Number sense represents the basis for the further acquisition of mathematical knowledge and skills and has a significant impact on one's future. This makes students with specific learning disabilities in math disadvantaged as their number sense is usually weaker. Early development of number sense in kindergarten and at home has an important effect on the subsequent performance in mathematics. For children coming from a less stimulating environment due to various reasons (lower socio-economic status, lower parent education level, etc.), educational institutions play a key role, as they need to provide more intensive support in developing number sense for these children. By defining number sense as one of the criteria for diagnosing specific learning difficulties in mathematics in the “Kriteriji za opredelitev vrste in stopnje primanjkljajev, ovir oziroma motenj otrok s posebnimi potrebami (2014),« number sense became an important issue for the exploration and development of the profession.
The study involved 159 children (82 boys and 77 girls; of these 15 children with special needs) who are starting with formal education in school the following year, and their parents. The central aim of the research was to investigate number sense in children prior to school entry, for which we designed a number sense test. On the basis of the results we wanted to determine the reliability and adequacy of the designed instrument. Using a questionnaire for parents we also gathered information about parents’ level of education, frequency of involving the child in mathematical activities at home and the opinions of parents regarding the importance of achieving specific mathematical skills prior to school entry. With the use of Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis test we compared the childrens results according to their age, gender and the presence of special needs. Spearman correlation coefficient was used to identify correlation between child’s number sense and parents level of education, child’r number sense and the frequency of involving the child in experiences with mathematical skills (at home) and parents level of education and the frequency of involving the child in experiences with mathematical skills.
The results showed significant differences in the development of number sense according to age and the presence of special needs. Gender differences did not occur. The results also showed that the child’s result on the number sense test correlated with the frequency of domestic experience with mathematical activities (reported by parents) and parents level of education.
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