What can five-, six- and seven-year-olds tell us about the transition from mathematics in kindergarten to that in school in Norway?

• Main Authors: Pettersen, Geir Olaf, Volden, Monica
• Other Authors: The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø, Norway (UiT), Utrecht University, Uffe Thomas Jankvist, Marja van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, Michiel Veldhuis
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2019
• Subjects: Mathematics; kindergarten; transitions; school; [MATH]Mathematics [math]; [SHS.EDU]Humanities and Social Sciences/Education; Arctic; Norway; Arctic University of Norway; UiT The Arctic University of Norway
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-02414950; https://hal.science/hal-02414950/document; https://hal.science/hal-02414950/file/TWG13_22.pdf

International audience As we grow from small children to adults, we experience several transitions. This paper focuses on children’s voices on the transition from mathematics in kindergarten to that in school. What are their thoughts on going from one institution to another with a different curriculum, culture and values regarding mathematical learning? This paper reports answers from focus group interviews with children, ages five, six and seven, about mathematical learning. The study was situated within a research and development project SUM at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. The findings show that even though the transition is clear for teachers, both in kindergarten and school, we need to discuss how to present mathematical activities to children such that these activities help to ease the transition from one level of education to another.