Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Discerning and Supporting the Development of Mathematical Fundamentals in Early Years

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Engaging Families as Children's First Mathematics Educators

Part of the book series: Early Mathematics Learning and Development ((EMLD))

Abstract

A large body of research shows that young children have abilities to discern small amounts and changes in quantities, and reason about mathematical relationships they encounter in everyday situations. How these early abilities are allowed to develop is contingent on the child’s network of social interaction and how mathematical notions and principles are introduced and made sense of in mutual activities. Key insights from educational theories contribute with a basis for how to provide ample opportunities and support for the child to discern important principles (relationships and distinctions) of a mathematical nature, particularly how to communicate with children in a developmental way. In this chapter, we analyse a number of everyday activities with a child in his home environment during his first 6 years of life. These observations allow us to illustrate how mundane activities can provide the basis for gaining access to, and supporting the further development of a child’s mathematical abilities in interaction with adults and peer.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aunio, P., Aubrey, C., Godfrey, R., Pand, Y., & Liud, Y. (2008). Children’s early numeracy in England, Finland and People’s Republic of China. International Journal of Early Years Education, 16(3), 203–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnhart, R. K. (Ed.). (2000). Chambers dictionary of etymology. Edinburgh: Chambers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Björklund, C. (2007). Hållpunkter för lärande. Småbarns möten med matematik [Critical conditions of learning – toddlers encountering mathematics, in Swedish]. (Diss.) Åbo: Åbo Akademi University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Björklund, C. (2010). Broadening the horizon—toddlers’ strategies for learning mathematics. International Journal of Early Years Education, 18(1), 71–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Björklund, C., & Pramling, N. (2014). Pattern discernment and pseudo-conceptual development in early childhood mathematics education. International Journal of Early Years Education, 22(1), 89–104. doi:10.1080/09669760.2013.809657

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dahlgren, G., & Olsson, L. E. (1985). Läsning i barnperspektiv [The child’s conception of reading]. Göteborg Studies in Educational Sciences. Göteborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daniels, H., Cole, M., & Wertsch, J. V. (Eds.). (2007). The Cambridge companion to Vygotsky. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dewey, J. (1916/2008). The collected works of John Dewey, 1882–1953. In J.A. Boydston (Ed.), The middle works, 1899–1924, (Vol 9). Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doverborg, E., & Pramling Samuelsson, I. (2000). To develop young children’s conception of numbers. Early Child Development and Care, 162, 81–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dowker, A. (2005). Individual differences in arithmetic. Implications for psychology, neuroscience and education. New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuson, K. (1992). Relationships between counting and cardinality from age 2 to age 8. In J. Bideaud, C. Meljac, & J.-P. Fischer (Eds.), Pathways to number: Children’s developing numerical abilities (pp. 127–150). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelman, R., & Gallistel, C. (1978). The child’s understanding of number. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray, E., & Tall, D. (1994). Duality, ambiguity, and flexibility: A “proceptual” view of simple arithmetic. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 25, 116–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunting, R. P. (2003). Part-whole number knowledge in preschool children. Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 22, 217–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ivarsson, J. (2003). Kids in Zen: Computer-supported learning environments and illusory intersubjectivity. Education, Communication and Information, 3, 383–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lipton, J., & Spelke, E. (2003). Origins of number sense: Large-number discrimination in human infants. Psychological Science, 14, 396–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ljung-Djärf, A., Holmqvist Olander, M., & Wennås Brante, E. (2013). Patterns of variation: A way to support and challenge early childhood learning? Concluding reflections from learning study projects conducted in Swedish early childhood education. Creative Education, 4, 33–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magnusson, M., & Pramling, N. (2011). Signs of knowledge: The appropriation of a symbolic skill in a 5-year-old. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 19, 357–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mandler, G., & Shebo, B. (1982). Subitizing: An analysis of its component processes. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 111, 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marton, F. (2015). Necessary conditions of learning. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marton, F., & Neuman, D. (1996). Phenomenography and children’s experience of division. In L. P. Steffe, P. Nesher, P. Cobb, G. A. Goldin, & B. Greer (Eds.), Theories of mathematical learning (pp. 315–334). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marton, F., & Tsui, A. B. M. (Eds.). (2004). Classroom discourse and the space of learning. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCrink, K., & Wynn, K. (2004). Large-number addition and subtraction by 9-month-old infants. Psychological Science, 15, 776–781.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piaget, J. (1952). The child’s conception of number. New York: W.W. Norton and Company Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pramling, I. (1996). Understanding and empowering the child as a learner. In D. R. Olson & N. Torrance (Eds.), The handbook of education and human development: New models of learning, teaching and schooling (pp. 565–592). Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pramling, N., & Pramling Samuelsson, I. (2010). Evolving activities and semiotic mediation in teacher–child interaction around simple objects. Educational and Child Psychology, 27(4), 22–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pramling, N., & Pramling Samuelsson, I. (Eds.). (2011). Educational encounters: Nordic studies in early childhood didactics. Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pramling, N., & Säljö, R. (2015). The clinical interview: The child as a partner in conversations versus the child as an object of research. In S. Robson & S. F. Quinn (Eds.), International handbook of young children’s thinking and understanding (pp. 87–95). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reis, M. (2011). Att ordna, från ordning till ordning. Yngre förskolebarns matematiserande [To order, from order to order. Toddlers’ mathematizing, in Swedish] (Diss.). Göteborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sommer, D., Pramling Samuelsson, I., & Hundeide, K. (2010). Child perspectives and children’s perspectives in theory and practice. New York: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Starkey, P., Spelke, E., & Gelman, R. (1990). Numerical abstraction by human infants. Cognition, 36, 97–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tomasello, M. (1999). The cultural origins of human cognition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1987). The collected works of L.S. Vygotsky: Volume 1. Problems of General Psychology, Including the Volume Thinking and Speech (R. W. Rieber, & A. S. Carton, Eds., Minick, N. Trans.). New York, NY: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1998). The collected works of L.S. Vygotsky: Volume 5. Child psychology (R. W. Rieber, Ed., Hall, M. J. Trans.). New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells, G., & Arauz, R. M. (2006). Dialogue in the classroom. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 15, 379–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wertsch, J. V. (2007). Mediation. In H. Daniels, M. Cole, & J. V. Wertsch (Eds.), The Cambridge companion to Vygotsky (pp. 178–192). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Wynn, K. (1998). Numerical competence in infants. In C. Donlan (Ed.), The development of mathematical skills. Hove: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wynn, K., & Chiang, W.-C. (1998). Limits to infants’ knowledge of objects: The case of magical appearance. Psychological Science, 9, 448–455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Gothenburg, 405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Camilla Björklund & Niklas Pramling

Authors
  1. Camilla Björklund
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Niklas Pramling
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Camilla Björklund .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

    Sivanes Phillipson

  2. Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

    Ann Gervasoni

  3. Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

    Peter Sullivan

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Björklund, C., Pramling, N. (2017). Discerning and Supporting the Development of Mathematical Fundamentals in Early Years. In: Phillipson, S., Gervasoni, A., Sullivan, P. (eds) Engaging Families as Children's First Mathematics Educators. Early Mathematics Learning and Development. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2553-2_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2553-2_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-2551-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-2553-2

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation