Children with an inclination for mathematical giftedness in early primary school education

Abstract

This article presents a fragment of a much larger research project set up to monitor the educational path of children with an aptitude for mathematics at the very earliest stages of education. The study had a diagnostic character and involved 73 mathematically promising children, chosen out of 299 children examined throughout the course of a screening process carried out in the last stage of pre-school education. The research was conducted in a natural educational environment. The longitudinal study analysed pupils’ skills and mathematical knowledge, along with mental traits manifesting their inclination for mathematical giftedness and the way children function within the particular framework of mathematical education. The outcomes of the research suggest that there are many mathematically gifted children and that an inclination for mathematical giftedness can be effectively identified already in kindergartners. Unfortunately, the research also reveals that many of the children who demonstrate mathematical giftedness in kindergarten cease to do so after the first several months of primary school. What is more, the study results show that many of the teachers examined have a routine and inflexible approach to teaching mathematics. Even though the way children function in the school environment changes throughout the course of school socialization, most teachers remain unchanged in their teaching styles. All of the children, including the talented ones, need an inspiring environment to provide an adequate level of competition to foster their needs and outstanding potential. This article is intended to present the ways in which the educational environment may contribute to accelerating or halting children’s development in this field.