Learning from International Research Informs Academic Acceleration in Australasia: A Case for Consistent Policy

Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik; Susan G. Assouline; Cara Wienkes; Ann Easter

doi:10.1007/978-981-13-3021-6_6-1

Pressey’s definition of academic acceleration, ‘progress through an educational program at rates faster or at ages younger than conventional’ (Educational acceleration: appraisals and basic problems. Bureau of Educational Research monographs, no 31. Ohio State University Press, Columbus, 1949, p. 2), although situated in an American context, has served the worldwide gifted education community for several decades. The simplicity of the definition belies the complexity of implementing the intervention in schools anywhere in the world. Furthermore, the robustness of the research supporting academic acceleration as an intervention that has strong positive effects across the academic, psychological and social-emotional realms (Rogers, The academic, socialization, and psychological effects of acceleration: research synthesis. In: Assouline SG, Colangelo N, VanTassel-Baska J, Lupkowski-Shoplik A (eds) A nation empowered: evidence trumps the excuses holding back America’s brightest students, vol 2. The University of Iowa, The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, Iowa City, pp 19–29, 2015) has not translated to full acceptance of the intervention. These paradoxes provided the impetus for Colangelo, Assouline and Gross (A nation deceived: How schools hold back America’s brightest students, vol 1. The University of Iowa, The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, Iowa City, 2004a; A nation deceived: how schools hold back America’s brightest students, vol 2. The University of Iowa, The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, Iowa City, 2004b) to produce the two-volume report A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students and for Assouline, Colangelo and VanTassel-Baska (A nation empowered: evidence trumps the excuses holding back America’s brightest students, vol 1. The University of Iowa, The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, Iowa City, 2015) and Assouline, Colangelo, VanTassel-Baska and Lupkowski-Shoplik (A nation empowered: evidence trumps the excuses holding back America’s brightest students, vol 2. The University of Iowa, The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, Iowa City, 2015) to update the Colangelo et al. publications with the two-volume publication A Nation Empowered: How Evidence Trumps Beliefs Holding Back America’s Brightest Students. This chapter reviews some of the 20 types of acceleration as described by Southern and Jones (Types of acceleration: dimensions and issues. In: Assouline SG, Colangelo N, VanTassel-Baska J, Lupkowski-Shoplik A (eds) A nation empowered: evidence trumps the excuses holding back America’s brightest students, vol 2. The University of Iowa, The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, Iowa City, pp 9–18, 2015) and addresses the advantages for talent development when implementing acceleration as well as the consequences when withholding accelerative opportunities from students who are ready for a faster pace and greater depth of content. We discuss academic acceleration as practised in Australasia within the context of cultural values specific to Australia and New Zealand. We present three applications of acceleration and discuss implications for bridging the current divide between university-based research (Assouline et al., A nation empowered: evidence trumps the excuses holding back America’s brightest students, vol 2. The University of Iowa, The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, Iowa City, 2015) and school-based practice and policy.

Learning from International Research Informs Academic Acceleration in Australasia: A Case for Consistent Policy

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