales. Teachers also reported whether they had advised a student to skip a grade. Multilevel regression analyses indicated that teachers’ beliefs about students’ social, motivational, and academic development largely explained their acceptance. Teachers who showed a higher level of acceptance and perceived knowledge were more likely to have recommended grade skipping before. Educational implications are discussed.