Building foundations for numeracy: A qualitative analysis of the basic concept knowledge demonstrated by young deaf children

Abstract

The qualitative study described in this article examines the knowledge of basic concepts demonstrated by six young deaf children* with high/low levels of mathematical ability as measured by performance on a formal (i.e. Bracken Basic Concept Scale) and informal (i.e. classification/sorting task) assessment. Findings indicate that children with lower mathematics ability, as measured by the Test of Early Mathematics Ability (TEMA-3), also demonstrated limited understanding of basic concepts and weaker thinking skills as evidenced by a lack of ability to categorise or classify at a level comparable to their more mathematically able peers. Such performance suggests that a foundation in basic concept knowledge and thinking skills may be critical to the development of early numeracy skills.