The Effect of Early Numeracy Program on the Development of Number Concept in Children at 48-60 Months of Age

Gozde Inal Kiziltepe,Mustafa Nisan

doi:10.13189/ujer.2019.070419

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of Early Numeracy Program on the development of number concept in children at 48-60 months of age. The study was carried out in the central district of a province (Mugla/ Mentese) in the Aegean region of Turkey. The study group of the research included 78 children (40 in experiment group, 38 in control groups) attending two different kindergartens in the central district of the aforementioned province. In this study in which quasi-experimental design with pre-test-post-test control group was used the data were collected with Early Numeracy Assessment and Number Development Assessment Tool. SPSS was used for data analysis and whether there was a significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental and control groups in terms of pretest, post-test, and follow-up test was checked using Independent Samples t-Test and Dependent Samples t-Test. Early Numeracy Program supported with educational material was applied to children for 2 days a week over a period of 12 weeks. In the statistical analysis, it was found that the mean post-test scores of the children in the experiment group were significantly higher than the mean scores of the children in the control group. As a result, it was determined that the applied Early Numeracy Program significantly increases the level of development of number concept for children at 48-60 months of age.

Highlights

Mathematics, a crucial component of preschool education programs, is a powerful tool for children to understand and explore the world and an important academic skill to be acquired by children [1,2]
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has set out various principles and standards for the programs to be prepared in the field of mathematics and explained the mathematical skills that should be acquired in the preschool period [11]
This study aims to determine the effect of Early Numeracy Program on the development of number concept in children at 48-60 months of age

Summary

Introduction

Mathematics, a crucial component of preschool education programs, is a powerful tool for children to understand and explore the world and an important academic skill to be acquired by children [1,2]. Research on preschool period demonstrates that mathematical skills should be given to children from an early age. It is because preschool years are critical in acquiring academic skills in future years, in gaining advanced mathematical skills and in developing attitudes towards mathematics [3,4-5,6-7,8-9,10]. The concept of number is considered by NCTM (2000) as one of the most important elements of educational programs from preschool to the end of secondary school [11]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion