ABSTRACT A growing body of international research has highlighted the importance of students studying mathematics at an advanced level. In Ireland, the subject has been assigned a special status with the introduction of an education policy called the Bonus Points Initiative (BPI) in 2012. Students are now awarded an extra 25 points in their final State examination results if they achieve ≥40% in advanced/Higher Level (HL) mathematics. This incentive has had a noticeable impact and the numbers opting for HL mathematics in the final State examination have increased from 15.8% in 2011 to 32.9% in 2019. While this is undoubtedly a positive development, there has been little research about any knock-on effects regarding the teaching and learning of the subject. This article examines HL mathematics teachers’ (n = 266) perceptions of the BPI. The findings reveal many mixed opinions with more teachers (46%) agreeing with the initiative than disagreeing (27%), recognizing advantages such as increasing numbers and rewarding students. However, issues perceived by teachers such as questionable student motivation and the negative impact on the pace of lessons appear to be key reasons for a majority of teachers recommending a review (56%) or discontinuation (23%) of the initiative.

中文翻译：

---

有道理吗？教师对激励高等数学学习的政策的看法

摘要 越来越多的国际研究强调了学生学习高级数学的重要性。在爱尔兰，随着 2012 年推出一项名为奖励积分计划 (BPI) 的教育政策，该学科被赋予了特殊地位。 如果学生在最终国家考试成绩中达到 40% 以上，现在他们将获得额外的 25 分。高级/高级 (HL) 数学。这一激励措施产生了显着影响，在国家期末考试中选择 HL 数学的人数从 2011 年的 15.8% 增加到 2019 年的 32.9%。 虽然这无疑是一个积极的发展，但几乎没有关于任何连锁反应的研究对学科教学和学习的影响。本文考察了 HL 数学教师 (n = 266) 对 BPI 的看法。调查结果显示了许多不同的意见，同意该倡议的教师 (46%) 多于不同意的教师 (27%)，认识到诸如增加数量和奖励学生等优势。然而，教师认为有问题的学生动机和对课程进度的负面影响等问题似乎是大多数教师建议审查 (56%) 或停止 (23%) 计划的关键原因。