Parallel Session Proceedings »
3.3.2 Teachers' Views on Acceleration
Acceleration is an educational intervention based on progress through an educational program at rates faster or at ages younger than typical (Pressey, 1949). It is considered to be one of the most effective and applicable interventions in gifted education. Despite extensive reviews that fail to document harm from academic acceleration (see Kulik, 2004; Steenbergen-Hu & Moon, 2011), many educators or families still reluctant to employ such educational techniques or hold wrong beliefs about it. Thus, it is important to understand what teachers’ think about acceleration before expecting them to imply the intervention. This is extremely important in Turkey’s case because acceleration in gifted education is a neglected topic in Turkey and analysis of the current situation can present insights for authorities. In order to reach this aim, an online survey was developed. The survey has 25 items from social, emotional, physical and cognitive domains that are developed in accordance with the related literature. Before data collection, expert opinions were taken and a pilot study was done regarding the survey. This study has a descriptive research methodology and the participants are being recruited via web-based tools like emails or social media invitations from different cities in the country. Data collection is scheduled to end in February 2019. The data derived from the study will be analyzed using appropriate statistical techniques and implications for the gifted education will be discussed.