Under threes’ mathematical learning

Abstract

The article focuses on mathematics for toddlers in preschool, with the aim of challenging a strong learning discourse that mainly focuses on cognitive learning. By devoting more attention to other perspectives on learning, the hope is to better promote children's early mathematical development. Sweden is one of few countries to have a curriculum for preschool, which includes a provision of promoting children's mathematical learning. What then might mathematics be to these young children? The article is based on a pilot study in which 13 one- to three-year-old preschool children were observed in play situations. The results show that children often use their bodies as a tool for understanding mathematical concepts. These results are interesting as the body has been virtually invisible in previous research on toddlers and mathematics. The results have been analysed with inspiration from theories that open up for new ways of understanding the learning subject.

Keyword:

• preschool
• toddlers
• mathematics
• children's perspective
• bodily learning

Notes

1. Barad uses the concept intra-act in order to describe the relation between matter and humans.