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A Mathematics Acceleration Experience For Mathematically Promising Students, Dorothy Jeanette Whitlow-Malin

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

To address the pervasive concerns of educators about the social and emotional effects of mathematics acceleration on students and the paucity of findings on those issues, 6 students who had participated in 6 years of accelerated mathematics courses were purposefully identified and interviewed in this longitudinal study. Through a qualitative research design, using phenomenological methods, and accompanying descriptive statistics, the author elicited the students’ descriptions of their learning experiences. Major findings in this study were that all students described great benefits from the experience, negative effects were minor, and key factors contributing to success were work ethic, motivation, parents and …