The study is based on the need to delve deeper into how pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children interact with mathematical tasks.
Fernanda Montoya, an academic from the School of Education, will develop a research project after being awarded a Fondecyt Initiation grant, under the title, "Understanding the level of mathematics task engagement: an exploratory study in NT1 and NT2 children."The research seeks to analyze the impact of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement in the mathematical performance of preschool children.
The study is based on the need to delve deeper into how pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children interact with mathematical tasks, considering that previous literature has addressed this problem from a general perspective, without focusing specifically on mathematical learning. The lack of instruments that comprehensively capture the three aspects of engagement makes it difficult to understand the factors that influence the persistence or abandonment of mathematical tasks at this age.
The project, designed as a quantitative longitudinal study, will involve 225 NT1 and NT2 children and their teachers. Three measurements will be taken over time to evaluate the level of engagement in specific mathematical tasks, such as the use of tangrams and image sequencing tasks. For this purpose, seducator self-reports and direct observations will be used, in addition to instruments that will measure mathematical performance, behavioral self-regulation, and vocabulary.
The expected findings will allow for the generation of contextualized knowledge about mathematical engagement in preschool children and its relationship with learning in the discipline. In addition, the study seeks to contribute to the training of educators, promoting instructional strategies that go beyond play with manipulative materials and consider the key role of cognition, emotions, and behavior in early mathematical learning. This study could also serve as a basis for the design of pedagogical interventions that promote comprehensive mathematical development from early childhood.