Early Childhood (0–4 yrs) Practitioners’ Views on How Children Learn Mathematics

Nosisi Feza
(Human Sciences Research Council, Durban, South Africa)

Abstract: This paper highlights the varied understandings of practitioners of young children on how young children learn mathematics. Therefore argues for interventions that highlight mathematics curriculum for young children and bring forth the latest debate on young children’s ways of learning mathematics. Literature supports this argument by highlighting children’s innate mathematics abilities as early as 6 months old. These abilities begin to vary as they are nurtured or impeded by the environment the child is exposed to. Stimulation varies in an inequitable society like South Africa hence such big gaps in mathematics performance of students. Nineteen questionnaires of practitioners from pre-schools across socio economic backgrounds were analysed using excel spread sheet for frequencies and thematic approach for qualitative data. The findings reveal that most practitioners believe that young children need to be exposed early on mathematics learning. This belief is supported by a sound knowledge of mathematics knowledge for young children and challenged by lack of this knowledge. Whereas few practitioners believe that young children are not ready for mathematics. Practitioners from affluent ECD centers show sound knowledge of number compared to their counterparts from disadvantaged communities. However, knowledge of shapes challenges all groups regardless of their background. Discovery learning and mediated learning are pedagogical approaches selected by practitioners, the latter being a preference of practitioners from disadvantaged ECD centres and the first option from affluent centres.

Key words: young children, conceptual knowledge, misconceptions, beliefs, practitioners, mediated learning, discovery learning