Engaging Indigenous children in mathematical learning in an early childhood setting

Young children are capable of engaging with challenging mathematical concepts at an early age. A strong foundation in mathematics is a precursor to later achievement. Yet many early childhood teachers continue to remain fearful of mathematics and perceive the teaching of the subject to be at odds with a play-based learning environment. For Indigenous children it is even more critical to provide a strong foundation in Western mathematics at an early age, as the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students continues to widen (MCEETYA 2007). The focus of this paper is pre-prep Indigenous children (average age 3 years and 6 months), and their two Indigenous teachers as they grapple with introducing challenging mathematical concepts in a play-based environment. The results indicate that as culturally appropriate mathematical learning activities were introduced into this environment the teachers became more aware of (a) children's understanding of mathematics, and (b) how they could engage in teaching mathematics while still maintaining their philosophy of play. This paper begins to document the factors that assisted this shift.