Worthington M., van Oers B. Pretend play and the cultural foundations of mathematics
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Worthington M., van Oers B. Pretend play and the cultural foundations of mathematics // Preschool Education Today. 2017, Issue 5 -
p. 64–75.
This work is licensed under a Сreative Commons Atribiution - NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Abstract
The aim of this study is to uncover the emergence of cultural mathematical understandings and communications in young children’s spontaneous pretend play. It is based on Vygotskian cultural-historical perspectives and socialsemiotic theory, informed by research into ‘funds of knowledge’ and considers how children’s informal knowledge of family practices enriches their play and cultural mathematical understandings. Longitudinal, ethnographic data were gathered in an inner-city mainstream nursery in the south-west of England. Data include written observation and graphics of seven children aged three to four years of age engaged in social pretend play. The findings reveal that many play episodes included aspects of mathematics and that these increased through the year: they show how the children’s home cultural knowledge underpinned their pretend play and informed their mathematics. The children’s graphicacy to communicate mathematics within their pretend play was also evident. The findings show also that where children are immersed in mathematical- and graphical-rich environments, bridging home and early childhood cultures becomes a natural feature of their pretend play. They will add to our understanding of cultural mathematical knowledge in young children.
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43. Yelland, N., and A. Kilderry. 2010. “Becoming Numerate with Information and Communications Technologies in the Twenty-First Century.” International Journal of Early Years Education 18 (2): 91–106.
2. Aubrey, C. 1997. Mathematics Teaching in the Early Years. London: Falmer Press.
3. BERA. 2011. Ethical Guidelines for Research. London: BERA.
4. Bishop, A. J. 1991. Mathematical Enculturation. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
5. Brandt, B., and K. Tiedmann. 2009. “Learning Mathematics within Family Discourses.” Proceedings of CERME 6, January 28th – February 1st, Lyon, France.
6. Brannon, E. M., and G. van de Walle. 2001. “Ordinal Numerical Knowledge in Young Children.” Cognitive Psychology 43: 53–81.
7. Brooker, L. 2011. “Taking Play Seriously.” In Rethinking Play and Pedagogy in Early Childhood Education, edited by S. Rogers, 152–164. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
8. Brown, F. 2012. “The Play Behaviours of Roma Children in Transylvania.” International Journal of Play 1 (1): 64–74.
9. Carr, M. 2001. Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories. London: Sage Publications.
10. Carruthers, E. 1997. “Number: A Developmental Theory: A Case Study of a Child from 20 to 44 Months.” Unpublished Masters (M.Ed.) Dissertation, University of Plymouth.
11. Carruthers, E., and M. Worthington. 2005. “Making Sense of Mathematical Graphics: the Development of Understanding Mathematical Symbolism.” European Early Childhood Education Research Association Journal 13 (1): 57–79.
12. Carruthers, E., and M. Worthington. 2006. Children’s Mathematics: Making Marks, Making Meaning. 2nd ed. London: Sage Publications.
13. Cook, D. 2006. “Mathematical Sense Making and Role Play in the Nursery.” Early Child Development and Care 121 (1): 55–66.
14. Dunn, J. 2005. “Naturalistic Observations of Children and their Families.” In Researching Children’s Experience, edited by S. Green. and D. Hogan, 87–101. London: Sage Publications.
15. Emond, R. 2005. “Ethnographic Research Methods with Children and Young People.” In Researching Children’s Experience, edited by S. Green. and D. Hogan, 123–139. London: Sage Publications.
16. Ewers-Rogers, J. and R. Cowan. 1996. “Children as Apprentices to Number.” Early Childhood Development and Care 125: 15–25.
17. Fleer, M. 2010. “Conceptual and Contextual Intersubjectivity for Affording Concept Formation in Children’s Play.” In Engaging Play, edited by L. Brooker and S. Edwards, 67–79. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
18. Geertz, C. 1973. The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books.
19. Gifford, S. 2005. Teaching Mathematics 3–5. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
20. Gцncь, A. and S. Gaskins. 2007. Play and Development: Evolutionary, Sociocultural and Functional Perspectives. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis.
21. Hammersley, M. and P. Atkinson. 1995. Ethnography. London: Routledge.
22. Hedges, H., and J. Cullen. 2005. “Meaningful Teaching and Learning: Children’s and Teachers’ Content Knowledge.” ACE Paper 1: 11–24.
23. Hughes, M. 1986. Children and Number: Difficulties in Learning Mathematics. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
24. Hughes, B. 2001. Evolutionary Playwork and Reflective Analytic Practice. London: Routledge.
25. Krummheuer, G. 2013. “The Relationship Between Diagrammatic Argumentation and Narrative Argumentation in the Context of the Development of Mathematical Thinking in the Early Years.” Educational Studies in Mathematics 84: 249–265. DOI 10.1007/s10649-013-9471-9
26. Leont’ev, A. N. 1981. Problems of the Development of Mind. Moscow: Progress Publishers.
27. Moll, L., C. Amanti, D. Neff, and N. Gonzales. 1992. “Funds of Knowledge for Teaching.” Theory into Practice 31 (2): 132–141.
28. Moyles, J. and M. Worthington. 2011. “The Early Years Foundation Stage through the Daily Experiences of Children.” TACTYC Occasional Paper no. 1.
29. Munn, P., and S. Kleinberg. 2003. “Describing Good Practice in the Early Years – A Response to the ‘Third Way’.” Education 3 (13): 50–53.
30. Munn, P. and R. Schaffer. 1993. “Literacy and Numeracy Events in Social Interactive Contexts.” International Journal of Early Years Education 1 (3): 61–80.
31. Parker-Rees, R. 1999. “Protecting playfulness.” In Early Education Transformed, edited by L. Abbott. and H. Moylett, 61–72. London: Falmer.
32. Poland, M. 2007. “The Treasures of Schematising.” Doctoral dissertation, Amsterdam: VU University.
33. Poland, M., B. van Oers, and J. Terwel. 2009. “Schematising Activities in Early Childhood Education.” Educational Research and Evaluation 15 (3): 305–321.
34. Riojas-Cortez, M. 2000. “Mexican American pre-Schoolers Create Stories: Sociodramatic Play in A Dual Language Classroom.” Bilingual Research Journal 24 (3): 295–307.
35. Rogers, S. 2010. “Powerful Pedagogies and Playful Resistance.” In Engaging Play, edited by L. Brooker and S. Edwards, 152–165. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
36. Rogers, S. and J. Evans. 2008. Inside Role-Play in Early Childhood Education. London: Routledge.
37. Rogoff, B. 2008. “Observing Sociocultural Activity on Three Planes.” In Pedagogy and Practice: Culture and Identities, edited by P. Murphy, K. Hall, and J. Soler, 58–74. London: Sage Publications.
38. Saxe, G. 1991. Culture and Cognitive Development: Studies in Mathematical Understanding. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum.
39. Van Oers, B. 2001. “Educational Forms of Initiation in Mathematical Culture.” Educational Studies in Mathematics 46: 59–85.
40. Van Oers, B. 2012. “How to Promote Young Children’s Mathematical Thinking?” Mediterranean Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 11 (12): 1–15.
41. Vygotsky, L. S. 1978. Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
42. Vygotsky, L. S. 1987. The Collected Works of L.S. Vygotsky. Volume 1: Problems of General Psychology. New York: Plenum Press.
43. Yelland, N., and A. Kilderry. 2010. “Becoming Numerate with Information and Communications Technologies in the Twenty-First Century.” International Journal of Early Years Education 18 (2): 91–106.