The understanding of numeration in primary school

Abstract

This article presents results of a research project concerned with primary level pupils' understanding of numeration. The two main objectives of this research were to clarify the notion of numeration and to make explicit, as much as possible, what an understanding of this concept implies. We were also concerned, not to limit ourselves to only a theoretical study, but to make our research results usable by teachers. We shall provide a detailed analysis of the theoretical framework that specifies the concept of numeration in a much wider sense than is usually encountered in primary-school mathematics (discussed in Part A). According to this analysis we will describe the reference framework (Part B) that can be used for purposes of learning and evaluation of the numeration concept. In order to make the understanding of numeration by children more explicit, the research in 1979 focussed its activities on the construction of ‘structured items’ which we then administered in interviews to 160 children from the ages of 6 to 10. A description of these items and the administration details will be presented (Part C) and an analysis of a few item's results will be given (Part D). In the conclusion, we examine the findings with a view to searching for practical teaching principles for numeration and for future research orientations.