Teachers’ perceptions of early math concepts learned from unit blocks: A cross-cultural comparison

ABSTRACT

This article reports and compares results from an interview study of early childhood teachers in the U.S. and Hong Kong, with a focus on the math outcomes that children may gain from play with unit blocks. Teachers were interviewed to obtain their ideas of the benefits of unit block play in three focal areas: geometry, measurement, and numeracy. Hong Kong teachers contributed significantly more unique ideas than did U.S. teachers in both numeracy and in general math processes, and in the overall number of different math-related ideas. No significant differences between teachers were found in ideas about the benefits of unit blocks for learning in geometry or measurement. Cultural comparisons of teacher knowledge with respect to a wider array of the mathematical concepts that children learn from unit block play may increase our understanding of math knowledge that teachers need in order to facilitate math learning from block play.

KEYWORDS:

• Cross-cultural comparison
• early childhood teachers
• early math
• perceptions
• unit blocks

Acknowledgment

We thank reviewers’ constructive feedback. We also thank all participants who provided insight and our research assistants who helped collect data.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Wu-Ying Hsieh, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Special Education at the University of Hong Kong. Her research interests centre on early childhood/special education teacher education, inclusive education, and early literacy/math teaching and learning.

Jeanette A. McCollum, Ph.D., is a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has provided state and national leadership related to the preparation of early intervention and preschool personnel. Application of concepts and practices across children and families from different cultures is embedded throughout her work.

Additional information

Funding

This work was partially supported by the University of Hong Kong under Grant No. 201405159007 to develop instruments for a General Research Fund project.