Numbers and arithmetic operations with early year’s teachers’ investigations

Abstract

This article analyzes investigations that took the number and the arithmetical operations in action directed to the continuing teachers’  training for Early childhood and initial years education. Among the 70 investigations developed in the period from 2001 to 2012 with teachers of these levels, there were 16 studies with a focus on this theme. The analyses indicate that, although the numbers are the main topic developed with children in the initial school stage – only 4 with pre-school teachers and 12 with the initial years – the researchers found few advances related to pedagogical postures in the treatment of such content. Model repetition strategies are still observed, which have contributed little to the understanding of the numerical system and its use in school and non-school contexts. Strategies involving mental calculation and the calculator still have timid insertion in classrooms. A good finding is that collaborative work has yielded good results, although not widely used yer.