In this paper, we make a qualitative analysis of didactic experiments performed with five 6 to 10-year-old children and five primary school teachers, starting from a structured game with probabilistic elements. The fundamental idea is to stimulate probabilistic thinking not only by playing a card game with decision making in uncertain situations, but by inventing games modifying the initial game. These experiments are grounded on the importance of emotions for learning, the subjective probability approach, and researches on problem posing. We have found that this activity of inventing games has a significant impact on the development of probabilistic thinking in children and teachers; it reduces the anxiety and it could be used in teaching strategies to foster statistical and probability literacy. Some of its positive effects are the strengthening of creativity, self-efficacy, self-esteem, the ability to ask questions, and the enjoyment of learning. First published February 2020 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives

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A significant way to contribute in the analysis of deficiencies in school performance, a known issue particularly in mathematics, is by delving into children’s development of informal mathematics during their early childhood, and thus have better elements to intervene in a more timely, effective manner. From this point of view, this study analyzes how the relationship between parenting behavior and early mathematics can be mediated by the development of self-regulation in children. The sample of the study is made of 85 students, between 5 and 6 years old, who are in their last year of preschool in two public schools in Lima. The instruments used are the Spanish translations of the Test of Early Mathematics Ability - 3, Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task and Parent Behavior Inventory. The main results show that self-regulation in children and their caregivers’ parenting behavior are significant predicting variables in early mathematical development. Specifically, the findings suggest that self-regulation in children can significantly mediate the relationship between the dimension of support/engagement in parenting behavior and the development of early mathematics in children during preschool.

One of the strongest predictors of future academic achievement is the early and informal math skills children begin their school studies. Because of this, it is essential to have proper tools for measuring the development of mathematical thinking at an early age to be able to intervene in a timelier, more effective way. The purpose of this research is to calibrate the items of informal mathematics from the test of early mathematics ability-third edition (TEMA-3) by applying the Rasch model. A total of 148 Peruvian preschool children (ranging in age from five to six years) participated in the study. The results show good psychometric properties of the informal mathematics dimension of the instrument, which indicates a good fit of the student sample, the items to the proposed model and a tendency toward unbiased items. We further determined that the items analyzed exhibit a consistent internal structure at the theoretical level.

Introduction.  In Peru, there are few studies that include individual differences between students to explain their academic performance at the beginning of formal schooling. For that reason, the aim of the present study was to predict the perceived academic performance of a group of students based on the following variables: effortful control (EC) and school liking (SL).   Method.  A sample of 423 students, between 5 and 8 years old (M = 6.29, SD = 0.89), was gathered from public schools in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas in Lima. A total of 45 teachers gave information about their perceptions regarding the study variables in their respective students.   Results.  The hierarchical linear regression analysis results show that both effortful control and school liking are positive and significant predictors of perceived academic performance, even after controlling for students’ cognitive skills and their mothers’ educational level.   Discussion and Conclusion.  Possible explanations for these findings and their relevance in the Peruvian context are discussed.