A comparative study investigating the use of manipulatives at the transition from primary to post-primary education

Abstract

The transition from primary to post-primary education is considered the most difficult of all educational transitions, with negative effects more pronounced for mathematics. One factor affecting the fluidity of transition is discontinuities in pedagogical approaches. This study investigates one pedagogical approach, the use of manipulatives, to identify if discontinuities exist in their usage between primary and post-primary mathematics education. A questionnaire was distributed to teachers teaching students in their final year of primary school and teachers teaching mathematics to first-year students in post-primary school. Results reveal disparities in teachers’ responses. A significantly larger proportion of primary teachers report using manipulatives in three or more lessons per week than their post-primary colleagues. This shows a discontinuity in the educational experiences of students which contributes to ineffective transition. Reasons for the existence of this discontinuity were identified. Teachers’ confidence levels and the perceived usefulness of manipulatives may account for greater use of manipulatives at primary level but this study found that these reasons stemmed from the lack of training available to post-primary mathematics teachers. A large number of primary teachers reported receiving training in the use of manipulatives but for post-primary teachers this training, consisted of ‘one lecture on algitiles’, at best.

KEYWORDS:

• Manipulatives
• transition
• mathematics education
• teacher education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 In Ireland, secondary schools are privately owned and managed. They are under the trusteeship of religious communities, boards of governors or individuals. Vocational schools are owned and run by local Education Training Boards while vocational and community schools are managed by boards of management which are representative of local interests. The schools are financed entirely by the Department of Education and Skills.

2 The scale used was 1 = Strongly Disagree; 2 = Disagree; 3 = Neutral; 4 = Agree; 5 = Strongly Agree.

3 The authors are currently further investigating these factors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Institute for Studies in Education.