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Summary
Mathematics education has risen to the top of the national policy
agenda as part of the need to improve the technical and scientific literacy
of the American public. The new demands of international competition
in the 21st century require a workforce that is competent in and comfort-
able with mathematics. There is particular concern about the chronically
low mathematics and science performance of economically disadvantaged
students and the lack of diversity in the science and technical workforce.
Particularly alarming is that such disparities exist in the earliest years of
schooling and even before school entry.
Recognizing the increasing importance of mathematics and encouraged
by a decade of success in improving early literacy, the Mathematical Sci-
ences Education Board of the Center for Education at the National Research
Council established the Committee on Early Childhood Mathematics. The
committee was charged with examining existing research in order to de-
velop appropriate mathematics learning objectives for preschool children;
providing evidence-based insights related to curriculum, instruction, and
teacher education for achieving these learning objectives; and determining
the implications of these findings for policy, practice, and future research.
The committee found that, although virtually all young children have
the capability to learn and become competent in mathematics, for most the
potential to learn mathematics in the early years of school is not currently
realized. This stems from a lack of opportunities to learn mathematics ei-
ther in early childhood settings or through everyday experiences in homes
and in communities. This is particularly the case for economically disad-
1
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2 MATHEMATICS LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
vantaged children, who start out behind in mathematics and will remain so
without extensive, high-quality early mathematics instruction.
In fact, well before first grade, children can learn the ideas and skills
that support later, more complex mathematics understanding. There is ex-
pert consensus that two areas of mathematics are particularly important for
young children to learn: (1) number, which includes whole number, opera-
tions, and relations; and (2) geometry, spatial thinking, and measurement.
A rich body of research provides insight into how children’s proficiency
develops in both areas and the instruction needed to support it. The com-
mittee used this evidence to develop research-based teaching-learning paths
to guide policy and practice in early childhood education.
Examination of current standards, curricula, and instruction in early
childhood education revealed that many early childhood settings do not
provide adequate learning experiences in mathematics. The relative lack of
high-quality mathematics instruction, especially in comparison to literacy,
reflects a lack of attention to mathematics throughout the childhood educa-
tion system, including standards, curriculum, instruction, and the prepara-
tion and training of the teaching workforce.
For example, many widely used early childhood curricula do not pro-
vide sufficient guidance on mathematics pedagogy or content. When early
childhood classrooms do have mathematics activities, they are often pre-
sented as part of an integrated or embedded curriculum, in which the
teaching of mathematics is secondary to other learning goals. Emerging
research indicates, however, that learning experiences in which mathematics
is a supplementary activity rather than the primary focus are less effective
in promoting children’s mathematics learning than experiences in which
mathematics is the primary goal. Finally, education and training for most
teachers typically places heavy emphasis on children’s social-emotional
development and literacy, with much less attention to mathematics. In
fact, academic activities such as mathematics can be a context in which
social-emotional development and the foundations of language and literacy
flourish.
As noted, opportunities to experience high-quality mathematics in-
struction are especially important for low-income children. These children,
on average, demonstrate lower levels of competence with mathematics
prior to school entry, and the gaps persist or even widen over the course
of schooling. Providing young children with extensive, high-quality early
mathematics instruction can serve as a sound foundation for later learning
in mathematics and contribute to addressing long-term systematic inequities
in educational outcomes.
The committee found that although the research to date about how
young children develop and learn key concepts in mathematics has clear
implications for practice, the findings are neither widely known nor imple-
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SUMMARY
mented by early childhood educators or those who teach them. To ensure
that all children enter elementary school with the mathematical foundation
they need for success requires that individuals throughout the early child-
hood education system—including the teaching workforce, curriculum de-
velopers, program directors, and policy makers—transform their approach
to mathematics education in early childhood by supporting, developing,
and implementing research-based practices and curricula.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation 1: A coordinated national early childhood mathemat-
ics initiative should be put in place to improve mathematics teaching
and learning for all children ages 3 to 6.
A number of specific recommendations for action follow from this
overarching recommendation. The specific steps and the individuals or or-
ganization that must be involved in enacting them are outlined below. We
provide further guidance about how to enact these steps in Chapter 9.
Recommendation 2: Mathematics experiences in early childhood set-
tings should concentrate on (1) number (which includes whole num-
ber, operations, and relations) and (2) geometry, spatial relations, and
measurement, with more mathematics learning time devoted to number
than to other topics. The mathematical process goals should be inte-
grated in these content areas. Children should understand the concepts
and learn the skills exemplified in the teaching-learning paths described
in this report.
Recommendation 3: All early childhood programs should provide
high-quality mathematics curricula and instruction as described in this
report.
Recommendation 4: States should develop or revise their early child-
hood learning standards or guidelines to reflect the teaching-learning
paths described in this report.
Recommendation 5: Curriculum developers and publishers should base
their materials on the principles and teaching-learning paths described
in this report.
Recommendation 6: An essential component of a coordinated national
early childhood mathematics initiative is the provision of professional
development to early childhood in-service teachers that helps them (a)
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MATHEMATICS LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
to understand the necessary mathematics, the crucial teaching-learning
paths, and the principles of intentional teaching and curriculum and
(b) to learn how to implement a curriculum.
Recommendation 7: Coursework and practicum requirements for early
childhood educators should be changed to reflect an increased emphasis
on children’s mathematics as described in the report. These changes
should also be made and enforced by early childhood organizations
that oversee credentialing, accreditation, and recognition of teacher
professional development programs.
Recommendation 8: Early childhood education partnerships should
be formed between family and community programs so that they are
equipped to work together in promoting children’s mathematics.
Recommendation 9: There is a need for increased informal program-
ming, curricular resources, software, and other media that can be used
to support young children’s mathematics learning in such settings as
homes, community centers, libraries, and museums.
