Students' negative affective performance in mathematics learning is a global problem, and the situation is especially challenging in high-achieving East Asian countries. Taiwan's Just Do Math (JDM) program was launched to resolve this problem and to serve as an example of successful scaling up with regard to implementation of innovation. We…

The eight chapters of this theme issue use quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the nature and nurture of young participants in the mathematics Olympiad from five countries. Parallel studies are presented of winners from China, Taiwan, and the United States, along with descriptions of programs in Japan and Russia. (SLD)