The original rationale for this special issue on early childhood mathematics education was to make visible the wealth of research in this area which, we argue, has been under-valued in recent times. Arguably, this is a consequence of increased attention on school achievement and the need to develop methodological paradigms which focus on “what works” in raising attainment, which contrasts with earlier exploratory studies of how and why young children learn. However, this under-valuation is perplexing given the widespread belief that children’s early experiences with mathematics (aged 0 to eight years) have a lasting impact on their progress, attainment and disposition to study mathematics later in their educational career. In light of this, the articles in this special issue are selected in order to represent the diversity of research in this area. They draw on various theoretical perspectives and methodologies to critically explore the foundations of young children’s competencies and relationships with mathematics and the forms of pedagogy deemed appropriate to teaching mathematics in early childhood. They also span a number of national contexts, education systems and learning environments (the family home, kindergarten, early school) and consequently utilise a number of different terms to refer to “early childhood” including: preschool, early years and preprimary. For the sake of clarity, we have defined early childhood mathematics education as that which involves children aged 0 to eight years. This may include a variety of educational settings: kindergarten, private day nurseries, preschool and the early years of formal schooling depending on the country/education system in which it is situated. The special issue consists of five research articles which we have loosely grouped together to reflect two key themes: (1) recognising the mathematical competencies of young children and the importance of their beliefs about learning mathematics; and (2) conceptualisations of pedagogy in early childhood mathematics education policy and practice. At the heart of these two themes lies an overarching focus on the child as an agent in the learning process. In relation to the first theme, agency can be seen in the recognition of the child as a subject/actor engaged with others (carers, teachers, researchers) in mathematising in the world through which they develop a mathematical perspective and also an awareness of themselves as mathematics learners. The second theme seeks to question how the agency of the child is located within conceptualisations of pedagogy for early childhood, with a distinction drawn between approaches that are led by the child and those led by the teacher. Typically, it is the former approach which emphasises the child’s agency, with the adult facilitating opportunities for spontaneous mathematising rather than teaching a mathematics curriculum. This contrasts with some versions of a teacher-led approach whereby the child may be given less access to mathematising if the teacher must adhere to a prescriptive, fast paced curriculum with rigid learning objectives in order to prepare children for the formal school mathematics curriculum. Crucial to this distinction is the question of how we understand the purpose of early childhood mathematics education and early childhood education more broadly. From a social pedagogy perspective, this purpose is typically focused on building the whole child to enable their independence in the outside world. Whereas, a school readiness approach in its most stringent form, might typically be designed purely to raise attainment later in the school career.

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社论

这个关于幼儿数学教育的特刊最初的理由是让人们看到这一领域的研究财富，我们认为，最近这些研究被低估了。可以说，这是由于对学校成绩的日益关注以及需要开发方法论范式的结果，这些方法论范式侧重于提高成就的“有效方法”，这与早期对幼儿学习方式和原因的探索性研究形成鲜明对比。然而，这种低估令人困惑，因为人们普遍认为，儿童早期的数学经验（0 到 8 岁）会对他们在教育生涯后期学习数学的进步、成就和倾向产生持久影响。有鉴于此，特刊中的文章被选中以代表该领域研究的多样性。他们利用各种理论观点和方法，批判性地探索幼儿能力的基础和与数学的关系，以及被认为适合幼儿数学教学的教学法形式。它们还涵盖了许多国家背景、教育系统和学习环境（家庭、幼儿园、幼儿园），因此使用了许多不同的术语来指代“幼儿”，包括：学前班、幼儿期和学前班。为了清楚起见，我们将幼儿数学教育定义为涉及 0 至 8 岁儿童的教育。这可能包括各种教育环境：幼儿园、私立日托所、学前班和早期正规学校教育，取决于其所在的国家/教育系统。本期特刊由五篇研究文章组成，我们将它们松散地组合在一起以反映两个关键主题：(1) 认识到幼儿的数学能力以及他们对学习数学的信念的重要性；(2) 幼儿数学教育政策和实践中教学法的概念化。这两个主题的核心是将儿童作为学习过程中的主体。关于第一个主题，能动性可以被看作是承认儿童是与他人（照顾者、教师、研究人员）在世界中的数学化过程中，他们发展了数学视角，并意识到自己是数学学习者。第二个主题试图质疑儿童的能动性如何在幼儿教育学的概念化中定位，区分由儿童领导的方法和由教师领导的方法。通常，前一种方法强调儿童的能动性，成人促进自发数学化的机会，而不是教授数学课程。这与教师主导方法的某些版本形成鲜明对比，如果教师必须遵守规定，则儿童可能无法获得数学化的机会，具有严格学习目标的快节奏课程，为孩子们准备正规的学校数学课程。这种区别的关键在于我们如何更广泛地理解幼儿数学教育和幼儿教育的目的。从社会教育学的角度来看，这个目的通常侧重于培养完整的孩子，使他们能够在外部世界中独立。然而，最严格形式的入学准备方法通常可能纯粹是为了提高在学校生涯后期的成就。这个目的通常侧重于培养完整的孩子，使他们能够在外部世界中独立。然而，最严格形式的入学准备方法通常可能纯粹是为了提高在学校生涯后期的成就。这个目的通常侧重于培养完整的孩子，使他们能够在外部世界中独立。然而，最严格形式的入学准备方法通常可能纯粹是为了提高在学校生涯后期的成就。