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Education Sciences
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Early Mathematics Education with a Focus on the Teacher and...
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Early Mathematics Education with a Focus on the Teacher and the Teaching

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102). This special issue belongs to the section "Early Childhood Education".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 May 2025) | Viewed by 1746

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Hanna Palmér

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mathematics, Linnaeus University, 35195 Växjö, Sweden
Interests: early mathematics; teacher education; problem solving; digital technology
Prof. Dr. Camilla Björklund

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Education, Communication and Learning, University of Gothenburg, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
Interests: mathematics learning and teaching in the early years; teachers’ professional pedagogical development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Presently, in research, there is a solid view that early mathematics is important for children’s development in general and mathematical learning in particular. At the same time, there are diverse views on how young children should be taught mathematics and whether the word teaching is to be used at all in connection to early childhood mathematics education. These diverse views on teaching in early childhood mathematics education become even more diverse when the question as to whether teaching is to be integrated with or separated from children’s play is added.

Thus, even though today there is a solid view on the importance of early childhood mathematics education, there is a diverse view on how this education is to be realized. On the one hand, there is a large body of research offering quite a good understanding of the trajectory of children developing mathematical knowledge; on the other hand, few studies focus on how this development can be facilitated or how the teaching of mathematics can be made meaningful for the children in both a mathematical and a child-responsive sense.

In this Special Issue, we direct attention to these issues and to what becomes critical in early mathematics education, with a special focus on the teacher and the interactions between the teacher, the children, and the mathematical content. The aim is to contribute scientific knowledge of how to conduct early mathematics education.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Teaching interventions in early mathematics;
  • Literature reviews on teaching in early mathematics;
  • Cross-national studies on early mathematics education;
  • Surveys on connections between teaching and learning in early mathematics education.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Hanna Palmér
Prof. Dr. Camilla Björklund
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • early mathematics
  • preschool mathematics
  • preschool teacher
  • mathematising
  • teaching interventions

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 1673 KiB  
Article
Prospective Teachers’ Views on Mathematics Education Curriculum Transformation in Preschool in Latvia
by Dagnija Vigule and Ineta Helmane
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(8), 1057; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15081057 - 18 Aug 2025
Abstract
The recent reform of the preschool curriculum in Latvia signifies a paradigm shift with the objective of fostering holistic skill development. The success of this implementation is largely attributed to the pivotal role played by teacher perspectives. The present study investigates the views [...] Read more.
The recent reform of the preschool curriculum in Latvia signifies a paradigm shift with the objective of fostering holistic skill development. The success of this implementation is largely attributed to the pivotal role played by teacher perspectives. The present study investigates the views of pre-service early childhood teachers in Latvia on the transformation of the preschool mathematics education curriculum following the reform in 2019. A descriptive research design was employed, involving 54 focus group discussions with 271 part-time students from the University of Latvia and its regional branches. During the focus group discussions, participants analyzed and compared the changes in aims, content, assessment practices, and instructional strategies in mathematics education at the preschool level across mathematics curricula. The findings indicate an increasing appreciation for clarity in instruction, age-appropriate design, and the shift towards interactive, skills-based strategies. While prospective teachers generally support the aim of the reform, there are evident gaps in their understanding of formative assessment, integration of parental involvement, and promotion of higher-order thinking and real-life problem-solving. The study emphasizes the significance of enhancing teacher training, curriculum design, and educational policy to facilitate effective and meaningful implementation of the revised mathematics curriculum in preschool contexts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Early Mathematics Education with a Focus on the Teacher and the Teaching)
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16 pages, 284 KiB  
Article
An Exploratory Cross-Country Study on Italian and Swedish Preschool Teachers’ Role in Supporting Children’s Mathematising During Play
by Benita Berg, Ester Catucci, Laura Leonardi and Karin Franzén
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(8), 1043; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15081043 - 14 Aug 2025
Viewed by 177
Abstract
This study examines how preschool teachers reflect on their role in challenging children’s mathematical thinking in play. The study was conducted with participants in Italy and Sweden, and data were collected through focus group discussions. We use Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and the [...] Read more.
This study examines how preschool teachers reflect on their role in challenging children’s mathematical thinking in play. The study was conducted with participants in Italy and Sweden, and data were collected through focus group discussions. We use Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and the concept of didactic sensitivity to understand how preschool teachers describe their support of mathematical thinking in children’s play and how they interact in play to promote mathematics learning. The findings show that teachers from both focus groups notice, interpret, and improve mathematical content in children’s play. They outline their role in supporting mathematisation during play situations, for instance, by describing mathematical concepts and providing the children with resources. However, the findings show differences and tensions in how teachers perceive their role in children’s play, with Italian teachers highlighting the importance of children’s autonomy and Swedish teachers stressing the importance of being facilitators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Early Mathematics Education with a Focus on the Teacher and the Teaching)
16 pages, 532 KiB  
Article
A Play-Responsive Approach to Teaching Mathematics in Preschool, with a Focus on Representations
by Maria Lundvin and Hanna Palmér
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(8), 999; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15080999 - 5 Aug 2025
Viewed by 351
Abstract
This article reports on a Swedish study investigating how children aged 2–3 years experience mathematical concepts through representations in play-responsive teaching. Drawing on the semiotic–cultural theory of learning, this study examines how representations, such as spoken language, bodily action, and artifacts, are mediated. [...] Read more.
This article reports on a Swedish study investigating how children aged 2–3 years experience mathematical concepts through representations in play-responsive teaching. Drawing on the semiotic–cultural theory of learning, this study examines how representations, such as spoken language, bodily action, and artifacts, are mediated. Video-recorded teaching sessions are analyzed to identify semiotic means of objectification and semiotic nodes at which these representations converge. The analysis distinguishes between children encountering concepts expressed by others and expressing concepts themselves. The results indicate that play-responsive teaching creates varied opportunities for experiencing mathematical concepts, with distinct modes of sensuous cognition linked to whether a concept is encountered or expressed. This study underscores the role of teachers’ choices in shaping these experiences and highlights bodily action as a significant form of representation. These findings aim to inform the use of representations in teaching mathematics to the youngest children in preschool. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Early Mathematics Education with a Focus on the Teacher and the Teaching)
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16 pages, 2592 KiB  
Article
Finger Patterns as a Tool for Teaching and Learning About Number Relations Exceeding 10 in the Many Hands Activity
by Anna-Lena Ekdahl and Angelika Kullberg
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(8), 968; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15080968 - 28 Jul 2025
Viewed by 284
Abstract
In this study, we investigate the learning opportunities offered in the enactment of a finger pattern activity with numbers exceeding 10 that shows how smaller units can be composed into larger units. Research on early arithmetic learning shows the importance of students understanding [...] Read more.
In this study, we investigate the learning opportunities offered in the enactment of a finger pattern activity with numbers exceeding 10 that shows how smaller units can be composed into larger units. Research on early arithmetic learning shows the importance of students understanding numbers as composed units and making use of arithmetic strategies that are based on unitizing rather than single-unit counting. The Many Hands activity was enacted in an intervention program focusing on 6-year-olds’ learning of structuring numbers and number relations during one school year, conducted in collaboration with teachers. The activity, with numbers exceeding 10, was enacted at the end of the program. Video observations of 19 teaching episodes in which the activity was used were analyzed using the variation theory of learning. The analysis focused on identifying which aspects of numbers were made visible for students to discern and how finger patterns became a tool for structuring numbers and number relations. Five aspects were made visible in the enactments of the Many Hands activity: (i) small numbers as composed units; (ii) units within units; (iii) units within units and new, larger units; (iv) relationships between units in the number system; and (v) place value. In 12 of the 19 episodes, the teacher or the students used their fingers to show and see the structure of numbers in relation to the identified aspects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Early Mathematics Education with a Focus on the Teacher and the Teaching)
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17 pages, 1105 KiB  
Systematic Review
Teaching and Learning of Time in Early Mathematics Education: A Systematic Literature Review
by Jorryt van Bommel and Maria Walla
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(8), 1003; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15081003 - 6 Aug 2025
Viewed by 232
Abstract
This systematic literature review investigates how the concept of time is taught and learned in early mathematics education. While young children are commonly expected to learn how to tell time, this review explores what additional aspects should be emphasised to foster a deeper [...] Read more.
This systematic literature review investigates how the concept of time is taught and learned in early mathematics education. While young children are commonly expected to learn how to tell time, this review explores what additional aspects should be emphasised to foster a deeper and more sustainable understanding of time. Using the EBSCO database, 36 relevant articles published up to December 2024 were identified. To cover different aspects related to the teaching and learning of time, peer-reviewed scientific articles as well as practice-based reports were included in the search. A majority of the articles focused on clock reading as an aspect of time. The aspects duration, sequencing, and measurement of time also frequently appeared whereas expressions of time, or cross-disciplinary aspects were seldom mentioned. Drawing on the findings, this review proposes a comprehensive framework outlining key aspects that should be included in early mathematics education to support the teaching and learning of time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Early Mathematics Education with a Focus on the Teacher and the Teaching)
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