Teachers' epistemology and the monitoring of mathematical thinking in early years classrooms

SUMMARY This article presents an argument that holds that epistemology is involved in different ways in discussions on education. Taking mathematics education as an object of study, it will be argued that the teacher's continuous monitoring of pupils’ mathematical activity is guided by a view on mathematics (the teacher's mathematical epistemology). This will be illustrated on the basis of assessments of early mathematical development in a play-based curriculum. On the basis of reports by teachers on the mathematical development of their pupils (collected over three years in early year's classrooms in a Dutch school) it can be demonstrated that different epistemologies (a content oriented epistemology and an activity oriented epistemology) are involved. It seems plausible to assume on the basis of our data that further advancing the teachers' mathematical epistemology may contribute to the quality of the teachers' continuous monitoring and guidance of mathematical thinking of pupils.