Children Thinking Mathematically Beyond Authoritative Identities

A study into the mathematics-related interactions and developing attitudes of young children during the transition period between pre-school and school is reported. Tra1lscripts of interactions during a six-week observation period in one of two pre-school sites are coded according to the classifications defined within a theoretical framework. Two separate episodes of construction play were analysed and one of these is used to examine the mathematical nature of the children's interactions within an emerging model of autonomous learning. The results of the analysis indicate that access to self-regulatory social relations is very closely linked to the accessibility of mathematical meanings