Maths in Early Childhood Education: An Analysis of Teachers’ Beliefs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37134/saecj.vol14.2.2.2025Keywords:
Maths, Early years, Learning, Teaching, CurriculumAbstract
Maths starts with children’s first experiences of their world with understanding spatial relations, and then continues with their experiences to extend their learning. The learning process starts before formal education and moves along with school learning. As the first stage of formal learning, early years and early years teachers play an important role in learning outcomes. Such learning outcomes are shaped by teachers’ beliefs during mathematical activities. Therefore, a mathematical beliefs survey was used to collect data from early years educators, and data was collected from 148 early years teachers and practitioners. The research indicated that although early childhood educators generally appreciate the importance of mathematics in early childhood education, their attitudes and practices differ, in particular about the timing and methods of introducing maths and the educator’s role in facilitating learning. The responses were considered in terms of policy and practices with detailed analysis where appropriate to explore the trends. As a result, the experiences of teachers played a role in practicing experience-based learning opportunities for children as it is expected by the curriculum.
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