Pre-schoolers’ symbolic learning of mathematics : a description of 4-5 year-olds’ mathematical concept knowledge

M.Ed. (Education)Abstract: When children start their engagement with symbolic learning, they lay the foundations for future learning. Engaging with the world though mathematical symbols and concomitant linguistic symbols is no mean feat. Learning to ‘make their world mathematical’ is a human activity that is guided by instruction and clear communication. This is the central premise of the study – that children have not only innate number sense, but that they are also innately responsive to their environment. I thus set out to find out how a group of pre-schoolers expressed their learning of the mathematical world. This early manifestation of getting to know the world mathematically is too often underestimated in studies of learning in the early years, specifically when children are being prepared for formal education. Added to that, education curriculum development is currently the focal point in early childhood development in South Africa. In the study, I posit that the curriculum still lacks focused and direct practical assessments that are needed to optimise the programme, specifically in the development of early number concepts. I argue that young children in the pre-Grade R classes should have access to a variety of mathematical concept development activities, in an environment that allows for learning through play. This optimal learning environment is often not available for many children in South Africa. I thus approached the study with a central research question: How do children in the pre-Grade R classroom respond to a set of tasks that aims to elicit descriptions of their mathematical concept knowledge? I wanted to investigate if there is a relationship between children’s number concepts, specifically their recognition of mathematical symbols (such as digits/numerals), and their counting competence. I wondered how children respond to object classification and pattern identification tasks and what role language plays in children’s basic number concept development. To this end, customised lab tasks were developed for a sample of young children. This was done to gain insight into some of the..