Pre-school children’s bridge to symbolic knowledge: first literature framework for a learning and cognition lab at a South African university

Abstract

The authors present the theoretical groundwork for a research project on learning and cognitive development of number concepts in the early years of childhood. Giving a background sketch of the genesis of a learning and cognition lab at a university in the metropolitan heartland of South Africa, they present their initial literature framework for inquiries into children’s symbolic learning of number in the pre-school years. They argue that conceptual development of young children is a neglected area in childhood cognition research in South Africa. The study of some of the literature for the first project of the new lab is then introduced with a view of identifying a few of the main components of a conceptual framework for what will become a multiple-year study. The authors propose that this literature can serve as foundation for examining a linguistically diverse group of children’s responses on experimental tasks and in clinical interviews in four or more languages. The designs of these inquiries are imminent. They suggest that the views of leading authors such as Elizabeth Spelke, Susan Carey, and Stanislas Dehaene can shed much light on their understanding of early number concept development of South African children.