On the Meaning of Young Children’s Mathematics Learning

Abstract

Through events of kindergarten children learning mathematics, I examine how experiences can shape an idea of what mathematics is and what its purposes are. I question how mathematics is experienced by young children in schools, how those experiences may shape students’ perceptions of mathematics, and how teachers can disrupt the unintentional messages that mathematics teaching can convey. I pose that mathematics instruction should foster children’s understanding of how their worldviews shape their perceptions of the discipline; allowing them to experience mathematics as a resource to problem-solve and think about the realities of the world around them.