Browsing by Author "Van Nijlen, Daniel"

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Development of SFON in Ecuadorian kindergartners
(2017) Bojorque Iñegues, Gina Catalina; Torbeyns, Joke; Hannula, Minna; Van Nijlen, Daniel; Verschaffel, Lieven
This study explored the development of Ecuadorian Kindergartners’ spontaneous focusing on numerosity (SFON) during the kindergarten year, as well as the contribution of early numerical abilities to this development. One hundred Kindergartners coming from ten classrooms received two SFON tasks, one at the beginning and one at the end of the school year, and an early numerical abilities achievement test at the beginning of the school year. Results first demonstrated limited SFON development during the kindergarten year, with inter-individual differences and intra-individual stability of children’s SFON tendency. Second, both children’s SFON tendency and their early numerical abilities at the start of the kindergarten year were predictively related to their SFON tendency at the end of the year. Our results do not only add to our theoretical understanding of SFON in young children, but also inform educational policy and practices in the domain of early mathematics education in Ecuador, as they provide building blocks for optimizing the educational goals and curricula for kindergarten mathematics.
Early number and arithmetic performance of Ecuadorian 4-5-year-olds
(2015) Bojorque Iñegues, Gina Catalina; Torbeyns, Joke; Moscoso Reyes, Jheni Faviola; Van Nijlen, Daniel; Verschaffel, Lieven
This study aimed at (a) constructing a reliable and valid test to assess Ecuadorian 4–5-year olds’ number and arithmetic skills; (b) providing empirical data on Ecuadorian 4–5-year olds’ number and arithmetic skills; and (c) confronting these children’s actual performances with the performances expected by national experts in this domain. We administered the Test of Early Number and Arithmetic (TENA), developed on the basis of the Ecuadorian mathematics standards to 86 Preschoolers and 127 Kindergartners and asked 10 experts to evaluate TENA’s validity and predict children’s performances on it. Results supported the overall reliability and validity of the TENA. Furthermore, we observed differences in number and arithmetic competencies between and within Preschoolers and Kindergartners, but not between boys and girls. Finally, experts overestimated children’s performances on the test. The scientific and practical implications of these results are discussed.
Influencia del nivel socioeconómico en el desarrollo de las competencias numéricas de los niños ecuatorianos de jardín infantil
(2019) Bojorque Iñegues, Gina Catalina; Torbeyns, Joke; Van Hoof, Jo; Van Nijlen, Daniel; Verschaffel, Lieven
The aim of this study was to examine the influence of the socioeconomic level of preschoolers on their development of early numerical skills and spontaneous focusing on numerosity (SFON), after controlling for domain-general cognitive variables like intelligence and working memory and for age. On entering preschool, 355 boys and girls were given a battery of tests to evaluate their early numerical skills, SFON, intelligence, and working memory. The results indicate that there are individual differences in early numerical skills and SFON among Ecuadorian children entering preschool. Also, socioeconomic level was positively correlated with early numerical skills, but not with SFON. At the end, we discuss the theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of the study.
Validating a home numeracy questionnaire in Ecuador using factor analysis
(2019) Van Nijlen, Daniel
The home numeracy questionnaire (HNQ) developed by LeFevre et al. (2009) is a self-report instrument to assess the home numeracy of young children. In this questionnaire, young children’s parents have to indicate how often their child participates both in direct (e.g., counting down: 10, 9, 8, …) and indirect numeracy activities (e.g., playing board games with die or spinner). Based on a principal component analysis, LeFevre and colleagues found a four factor structure of the HNQ. Using a sample of 176 Ecuadorian parents, we investigated the validity and reliability of the HNQ in a developing country. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated that, with minor changes to the model, the same four factor model could be found as by LeFevre et al. (2009). This study not only confirmed the validity and reliability of the HNQ, but also showed its usefulness for investigating young children’s home numeracy beyond developed countries.