Children, everyday numbers and school numbers

Abstract

Relationship made by school children between “daily” numbers, or rather, numbers deployed outside the school, and numbers worked out in school under various circumstances, or rather, orally and in writing, is investigated. Analysis has been undertaken with ten six-year-old children by means of a clinical and critical method. Research results show that children interact with the environment and recognized the figures, name them, conjecture on their written mode and give coherent meaning to the figures. Analysis also demonstrates that children use numbers outside the school. They understand and exemplify the number’s different meanings in an out-class context. Since the children do not give a weighty meaning to “school” numbers, pedagogical activity with numbers fails to put into practice the recommendations of the official policy.