An analysis of the effects of the Early Mathematics Intervention Program on early mathematics skills of pre-school children at risk

Abstract

Supporting all children, particularly children with special needs, in the field of mathematics is important for their development. Therefore, it is necessary to develop and implement the necessary early intervention programs in relation to mathematics education. Studies indicate that early mathematics education intervention programs provide an increase in children’s mathematical knowledge levels improving their mathematics performance. It is also reported that such programs are effective in increasing the mathematical achievement of children at risk and that their effects may last for a longer time. Therefore, it is considered important to support the mathematics skills of the children in the risk group with early mathematics intervention programs, to identify the children whose mathematical skills are deficient or who have not acquired these skills sufficiently in the early period. In this study the is aim to reveal the effectiveness of an intervention program developed in relation to the early mathematics skills to improve such skills of children in the pre-school period between 60-72 months of age, who are in the risk group in terms of mathematics skills. In this study, the multiple probe model inter-subjects, which is one of the single-subject research models, was used. The participants of the study were three kindergarten students from three different schools in Kırşehir, Türkiye. The study was carried out in the special education center located in the said city. The data collection tool is an early mathematics intervention program developed for teaching early mathematics skills. When we look at the findings obtained from the study in general, it appears that the early mathematics intervention program was effective in improving the early mathematics skills of all three students. For this reason, priority should be given to supporting the development of early mathematics skills in all children attending pre-school education institutions. © 2023, Ozgen Korkmaz. All rights reserved.