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The Cross-Cultural Math Project
This project is being conducted with colleagues from Beijing Normal University, Peking University, Keio University, and Arizona State University. A cross-cultural longitudinal study is being conducted (1) to compare the development of informal mathematical cognition in three- to six-year-old Chinese, Japanese, and American children, and (2) to investigate how these cultures support children’s early mathematical development in multiple learning environments. We are including children from families representing different socioeconomic strata or parent-education levels in all three countries to ensure that variation within cultures as well as variation between cultures is being addressed in the research. Two intensive studies of young children’s mathematical learning environments are being conducted to examine the nature and extent of support for informal mathematical development that children are receiving at home and in classroom environments across diverse socioeconomic and cultural contexts. Our investigation of how young children’s learning environments support early mathematical development is informed by the theoretical construct of the “developmental niche” that includes three subsystems: (1) the physical and social settings in which the child develops, (2) culturally influenced customs of child rearing and care, and (3) knowledge and belief systems of parents, teachers, and other caregivers about children’s behavior, learning, and development. We are employing several converging methodologies to study each of these subsystems in the home and classroom so as to yield a more comprehensive account of the support for early mathematical development in China, Japan, and the United States. We anticipate that these studies will enable us to map specific relationships between children’s mathematical leaming environments and their concomitant mathematical development.
The findings of this research will reveal when and how to support effectively the development of children’s informal mathematical knowledge before they receive formal mathematics instruction in school. Moreover, in the United States, these results will have implications for standardsbased education reform efforts in mathematics and will inform federal and state efforts to accommodate to the nation’s need for all children to enter school ready to learn school mathematics.
This project is funded by the National Science Foundation as part of the Interagency Education Research Initiative. Prentice Starkey is the principal investigator.
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