

The Risks and Benefits of Teaching Purely Functional Programming in First Year [PS]  - polar
http://www.informatik.uni-kiel.de/~mh/publications/reports/fdpe02/papers/paper15.ps.gz

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bayareaguy
Their conclusion:

We found it advantageous to avoid techniques specific to functional
programming, such as extensive use of higher-order functions, and instead
focus on the aims of

(1) conveying elementary techniques of programming,

(2) introduction of essential concepts of computing, and

(3) fostering the development of analytic thinking and problem solving skills

