Working with Parents to Promote Preschool Children’s Numeracy: Teachers’ Attitudes and Beliefs

Abstract

This chapter describes the beliefs and attitudes of five preschool teachers towards involving families in promoting children's numerical competencies, such as saying number words in a sequence to ten. The backgrounds of the children in each class, along with the teachers' educational and social backgrounds, form the context of the study and are important variables when analysing the ways in which each teacher decides to involve families. In addition, the chapter describes various ways that teachers encouraged families to take part in their children's mathematical growth (such as giving the children and parents mathematics homework) and to experience mathematics with their children (such as taking part in play with a mathematical theme). Dilemmas for preschool teacher educators are raised and discussed such as if and how teacher educators may act as mediators between preschool teachers and children's families when promoting early mathematical growth.