Development of a framework to assess preschool children’s numeracy

Abstract

Children numeracy refers to the ability to do basic arithmetic operations, understanding the simple mathematical ideas and applying the knowledge and skills in mathematics in daily life. It requires an understanding of the ability to process, interpret and communicate numerical in ways that are appropriate for a variety context. This paper will discuss research that was undertaken with the primary purpose of developing the children’s numeracy framework in the following components: comparison, classification, one-to-one correspondence and seriation. The framework was developed based on the existing framework from other researchers and modified to suit with Malaysian preschool curriculum. Feedbacks were obtained from experts and preschool teachers on the suitability of the framework in relation to the National Preschool Standard Curriculum (2010). Six preschool children from 5 to 6 years old were interviewed to ascertain their representation (manipulative model, symbolic, static pictures, written language and spoken language) while answering the question given. The framework that was developed will be presented together with the pilot findings from the interviews.