Teaching Early Mathematical Skills to 3- to 7-Year-Old Children — Differences Related to Mathematical Skill Category, Children’s Age Group and Teachers’ Characteristics

Abstract This study explored teaching early mathematical skills to 3- to 7-year-old children in early childhood education and care (ECEC) and pre-primary education. Teachers in ECEC ( N = 206) answered a web survey. The first aim was to determine whether teaching frequency or pedagogical awareness of teaching early mathematical skills varied according to the category of skills (numerical skills, spatial thinking skills and mathematical thinking and reasoning skills) and whether children’s age group moderated these differences. The second aim was to explore to what extent teacher-related characteristics and children’s age group explained variations in teaching frequency concerning early mathematical skills. Results from repeated MANOVAs demonstrated that the frequency and pedagogical awareness of teaching early mathematical skills depended on the skill category and that children’s age group moderated these differences. In 5- to 6-year-olds and 6- to 7-year-olds, numerical skills were taught more often than spatial thinking skills, whereas in 3- to 5-year-olds, they were taught as frequently. In all age groups, mathematical thinking and reasoning skills were taught the least. Pedagogical awareness was lowest in teaching spatial thinking skills in all age groups, but only in 6- to 7-year-olds was teachers’ pedagogical awareness in teaching numerical skills higher than in the two other categories. According to a univariate analysis of variance, pedagogical awareness and mathematics professional development programmes were strongly associated with teaching frequency in all skill categories. The results emphasise that children’s opportunities to learn early mathematical skills depend on teachers’ characteristics.