WHERE DOES MATHEMATICS EDUCATION START? CONNECTING THE PRESCHOOL CURRICULUM AND THE HOME ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

The paper presents a study conducted within a broader scientific project named Contemporary approaches to the teaching methodology of mathematical education in early childhood. The theoretical background is based on the assumption that a family context in which children grow up can influence the early maths development and knowledge that they bring into an educational system. This survey, conducted on the sample of 250 parents of six-year-old children who attended a public preschool institution in Banja Luka, was presented in the article. The study correlates the children’s home activities with factors connected to the socio-economic status of their respective families (parents’ education, income, and profession and possession of toys and playing materials at home). Although the survey results partially confirm the hypotheses, some implications for both mutual impacts and interconnection of the preschool curriculum, as a vision of early childhood mathematical education experts, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, family environment, offering initial support for children’s mathematical development, can be set.