Conceptualizing Preschool Teachers’ Knowledge for teaching Geometry

Abstract

Who says that preschool teachers need to teach geometry (or for that matter any mathematics)?!? In the past, researchers held the opinion that young children have little knowledge of mathematics and should not begin learning mathematics before beginning formal schooling in elementary school (Bereiter & Engelmann, 1966; Thorndike, 1922). Recently, a joint position paper published in the United States by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) stated that “high quality, challenging, and accessible mathematics education for 3- to 6-year-old children is a vital foundation for future mathematics learning” (NAEYC & NCTM, 2002, p.1).