The Level of 7- and 8-Years Old Children Understanding of the Place Value Concept

Place value concept that learns especially in primary school ages is also the basis of many issues students will encounter throughout their learning lives. This research aims to developmentally determine understanding of the place value concept in early childhood. The model of research is a case study from qualitative research methods. The study group consists of 171 children (84 at the age of 7 and 87 at the age of 8) who study in three different public schools in January, in the 2020-2021 academic year in Ankara, Turkey, selected by criteria sampling from purposeful sampling methods. As a data collection tool, “place value worksheets” consisting of 25 questions developed by researchers were used. Data was collected online by classroom teachers through “EBA”. The content analysis method was used in the analysis of the data. Looking at the research results, it was observed that children gave meaning to the place value concept in seven categories. It was seen that seven years olds reached the lowest correct answer rate in the code "the ability to express the number whose resolution is given in terms of ones" in the category of "the ability to resolve". It was concluded that "the ability to write numbers between two numbers" code in "the ability to compare" category has the lowest correct response rate for eight years old children. Lower levels of seven years old student's understanding of the place value concept suggest that students' readiness levels are not sufficient at this age.