Ecuadorian kindergartners' spontaneous focusing on numerosity development: contribution of numerical abilities and quality of mathematics education

Abstract

Young children’s spontaneous focusing on numerosity (SFON) predicts their later mathematical competencies. In this study we investigated the development of SFON in Ecuadorian kindergartners as well as the contribution of early numerical abilities and the quality of mathematics education to this development. The participants were 100 kindergartners coming from 10 classrooms. Children 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. The quality of mathematics education was assessed twice via the COEMET instrument. Results demonstrated limited SFON development during the kindergarten year, with large individual differences in and highly consistent SFON performances. Additionally, children’s SFON development during the kindergarten year was predicted by their SFON tendency and early numerical abilities at the start of the year. The quality of mathematics education did not contribute to children’s SFON development. The scientific and practical implications of these results are discussed.