Teachers’ Pedagogical Mathematical Awareness in Swedish Early Childhood Education

Abstract

Revised guidelines for Swedish early childhood education that emphasize mathematics content and competencies in more detail than before raise the question of the status of pedagogical mathematical awareness among Swedish early childhood teachers. The purpose of this study is to give an overview of teachers' current pedagogical mathematical awareness. A questionnaire was distributed to 147 teachers, asking them to respond to their habits of working with mathematics. The survey is based on theoretical conjectures of teacher professionality (pedagogical content knowledge), integrated with the idea of developmental pedagogy. Results from the questionnaire show that teachers account for mathematics as learning content but limitations are discerned concerning teachers' awareness of spatial aspects of mathematics and problematization of mathematical content in goal-oriented manners. The results also point out areas for further stimulation in teacher training.