Young children's acquisition of mathematical knowledge and mathematics education in kindergarten

To examine teachers' and children's classroom behaviors related to mathematics teaching and learning in kindergartens, the time-sampling method was used to study thirty kindergarten teachers and children in their classes. Relations between developmental appropriateness scores and behaviors observed in mathematics teaching and learning were examined. Results indicated that mathematics teaching and learning were integrated with other learning activities in kindergarten. Teachers spent about one-fourth of their classroom time teaching mathematics-related activities, and children in their classes spent about one-third of their classroom time engaged in such activities. Although the use of higher cognitive distancing was less infrequent than use of low cognitive distancing across all learning activities, teachers used higher cognitive distancing during a greater proportion of mathematics teaching time than of time spent teaching nonmathematics-related activities. Children's responses to cognitive distancing reflected teachers' teaching strategies in that children spent a higher percentage of mathematics learning time than nonmathematics-related learning time responding to higher cognitive distancing. Results suggest that, to some degree, the kindergarten teachers followed the NAEYC guidelines for developmentally appropriate practices and the NCTM school mathematics standards in their classroom practices and mathematics teaching. Introduction Current concerns about kindergarten focus on the developmental appropriateness of what is taught as well as how it is being taught. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has recommended developmentally appropriate practices across the