| The goal of the present study was to investigate (1) base-ten and place value related materials, activities, and instruction utilized by 10 Korean kindergarten teachers, (2) the relationship between the kindergarten classroom environment related to base-ten and place value knowledge and children's understanding of these number concepts. The previous studies have reported cross-cultural discrepancies in mathematical competency beginning at preschool throughout the early grades. Many researchers have found that Asian children's superior math achievement derived from their firm understanding of base-ten and place value notation. Although many researchers argued that young children's numerical experiences in kindergarten provided bases on which to build their later learning of mathematical knowledge, little is known about the base-ten and place value related materials, activities, and instruction that kindergarten teachers use to enhance their children's number concepts.; The ten kindergarten classrooms, which differed in terms of the quantity of base-ten and place value related materials, activities, and instruction, were selected using specific criteria. The researcher observed each selected classroom nine times during the second semester (end of August 2004 to February 2005). The teachers were interviewed after each observation and the parent questionnaire was distributed to gather information about home math activities.; Thirty four 5-year-olds were administered a pre-test and 310 5-year-olds were administered a post test to measure their understanding of the number concepts. Three independent variables were employed: base-ten and place value related materials, activities, and instruction. Two dependent variables were children's performance on base-ten and place value tasks. The data were coded following the procedure used by Miura et al. (1988;1993). Data were analyzed using the T-test, ANOVA, Scheffe's post hoc comparisons, and Chi-square test to examine the differences in the type of number construction and responses to place value tasks. Correlation and multiple regression procedures were also used to further analyze the relationship between three independent variables and children's performance on the number tasks.; The results showed that at the end of the kindergarten year, (1) the Korean kindergartners' number concept understanding varied based on the classroom environment, (2) the three independent variables both significantly and positively correlated with the children's performance on the number concept tasks. The major findings of this study and suggestions for future study were discussed. |
