Bob Perry - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Bob Perry
The Let’s Count pilot early mathematics program was implemented in five early childhood education... more The Let’s Count pilot early mathematics program was implemented in five early childhood educational contexts across Australia during 2011. The program used specifically formulated materials and workshops to enlist the assistance of early childhood educators to work with parents and other family members of children in their settings to help develop these children’s awareness, confidence and skills in early mathematics. The pilot program was evaluated by the authors of this paper using a multi-methods approach. The evaluation was focused on the success of the Let’s Count program in bringing early childhood educators, parents and other family members together, to enhance children’s mathematical engagement, learning outcomes and dispositions
Department of Education and Training, and academics from two universities. MIC project members wo... more Department of Education and Training, and academics from two universities. MIC project members worked with schools and communities at two sites: a primary school in an urban community in western Sydney and both a primary and secondary school in a rural site in western NSW. These two sites were selected because of the signifi cant enrolment of Aboriginal students in the schools. MIC focussed on establishing learning teams comprising teachers, Aboriginal educators and local Aboriginal community people to develop contextual, multistage mathematics units that suited the learning needs of the local Aboriginal students. This article reports on the implementation of MIC at the rural site. The aim of MIC was to have school(s) and community work together to develop mathematics curricula that enhanced the knowledge and the capacity of the Aboriginal students, community and school(s). MIC was based upon the principle that the mutually benefi cial engagement of people and cultures is essential ...
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, 2017
At MERGA1, I presented a paper entitled Mathematics in the PreSchool , which was a summary of ten... more At MERGA1, I presented a paper entitled Mathematics in the PreSchool , which was a summary of tentative ventures into this emerging field. The role of the prior-to-school years in children's mathematics learning was not yet under serious consideration but an understanding of the importance of play in children's experiences was building. Forty years on, early childhood mathematics education is perceived as a critical frontier for mathematics education and other (e.g., psychology, sociology, childhood and family studies) research. Early intervention is seen as the Holy Grail. In this brief paper, I identify some of the achievements and some of the side effects of this changing context.
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, 2012
The Let’s Count pilot early mathematics program was implemented in five early childhood education... more The Let’s Count pilot early mathematics program was implemented in five early childhood educational contexts across Australia during 2011. The program used specifically formulated materials and workshops to enlist the assistance of early childhood educators to work with parents and other family members of children in their settings to help develop these children’s awareness, confidence and skills in early mathematics. The pilot program was evaluated by the authors of this paper using a multi-methods approach. The evaluation was focused on the success of the Let’s Count program in bringing early childhood educators, parents and other family members together, to enhance children’s mathematical engagement, learning outcomes and dispositions.
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, 2015
Let’s Count is an early mathematics program that has been designed by The Smith Family and the au... more Let’s Count is an early mathematics program that has been designed by The Smith Family and the authors to assist educators in early childhood contexts in socially disadvantaged areas of Australia to work in partnership with parents and other family members to promote positive mathematical experiences for young children (3-5 years). A longitudinal evaluation of Let’s Count was undertaken in 2012-2014 involving 337 children in two treatment groups and 125 children in a comparison group. This paper shares preliminary results from the evaluation. Overall the findings demonstrate that Let’s Count was effective.
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, 2013
This paper reports on how one of the major outcomes from a long term mathematics education profes... more This paper reports on how one of the major outcomes from a long term mathematics education professional development project involving educators from preschools and the early years of school in South Australia is being used by these educators to notice young children’s mathematics. The educators use Reflective Continua to guide their reflection and planning for this learning. The paper explores the use of learning stories as a link between the Reflective Continua, the educators’ noticing of children’s mathematics and both the strands and competencies of the new Australian Curriculum – Mathematics and the outcomes of the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia.
The Mathematics in Indigenous Contexts project was undertaken in a rural Western NSW site from 20... more The Mathematics in Indigenous Contexts project was undertaken in a rural Western NSW site from 2003-2005. The project demonstrated the potential of shared ownership of mathematics curriculum development among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal community members as a way of enhancing the understanding and respect of each group for the other as well as developing the mathematical knowledge of primary and secondary students in the community. In 2005 – 2006, the Building Community Capacity project sought to identify key aspects of meaningful engagement between schools and Aboriginal communities in the development and implementation of contextualised, relevant and connected mathematics curriculum and teaching and learning strategies to enhance Aboriginal students’ mathematics outcomes. This project utilised the success of the Mathematics in Indigenous Contexts project in the rural western NSW site as the entry point for its investigation in this same site. This paper describes the Building Co...
The SiMERR project Mathematical Thinking of Preschool Children in Rural and Regional Australia: R... more The SiMERR project Mathematical Thinking of Preschool Children in Rural and Regional Australia: Research and Practice concluded its final report with a series of implications for the future. Many of these have the potential to impact on early childhood teacher education and professional development. In this paper, these implications are considered with reference to other recent studies and with particular emphasis on the development of the national Australian Early Years Learning Framework.
Exceptionality Education International, 2011
The transition to school is a time of change and expectation for children, fami-lies, and communi... more The transition to school is a time of change and expectation for children, fami-lies, and communities. It is also a time when a range of factors—both within and outside the family—influence educational experiences and outcomes. This paper reports the experiences and expectations of 24 Australian families as their children with special needs started school. Life for these families was complicated by their experiences of other factors described as complex sup-port needs. Drawing on interview and case study data, we report issues and concerns, and examine the supports available for these families and their chil-dren across the transition to school. In analysing the data, we consider the ways in which children’s special needs interact with the complex support needs of families, and consider implications of this interaction as families navigate access to support. We conclude that this interplay positions many families in ways that reinforce, rather than reduce, the difficulties encountered.
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 2018
Over the last 20 years, the authors have utilised Bronfenbrenner's ecological and bioecological m... more Over the last 20 years, the authors have utilised Bronfenbrenner's ecological and bioecological models as a basis for their work investigating children's transition to school, including the place of mathematics learning in this transition. The later bioecological model gave increased emphasis to the role of the individual within contexts, the processes that characterised interactions within and across contexts (proximal processes), and the influence of time. This bioecological model outlined four elementsperson, process, context and timewhich, together, were described as influencing the development of individuals. While the mathematical learning of young children influences, and is influenced by, all four elements of the model, the critical role of proximal processes in this learning is highlighted in this paper. Our aim is to identify how the four elements of the bioecological model, particularly proximal processes, provide a framework to analyse the experiences of the adultsearly childhood educators and parentsinvolved in an early childhood mathematics education intervention designed to promote engagement with mathematics in playful situations. Data are drawn from 35 early childhood educators and 37 parents over 2 consecutive years (2013, 2014) with generally different participants in each year.
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 2018
Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 2010
CHILDREN LEARN A GREAT DEAL about school, what happens at school, and the people they will meet a... more CHILDREN LEARN A GREAT DEAL about school, what happens at school, and the people they will meet at school as they engage with popular culture, such as television, games and books. One of the issues raised by many children as they contemplate starting school concerns what their teacher will be like. Children's expectations about teachers are important contributors to the relationships that develop between teachers and children. Such relationships are themselves a critical factor in children's school engagement. Examining some of the information that contributes to children's expectations about teachers supports a focus on children's experiences as they start school. This article reports a study of the images of teachers within children's picture storybooks—an accessible form of popular culture about school. A collection of 164 English language picture storybooks spanning 1967–2007 was analysed to explore the representations of teachers in schools. Three areas of a...
Mathematics Teacher Education and Development, Mar 28, 2013
In collaboration with the editors of Mathematics Teacher Education and Development (MTED), the ME... more In collaboration with the editors of Mathematics Teacher Education and Development (MTED), the MERGA Executive decided in early 2007 that there would be a Special Issue of MTED on professional development in mathematics education, and that the aim would be to publish it in 2007. Buoyed by our previous successful collaborations in editing the 2005 Special Issue of the Mathematics Education Research Journal on early childhood mathematics and (with Glenda Anthony) the 2004 MERGA Research Review Research in Mathematics Education in Australasia 2000-2003, we accepted the challenge to edit the Special Issue, and you are now reading the result. The initial call for papers was made in July, with papers to be submitted by August 31, 2007. In this initial call, the following explanation of the theme for the Special Issue was provided.
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 2015
Policymakers, researchers and educators around the world have acknowledged the importance of chil... more Policymakers, researchers and educators around the world have acknowledged the importance of children's transition to school, both as a significant life event and as a factor in future engagement with education. As a result, much attention has been directed towards researching transition experiences, developing policies to support positive transitions, and implementing a range of transition practices and programmes aimed to promote effective transitions. At the heart of many of these has been th ...
From 1999-2005, the Mathematics in Indigenous Contexts (MIC) project was implemented by the Board... more From 1999-2005, the Mathematics in Indigenous Contexts (MIC) project was implemented by the Board of Studies, New South Wales (NSW), in conjunction with the NSW Department of Education and Training, and academics from two universities. MIC project members worked with schools and communities at two sites: a primary school in an urban community in western Sydney and both a primary and secondary school in a rural site in western NSW. These two sites were selected because of the significant enrollment of Aboriginal students in the schools. MIC focused on establishing learning teams comprising teachers, Aboriginal educators and local Aboriginal community people to develop contextual, multistage mathematics units that suited the learning needs of the local Aboriginal students. This article reports on the implementation of MIC at the rural site. (Contains 3 figures.)
This paper reports on a study focused upon 83 pre-service primary teachers in their first mathema... more This paper reports on a study focused upon 83 pre-service primary teachers in their first mathematics pedagogy subject at the University of Western Sydney. They completed three surveys: an achievement test of the mathematics they would be expected to teach; a survey of their beliefs about mathematics, mathematics teaching and mathematics learning; and a survey of their attitudes towards mathematics. The experiences and beliefs of pre-service teachers influence the formation of attitudes and these, in turn, influence their classroom practices and beliefs. These beliefs, attitudes and practices may sometimes be at variance with the main direction of their tertiary teaching methods courses. Thus, it is crucial in assisting pre-service teachers to understand their own beliefs, attitudes and practices, and that these are made explicit and examined. This paper reports the data from the achievement test, belief survey and the attitude survey, and investigates the relationships between these data. The results from this study show some connections, although relatively weak, among the three constructs and lead us to speculate on possible reasons for these.
Early Years, 2014
In 2012, the government of South Australia responded to Federal agreements aimed at universal acc... more In 2012, the government of South Australia responded to Federal agreements aimed at universal access to preschool education for children in the year before starting formal schooling by introducing a trial designed to `integrate¿ preschool children into first year of school programmes in rural and remote areas of the state. This paper reports on the evaluation of this trial, exploring the ways in which integration was interpreted and implemented in eight rural and/or remote sites, the perceived v ...
Crossing Divides: Proceedings of the 32nd …, 2011
The SIMERR project Mathematical Thinking of Preschool Children in Rural and Regional Australia: R... more The SIMERR project Mathematical Thinking of Preschool Children in Rural and Regional Australia: Research and Practice included a review of relevant research literature with the aim of making this accessible to researchers as well as early childhood teachers and educators. This paper introduces the methods used in the project and provides a brief summary of the literature pertaining to the development of mathematical concepts. Background Mathematical Thinking of Preschool Children in Rural and Regional Australia: Research and Practice, a SiMERR project, involved a team of 12 researchers from Australia and New Zealand. Members of the "Early Years Mathematics Forum" had met over the previous 2 years to discuss issues and share resources related to mathematics in the range of prior-to-school settings-mainly kindergartens, pre-schools, and long day care centres-as well as the preparation of early childhood teachers. Research into the early childhood development of mathematical concepts, language and skills is important because mathematical development appears to begin in the first few months after birth, a good early childhood start in mathematics is critical in later mathematics success, and precursors to more formal mathematical thought and language can be found in very young children. Hunting et al. (2008) provide examples of research into the development of basic operations and activities that support problem solving strategies, numerical operations, measurement, spatial and geometric reasoning, pattern creation and recognition, as well as logical and probabilistic reasoning. By the time children attempt to blow out their first birthday candles, they have acquired by experiential learning the rudiments of a wide range of mathematical concepts. Many older preschool children are capable of symbolic and abstract thought far beyond traditional expectations (Ginsburg, Lee, & Boyd, 2008). Much of a young child's experience base for quantitative, logical, and spatial knowledge is acquired through social interactions involving play, conversations, and adultdirected activity in prior-to-school childcare settings as well as in their homes. Teachers have marked influence on children's development (Cuttance, 1998), so it is vital to know what early childhood carers and teachers understand about (a) mathematical concept development, and (b) activities that promote such development. This research captured data on early childhood staff attitudes towards mathematics, background mathematics knowledge, views about learning and teaching of mathematical concepts, experience with technology including computers, and perceptions of resource needs and requirements. Methods For the annotated bibliography, research published from 2000 on with a focus on mathematical capacities, foundations and development in children aged 0-5 years was reviewed. The survey and interview stage of the project involved a representative sample
Topic School transition Key Research Questions If transition is considered in the broad sense out... more Topic School transition Key Research Questions If transition is considered in the broad sense outlined above, what are the roles of schools and communities in facilitating transition? If transition is more than a program of activities offered by the school or prior-to-school service immediately before and/or after children start school, who is responsible for providing transition experiences and promoting the importance of transition? Recent Research Results Recent research, policy and program initiatives in Australia and elsewhere have sought to address these issues. Research perspectives from the Starting School Research Project 10,15,16 have emphasized the following key elements in promoting effective school transitions: • a focus on relationships; • the importance of a strengths-based perspective; • the critical importance of appropriate funding and resourcing; • effective planning and evaluation; and • responsiveness to contextual variation. These elements have been incorporated into policy initiatives, such as the Families First strategy operating in New South Wales. 17,18 This article is funded by the Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development and the Canadian Council on Learning's Early Childhood Learning Knowledge Centre.
Mathematics Education Research Journal, 2012
The project Mathematical Thinking of Preschool Children in Rural and Regional Australia: Research... more The project Mathematical Thinking of Preschool Children in Rural and Regional Australia: Research and Practice aimed to investigate views of preschool practitioners about young children's mathematical thinking and development. Structured individual interviews were conducted with 64 preschool practitioners from rural areas of three Australian states. The questions focused on five broad themes: children's mathematics learning, support for mathematics teaching, technology and computers, attitudes and feelings, and assessment and record keeping. We review results from the interview data for each of these themes, discuss their importance, and outline recommendations related to teacher education as well as resource development and research. Keywords Early childhood mathematics. Early learning and development. Preschool mathematics education Background Among researchers, there is a growth of interest in the mathematical abilities of very young children-perhaps driven by international comparisons of performance at the primary school level, or by recent emphasis on early childhood education as opposed to child care (Clements et al. 2004). For example, very recent reviews of research on mathematical abilities in young children provide evidence that mathematical
The Let’s Count pilot early mathematics program was implemented in five early childhood education... more The Let’s Count pilot early mathematics program was implemented in five early childhood educational contexts across Australia during 2011. The program used specifically formulated materials and workshops to enlist the assistance of early childhood educators to work with parents and other family members of children in their settings to help develop these children’s awareness, confidence and skills in early mathematics. The pilot program was evaluated by the authors of this paper using a multi-methods approach. The evaluation was focused on the success of the Let’s Count program in bringing early childhood educators, parents and other family members together, to enhance children’s mathematical engagement, learning outcomes and dispositions
Department of Education and Training, and academics from two universities. MIC project members wo... more Department of Education and Training, and academics from two universities. MIC project members worked with schools and communities at two sites: a primary school in an urban community in western Sydney and both a primary and secondary school in a rural site in western NSW. These two sites were selected because of the signifi cant enrolment of Aboriginal students in the schools. MIC focussed on establishing learning teams comprising teachers, Aboriginal educators and local Aboriginal community people to develop contextual, multistage mathematics units that suited the learning needs of the local Aboriginal students. This article reports on the implementation of MIC at the rural site. The aim of MIC was to have school(s) and community work together to develop mathematics curricula that enhanced the knowledge and the capacity of the Aboriginal students, community and school(s). MIC was based upon the principle that the mutually benefi cial engagement of people and cultures is essential ...
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, 2017
At MERGA1, I presented a paper entitled Mathematics in the PreSchool , which was a summary of ten... more At MERGA1, I presented a paper entitled Mathematics in the PreSchool , which was a summary of tentative ventures into this emerging field. The role of the prior-to-school years in children's mathematics learning was not yet under serious consideration but an understanding of the importance of play in children's experiences was building. Forty years on, early childhood mathematics education is perceived as a critical frontier for mathematics education and other (e.g., psychology, sociology, childhood and family studies) research. Early intervention is seen as the Holy Grail. In this brief paper, I identify some of the achievements and some of the side effects of this changing context.
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, 2012
The Let’s Count pilot early mathematics program was implemented in five early childhood education... more The Let’s Count pilot early mathematics program was implemented in five early childhood educational contexts across Australia during 2011. The program used specifically formulated materials and workshops to enlist the assistance of early childhood educators to work with parents and other family members of children in their settings to help develop these children’s awareness, confidence and skills in early mathematics. The pilot program was evaluated by the authors of this paper using a multi-methods approach. The evaluation was focused on the success of the Let’s Count program in bringing early childhood educators, parents and other family members together, to enhance children’s mathematical engagement, learning outcomes and dispositions.
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, 2015
Let’s Count is an early mathematics program that has been designed by The Smith Family and the au... more Let’s Count is an early mathematics program that has been designed by The Smith Family and the authors to assist educators in early childhood contexts in socially disadvantaged areas of Australia to work in partnership with parents and other family members to promote positive mathematical experiences for young children (3-5 years). A longitudinal evaluation of Let’s Count was undertaken in 2012-2014 involving 337 children in two treatment groups and 125 children in a comparison group. This paper shares preliminary results from the evaluation. Overall the findings demonstrate that Let’s Count was effective.
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, 2013
This paper reports on how one of the major outcomes from a long term mathematics education profes... more This paper reports on how one of the major outcomes from a long term mathematics education professional development project involving educators from preschools and the early years of school in South Australia is being used by these educators to notice young children’s mathematics. The educators use Reflective Continua to guide their reflection and planning for this learning. The paper explores the use of learning stories as a link between the Reflective Continua, the educators’ noticing of children’s mathematics and both the strands and competencies of the new Australian Curriculum – Mathematics and the outcomes of the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia.
The Mathematics in Indigenous Contexts project was undertaken in a rural Western NSW site from 20... more The Mathematics in Indigenous Contexts project was undertaken in a rural Western NSW site from 2003-2005. The project demonstrated the potential of shared ownership of mathematics curriculum development among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal community members as a way of enhancing the understanding and respect of each group for the other as well as developing the mathematical knowledge of primary and secondary students in the community. In 2005 – 2006, the Building Community Capacity project sought to identify key aspects of meaningful engagement between schools and Aboriginal communities in the development and implementation of contextualised, relevant and connected mathematics curriculum and teaching and learning strategies to enhance Aboriginal students’ mathematics outcomes. This project utilised the success of the Mathematics in Indigenous Contexts project in the rural western NSW site as the entry point for its investigation in this same site. This paper describes the Building Co...
The SiMERR project Mathematical Thinking of Preschool Children in Rural and Regional Australia: R... more The SiMERR project Mathematical Thinking of Preschool Children in Rural and Regional Australia: Research and Practice concluded its final report with a series of implications for the future. Many of these have the potential to impact on early childhood teacher education and professional development. In this paper, these implications are considered with reference to other recent studies and with particular emphasis on the development of the national Australian Early Years Learning Framework.
Exceptionality Education International, 2011
The transition to school is a time of change and expectation for children, fami-lies, and communi... more The transition to school is a time of change and expectation for children, fami-lies, and communities. It is also a time when a range of factors—both within and outside the family—influence educational experiences and outcomes. This paper reports the experiences and expectations of 24 Australian families as their children with special needs started school. Life for these families was complicated by their experiences of other factors described as complex sup-port needs. Drawing on interview and case study data, we report issues and concerns, and examine the supports available for these families and their chil-dren across the transition to school. In analysing the data, we consider the ways in which children’s special needs interact with the complex support needs of families, and consider implications of this interaction as families navigate access to support. We conclude that this interplay positions many families in ways that reinforce, rather than reduce, the difficulties encountered.
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 2018
Over the last 20 years, the authors have utilised Bronfenbrenner's ecological and bioecological m... more Over the last 20 years, the authors have utilised Bronfenbrenner's ecological and bioecological models as a basis for their work investigating children's transition to school, including the place of mathematics learning in this transition. The later bioecological model gave increased emphasis to the role of the individual within contexts, the processes that characterised interactions within and across contexts (proximal processes), and the influence of time. This bioecological model outlined four elementsperson, process, context and timewhich, together, were described as influencing the development of individuals. While the mathematical learning of young children influences, and is influenced by, all four elements of the model, the critical role of proximal processes in this learning is highlighted in this paper. Our aim is to identify how the four elements of the bioecological model, particularly proximal processes, provide a framework to analyse the experiences of the adultsearly childhood educators and parentsinvolved in an early childhood mathematics education intervention designed to promote engagement with mathematics in playful situations. Data are drawn from 35 early childhood educators and 37 parents over 2 consecutive years (2013, 2014) with generally different participants in each year.
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 2018
Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 2010
CHILDREN LEARN A GREAT DEAL about school, what happens at school, and the people they will meet a... more CHILDREN LEARN A GREAT DEAL about school, what happens at school, and the people they will meet at school as they engage with popular culture, such as television, games and books. One of the issues raised by many children as they contemplate starting school concerns what their teacher will be like. Children's expectations about teachers are important contributors to the relationships that develop between teachers and children. Such relationships are themselves a critical factor in children's school engagement. Examining some of the information that contributes to children's expectations about teachers supports a focus on children's experiences as they start school. This article reports a study of the images of teachers within children's picture storybooks—an accessible form of popular culture about school. A collection of 164 English language picture storybooks spanning 1967–2007 was analysed to explore the representations of teachers in schools. Three areas of a...
Mathematics Teacher Education and Development, Mar 28, 2013
In collaboration with the editors of Mathematics Teacher Education and Development (MTED), the ME... more In collaboration with the editors of Mathematics Teacher Education and Development (MTED), the MERGA Executive decided in early 2007 that there would be a Special Issue of MTED on professional development in mathematics education, and that the aim would be to publish it in 2007. Buoyed by our previous successful collaborations in editing the 2005 Special Issue of the Mathematics Education Research Journal on early childhood mathematics and (with Glenda Anthony) the 2004 MERGA Research Review Research in Mathematics Education in Australasia 2000-2003, we accepted the challenge to edit the Special Issue, and you are now reading the result. The initial call for papers was made in July, with papers to be submitted by August 31, 2007. In this initial call, the following explanation of the theme for the Special Issue was provided.
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 2015
Policymakers, researchers and educators around the world have acknowledged the importance of chil... more Policymakers, researchers and educators around the world have acknowledged the importance of children's transition to school, both as a significant life event and as a factor in future engagement with education. As a result, much attention has been directed towards researching transition experiences, developing policies to support positive transitions, and implementing a range of transition practices and programmes aimed to promote effective transitions. At the heart of many of these has been th ...
From 1999-2005, the Mathematics in Indigenous Contexts (MIC) project was implemented by the Board... more From 1999-2005, the Mathematics in Indigenous Contexts (MIC) project was implemented by the Board of Studies, New South Wales (NSW), in conjunction with the NSW Department of Education and Training, and academics from two universities. MIC project members worked with schools and communities at two sites: a primary school in an urban community in western Sydney and both a primary and secondary school in a rural site in western NSW. These two sites were selected because of the significant enrollment of Aboriginal students in the schools. MIC focused on establishing learning teams comprising teachers, Aboriginal educators and local Aboriginal community people to develop contextual, multistage mathematics units that suited the learning needs of the local Aboriginal students. This article reports on the implementation of MIC at the rural site. (Contains 3 figures.)
This paper reports on a study focused upon 83 pre-service primary teachers in their first mathema... more This paper reports on a study focused upon 83 pre-service primary teachers in their first mathematics pedagogy subject at the University of Western Sydney. They completed three surveys: an achievement test of the mathematics they would be expected to teach; a survey of their beliefs about mathematics, mathematics teaching and mathematics learning; and a survey of their attitudes towards mathematics. The experiences and beliefs of pre-service teachers influence the formation of attitudes and these, in turn, influence their classroom practices and beliefs. These beliefs, attitudes and practices may sometimes be at variance with the main direction of their tertiary teaching methods courses. Thus, it is crucial in assisting pre-service teachers to understand their own beliefs, attitudes and practices, and that these are made explicit and examined. This paper reports the data from the achievement test, belief survey and the attitude survey, and investigates the relationships between these data. The results from this study show some connections, although relatively weak, among the three constructs and lead us to speculate on possible reasons for these.
Early Years, 2014
In 2012, the government of South Australia responded to Federal agreements aimed at universal acc... more In 2012, the government of South Australia responded to Federal agreements aimed at universal access to preschool education for children in the year before starting formal schooling by introducing a trial designed to `integrate¿ preschool children into first year of school programmes in rural and remote areas of the state. This paper reports on the evaluation of this trial, exploring the ways in which integration was interpreted and implemented in eight rural and/or remote sites, the perceived v ...
Crossing Divides: Proceedings of the 32nd …, 2011
The SIMERR project Mathematical Thinking of Preschool Children in Rural and Regional Australia: R... more The SIMERR project Mathematical Thinking of Preschool Children in Rural and Regional Australia: Research and Practice included a review of relevant research literature with the aim of making this accessible to researchers as well as early childhood teachers and educators. This paper introduces the methods used in the project and provides a brief summary of the literature pertaining to the development of mathematical concepts. Background Mathematical Thinking of Preschool Children in Rural and Regional Australia: Research and Practice, a SiMERR project, involved a team of 12 researchers from Australia and New Zealand. Members of the "Early Years Mathematics Forum" had met over the previous 2 years to discuss issues and share resources related to mathematics in the range of prior-to-school settings-mainly kindergartens, pre-schools, and long day care centres-as well as the preparation of early childhood teachers. Research into the early childhood development of mathematical concepts, language and skills is important because mathematical development appears to begin in the first few months after birth, a good early childhood start in mathematics is critical in later mathematics success, and precursors to more formal mathematical thought and language can be found in very young children. Hunting et al. (2008) provide examples of research into the development of basic operations and activities that support problem solving strategies, numerical operations, measurement, spatial and geometric reasoning, pattern creation and recognition, as well as logical and probabilistic reasoning. By the time children attempt to blow out their first birthday candles, they have acquired by experiential learning the rudiments of a wide range of mathematical concepts. Many older preschool children are capable of symbolic and abstract thought far beyond traditional expectations (Ginsburg, Lee, & Boyd, 2008). Much of a young child's experience base for quantitative, logical, and spatial knowledge is acquired through social interactions involving play, conversations, and adultdirected activity in prior-to-school childcare settings as well as in their homes. Teachers have marked influence on children's development (Cuttance, 1998), so it is vital to know what early childhood carers and teachers understand about (a) mathematical concept development, and (b) activities that promote such development. This research captured data on early childhood staff attitudes towards mathematics, background mathematics knowledge, views about learning and teaching of mathematical concepts, experience with technology including computers, and perceptions of resource needs and requirements. Methods For the annotated bibliography, research published from 2000 on with a focus on mathematical capacities, foundations and development in children aged 0-5 years was reviewed. The survey and interview stage of the project involved a representative sample
Topic School transition Key Research Questions If transition is considered in the broad sense out... more Topic School transition Key Research Questions If transition is considered in the broad sense outlined above, what are the roles of schools and communities in facilitating transition? If transition is more than a program of activities offered by the school or prior-to-school service immediately before and/or after children start school, who is responsible for providing transition experiences and promoting the importance of transition? Recent Research Results Recent research, policy and program initiatives in Australia and elsewhere have sought to address these issues. Research perspectives from the Starting School Research Project 10,15,16 have emphasized the following key elements in promoting effective school transitions: • a focus on relationships; • the importance of a strengths-based perspective; • the critical importance of appropriate funding and resourcing; • effective planning and evaluation; and • responsiveness to contextual variation. These elements have been incorporated into policy initiatives, such as the Families First strategy operating in New South Wales. 17,18 This article is funded by the Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development and the Canadian Council on Learning's Early Childhood Learning Knowledge Centre.
Mathematics Education Research Journal, 2012
The project Mathematical Thinking of Preschool Children in Rural and Regional Australia: Research... more The project Mathematical Thinking of Preschool Children in Rural and Regional Australia: Research and Practice aimed to investigate views of preschool practitioners about young children's mathematical thinking and development. Structured individual interviews were conducted with 64 preschool practitioners from rural areas of three Australian states. The questions focused on five broad themes: children's mathematics learning, support for mathematics teaching, technology and computers, attitudes and feelings, and assessment and record keeping. We review results from the interview data for each of these themes, discuss their importance, and outline recommendations related to teacher education as well as resource development and research. Keywords Early childhood mathematics. Early learning and development. Preschool mathematics education Background Among researchers, there is a growth of interest in the mathematical abilities of very young children-perhaps driven by international comparisons of performance at the primary school level, or by recent emphasis on early childhood education as opposed to child care (Clements et al. 2004). For example, very recent reviews of research on mathematical abilities in young children provide evidence that mathematical