What Counts in Research? A Survey of Early Years' Mathematical Research, 2000–2005

Abstract

This study reviews 208 articles on early childhood mathematics education sourced from the ERIC database and published between 2000 and 2005 in order to determine the adequacy of the literature. The document analysis identified a heavy emphasis on (1) mathematical concepts and instruction, and (2) articles addressing the school years compared with the prior-to-school years. Overall, this study revealed (1) a lack of peer-reviewed articles that discuss, investigate, examine, or debate early childhood mathematics; (2) a limited emphasis in the prior-to-school years; and (3) a paucity of literature on technology and problem solving, which are fundamental in the twenty-first century.

Towards an understanding of early childhood mathematics education: A systematic review of the literature focusing on practicing and prospective teachers

“…The inclusion of 1141 articles in this review is a significant finding in and of itself. When Fox and Diezmann (2007) published findings from a similar literature review examining early childhood mathematics between 2000 and 2005, only 208 articles met the criteria for inclusion. In just over a decade (between 2005 and 2015), research in early childhood mathematics has grown at a tremendous rate.…”

“…In a cursory examination of current literature reviews, syntheses, or meta-analyses related to mathematics education, we determined that there were very few articles that presented an overarching view of the literature in early childhood mathematics. In fact, only three literature reviews related specifically to early childhood mathematics were identified (Anthony and Walshaw, 2009; Fox and Diezmann, 2007; Linder et al, 2013). In an effort to move towards a better understanding of this body of work, we also examined alternative reviews of literature related to either the cognitive domain of early childhood education or, specifically, elementary mathematics education, as the parameters for these searches often included kindergarten (age five) through third grade (age eight).…”

“…This review of the literature focused mainly on the point of view of the child and did not address issues such as teacher quality and preparation, professional development, assessment, or curricula in early childhood mathematics. Fox and Diezmann (2007), on the other hand, looked specifically at early childhood mathematics through a review of 208 articles published between 2000 and 2005. They provided an overview of the types of journals where this research was published, the age range of participants, and the types of topics that were present in each of the identified articles.…”

På leit etter grunnlag for norske barnehagers matematikkdidaktiske arbeid med romforståelse. - Et systematisk søk på forskning om barns utvikling av romforståelse gjort i barnehagekonteksten 1995-2010

“…Målet for vitenskapelige oversiktsartikler er ofte å samle og analysere kunnskap innenfor et fagområde hvor det er gjort store mengder forskning, men målet kan også vaere å identifisere tematiske områder der lite eller ingen forskning er gjort (Petticrew & Roberts, 2006, s. 2). Siden andre oversiktsartikler har tydet på at det finnes lite forskning på matematikk i barnehageårene (Fox & Diezmann, 2007) var antakelsen som lå til grunn for dette bidraget at kunnskapsstatusen om utvikling av romforståelsen i barnehagen er mangelfull.…”

“…Samlet sett kan screeningprosessen for tidsskrifter, biblioteksdatabaser og forskningskartlegginger visualiseres i denne tabellen: (Fox & Diezmann, 2007). Kvaliteten blir sikret gjennom fagfellevurderingen.…”