by Susan Gunnewig
Posted on: February 12, 2010 at 10:30 AM
As we reported in late July, the National Research Council introduced a rigorous study into early childhood mathematics to the nation. This report entitled, Mathematics Learning in Early Childhood, presents a sobering look at math instruction or the lack of math instruction in early childhood. Some of the committee members who wrote this report participated in a February 1, 2010 event on Capitol Hill. Dr. Doug Clements, Dr. Heidi Schweingruber and Henry Kepner explained some of the findings. “According to the study, 60 percent of 3 year-olds receive no math instruction at all, even though young children can be very competent with certain math concepts at an early age. Children in low-socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds are more vulnerable because they receive less exposure to math from parents at home.
Alice Starkey and Prentice Klein from the University of California, Berkeley have informed the nation through their rigorous studies that preschool children in a program receive about 3 minutes per day on average vs. their peers in China who receive 30 minutes per day. In the Starkey/Klein study they looked at programs in both countries who served children from low SES.
I am pleased that early childhood mathematics is receiving national attention!
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