The role of real‐life mathematics instruction on mathematics outcomes in kindergarten

Abstract

In an era of a declining quality and quantity of students entering and persisting in mathematics in the USA, researchers and policy makers are looking for new strategies to engage students in these fields and improve mathematics outcomes. One push has been to make mathematics instruction more relevant with real-world applications throughout the K-12 curriculum-i.e. to make instruction more focused on real-life situations. This empirical study examines specifically whether real-life mathematics instruction can influence mathematics achievement for students at the beginning of the educational pipeline. Using a newly released national-level dataset of a cohort of US kindergarten students, approximately ages 5-6 years old, from the 2010/11 school year (ECLS-K:2011), the findings indicate a positive relationship between the frequency of real-life mathematics instruction, as reported by the teacher and mathematics outcomes. The results are differentiated by student demographics, and implications are discussed.

The Context of Mathematics Experience of Early Childhood and Elementary Teachers Who Dislike Mathematics

“…Research indicates positive relationships between student achievement and real-life applications in kindergarten (Gottfried, 2016), in elementary school (Althauser & Harter, 2016), and in high school (Shinn et al, 2003).…”

“…What they wanted to see were mathematical connections, or interactions, between the classroom microsystem and their homes, communities, and workplaces. Research indicates positive relationships between student achievement and real-life applications in kindergarten (Gottfried, 2016), in elementary school (Althauser & Harter, 2016), and in high school (Shinn et al, 2003).…”

Teachers’ Mathematics Education and Readiness Beliefs, and Kindergarteners’ Mathematics Learning

“…With regards to teachers' instructional practices, scholars have found that certain math instructional practices, such as involving students in math related verbal communications and math vocabulary usage, were stronger predictors than others for kindergarteners' math achievement (Firmender et al, 2014;Gottfried, 2016). Likewise, there could be certain practices that may be more helpful than others to children's math learning in their kindergarten years.…”