Malaysian teachers’ perceptions on teaching early mathematics

ABSTRACT

Teachers’ perceptions of their teaching and learning activities are critical, especially given that the Malaysian preschool curriculum has undergone multiple revisions recently. The purpose of this study was to measure Malaysian teachers’ perceptions on teaching early mathematics. The study aimed to assess teachers’ perception of six constructs, namely, (1) knowledge about early mathematics, (2) readiness to involve in the early mathematics, (3) understanding of the importance of early mathematics, (4) past experience in mathematics, (5) attitudes towards early mathematics, and (6) importance of knowledge about teaching early mathematics. This study gauged the 76 Malaysian preschool teachers using a set of questionnaire. As this research discovered, the teachers in this study believed that they knew about early mathematics, were eager to get involved in early mathematics activities at preschool, understood the importance of Mathematics literacy, were positively disposed towards it, and considered mathematical knowledge regarding preschoolers to be critically valued.

KEYWORDS:

• numeracy
• preschool
• early education
• number sense
• teacher perspectives

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research project was funded by Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia under Exploratory Research Grant Scheme (ERGS) in USM [grant number 203/PGURU/6730128].