An Exploratory Study on the Attitudes towards Mathematical Knowledge of Early Childhood Education Teachers

Abstract:

This article aims to present the results of an investigation on the attitudes of early childhood education teachers towards working with mathematical knowledge. In this study, 115 kindergarten teachers participated, who responded to a scale of attitudes towards working with mathematical knowledge in kindergarten. In this group, 55 teachers responded to a questionnaire. The analysis of the data showed that the majority of the teachers who answered the scale of attitudes tend to have more negative attitudes; however, the qualitative analysis of the questionnaires revealed more positive attitudes. In addition, it pointed out that the positive experiences in relation to mathematics had greater influence on the formation of the teachers' attitudes, whereas the negative experiences served as examples of practices to be put aside in their teaching activities.

Keywords:
Early childhood Education; Mathematics education; Teachers' behavior; Teachers' attitudes