Abstract

This paper focuses on an experimental study that investigated whether gifted pupils in primary schools could master an enriched advanced level curriculum in mathematics using self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies. A mathematics curriculum was specifically developed for class five primary school learners in Nigeria to conduct this experiment. Traditional direct teaching methods were used to teach the thirty pupils in the control group. In contrast, the thirty pupils in the experimental group used SRL as an instructional strategy. However, both groups of pupils were exposed to the same content of the mathematics enrichment programme. This curriculum was enriched and accelerated to satisfy their specific cognitive needs. Pupils in both the experimental group and the control group had to complete a pretest, problem-solving exercises and a posttest as a requirement of this research. The empirical results strongly suggest that gifted pupils in primary five are capable of self-regulating their own learning through self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and self-reinforcement. The empirical results also indicate that there is a significant relationship between self-regulated learning by gifted learners and an enriched advanced level differentiated curriculum. These empirical findings support the use of SRL processes of metacognition, motivation, and creativity as realistic alternatives to the present common core curriculum for gifted pupils in the mainstream of education. This study also addressed a key concern regarding the lack of training of primary school teachers in gifted education. Hence, the findings of this study could have significant implications for the future direction of gifted primary school education as well as teacher education.