Athens Journal of Education - Volume 8 - Issue 4 - Effectiveness of the Big Math for Little Kids Program on the Early Mathematics Skills of Children with Risk Group

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aran

Study evaluates the impact of the Big Math for Little Kids (BMLK) Program on early mathematics skills in children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Participants are children aged 60–72 months recruited to Turkish kindergartens in 2018–2019 (n=40), with 20 assigned to an experimental group and 20 to a control group. A pretest–posttest control-group design is used, with assessments via TELD-3 and TEMA-3. Results show the BMLK program is effective for mathematics development in the target group.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Early childhood and foundations of mathematical concepts

Early mathematics skills and socioeconomic risk

Study design and assessment approach

Pretest–posttest control-group model

TELD-3 and TEMA-3 measures

Findings

Athens Journal of Education-Volume 8, Issue 4, November 2021 – Pages 385-400 Effectiveness of the Big Math for Little Kids Program on the Early Mathematics Skills of Children with Risk Group By Özlem Altındağ Kumaş􀀍 & Cevriye Ergül † The aim of this study is to determine the effect of Big Math for Little Kids (BMLK) Program on the early mathematics skills of children with lower socioeconomic level. The participants of the study consist of between 60-72 months of aged children with lower socioeconomic level recruited to kindergartens of Ministry of National Education from Turkey in Diyarbakır in the 2018-2019 academic year. The sample of the study consists of 40 children with above mentioned characteristics. Of these, 20 were assigned to the experimental group and 20 to the control group. Two schools were selected for experimental and control group, and the study was conducted after selecting ten children in a class of each school. In the study pretest-posttest with control group experimental model was used. The data of the study were collected through the Tests of Early Language Development Test (TELD-3) to determine children with adequate language skills of their own age group, and Test of Early Mathematical Ability (TEMA-3) to assess early mathematical development of children. As a result, BMLK program was determined to be effective in the mathematics development of children with lower socioeconomic level. Keywords: early mathematics, early intervention, preschool period, big maths for little kids. Introduction Human development starts the moment when one is born and continues through lifetime. However, the early childhood period, which covers the ages of 0 to 8, is when the development is at its fastest and when humans are most open to the influence by their environment. The early childhood period has an important impact on a child's life in the future and children are ready to learn many skills during this period (Birkan, 2002). For this reason, early childhood is an important period in which foundations of many mathematical concepts are laid down, as in all areas of development, and in which children are open to develop mathematical skills (Clement & Sarama, 2007). Before school, concepts such as number, counting, measuring, shape, time and space come to mind when mathematics are considered. Such concepts contribute to the cognitive development of children and lay the foundation of early mathematical skills (Güven, 2005). From the moment he/she is born, the goal ofa child is to explore the world. During the early childhood period, children learn and start to use countless math-related concepts. This acquisition happens naturally as the child interacts with his/her surroundings and people around. During the pre-school period, children gain a lot of experience on numbers and quantity. They compare quantities, perceive the concepts of few and many and come up with various 􀀍Assistant Professor, Dicle University, Turkey. †Professor, Ankara University, Turkey. [https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.8-4-3](https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.8-4-3) doi=10.30958/aje.8-4-3 Vol. 8, No. 4 Kumaş & Ergül: Effectiveness of the Big Math for Little Kids… solutions to balance a tall building made of blocks. A few examples would be counting how many olives he/she ate, matching the number of plates to the number of napkins, sharing cookies equally among friends and counting fingers. Mathematical skills acquired during the early childhood period serve as the foundation of more complex mathematical information to be learned throughout school by supporting abilities to solve problems, making analyses and hypotheses, which form the basis of children's scientific thinking skills. In addition, children's early math skills are directly related to their future academic success, possibility to graduate high school with higher grades, higher employment rates, and professional achievement (Kroesbergen et al., 2009). In addition, a child's ex

FAQs

What is the purpose of the study?

To determine the effect of the Big Math for Little Kids (BMLK) Program on early mathematics skills of children with lower socioeconomic level.

How were participants assigned to groups?

Forty children (20 experimental, 20 control) were assigned to an experimental group or a control group after selecting ten children in a classroom of each selected school.

Which instruments were used to collect the study data?

TELD-3 was used to determine children with adequate language skills, and TEMA-3 was used to assess early mathematical development.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aran