Mathematics and higher-order thinking in early childhood education and care (ECEC)

Abstract

This article investigates the perspectives of Norwegian early childhood educators on mathematics and higher-order thinking. Thematic analysis of the connection between mathematics and children’s higher-order thinking skills was performed based on semi-structured interviews with ten educators in three different early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres. The findings suggest that educators, recognising mathematics as vital for ECEC, associate mathematics with problem-solving, an aspect of higher-order thinking skills highlighted in the research literature. The educators identified many opportunities for working with mathematics in daily activities, in accordance with the Norwegian tradition in recent years. Our results provide insights into how mathematics can support early childhood educators’ stimulation of higher-order thinking in the Norwegian ECEC context.

Keywords

• critical thinking
• higher-order thinking
• mathematics
• problem solving
• Norwegian ECEC educators