Preliminary assessment of the numerical competencies of children from a public preschool and kindergarten in Cuenca

There is abundant evidence that young children are capable of developing mathematical knowledge and that the arithmetic skills of young children are a predictor of their future academic achievement. There is also a common agreement that the quality of early mathematical instruction has an important influence on children´s subsequent learning. In Ecuador studies on young children´s early mathematical competencies and instruction are scare. Therefore a study was initiated to (1) assess the numerical competencies of preschoolers and kindergartners (first year of elementary education) attending a public school in Cuenca, with the objective to critically analyze their numerical thinking and reasoning, and (2) examine teachers’ practices and believes regarding early mathematical instruction and children´s mathematical competencies. An application of the Number Knowledge Test (Griffin, 2005) demonstrated that most of the participating children had not developed basic numerical competencies. In addition, teachers strongly believe that young children are incapable of carrying out mathematical thoughts. As a consequence, mathematical activities in which children and teachers are engaged are insufficiently developed. The scientific and practical implications of these results are discussed.