Spatial concepts of position and the acquisition of numerical knowledge

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Numerical knowledge is of great and increasing importance for an active and successful participation in modern society. According to recent theoretical approaches, the acquisition of increasingly precise numerical magnitude knowledge is the common core of numerical development. It is assumed that numerical magnitudes are represented along a mental number line and can be localized spatially. The assumed spatial character of numerical representations raises the question whether an understanding of spatial concepts of position (e.g., in front of and behind) are relevant for the processing of numerical magnitudes and their relationships. Although the assumed relevance of the understanding of spatial concepts of position for the acquisition of early mathematical skills is already reflected by the use of tasks to investigate this understanding in various diagnostic approaches, it has not yet been systematically investigated. The proposed project aims at investigating the role of children’s understanding of spatial concepts of position for the acquisition of numerical knowledge. We will therefore examine the association between preschool children’s understanding of spatial concepts of position and their numerical knowledge in a longitudinal study following children from their penultimate year of kindergarten to their final year of kindergarten. In addition, we will train preschool children's understanding of spatial concepts of position in an intervention study and look for effects on their numerical knowledge.