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I den här studien undersöktes förskoleklasslärares möjligheter att följa och analysera elevers matematikutveckling utifrån en intervention i matematik läsåret 2012/2013. Två grupperingar med förskoleklasser var aktuella i studien. I Skogsgruppen som under studien fortsatte sin ordinarie undervisning, ingick lärare och elever från tre förskoleklasser och i Trädgårdsgruppen som påverkades att ändra sin undervisning genom en intervention, ingick lärare och elever från fyra förskoleklasser. Interventionen innebar att förskoleklasslärarna arbetade utifrån en tydlig struktur genom att använda materialet, Tänka, resonera och räkna med förskoleklass (Sterner, Helenius & Wallby, 2014). Materialet är framtaget genom forskning och beprövad erfarenhet. Förskoleklasslärarna i Trädgårdsgruppen genomgick även en fortbildning på totalt 18 timmar knuten till interventionsmaterialets teorier och bakgrund. Utifrån den empiri som samlades in och de analyser som gjorts kan jag säga något om när och hur elevernas matematikutveckling och elevernas svårigheter i matematik blev synligt för förskolklasslärarna. Det framkom att matematikutveckling sker hos elever i alla förskoleklassgrupper men studien visar att det är skillnad mellan Trädgårdsgruppen och Skogsgruppen beträffande vilken kunskapsutveckling hos eleverna som är synlig för förskoleklasslärarna. Studien visar även att kommunikation, pedagogisk kunskap och ämneskunskap ökar möjligheterna för förskoleklasslärarna att upptäcka, följa och analysera elevernas matematikutveckling och därmed även upptäcka elever som kan vara i risk att hamna i matematiksvårigheter. Av studien framgår att interventionsmaterialet tillsammans med fortbildning stöttar förskoleklasslärarna och bidrar till att elevernas svårigheter eller missuppfattningar i matematik uppmärksammas tidigare och därmed kan komma att åtgärdas av förskoleklasslärarna. Interventionsmaterialet bidrar till ett ökat samspel mellan lärare-lärare, lärare-elev och elev-elev. Det ökade samspelet upplevde förskoleklasslärarna ge en ökad medvetenhet angående deras egen kunskap och kommunikation. Den ökade kunskapsmedvetenheten ledde till ökad medvetenhet om elevernas kunskapsutveckling vilket i sin tur gav bättre kunskapsutveckling hos eleverna.

This study examined preschool-class teacher's possibilities to monitor and analyse pupils' mathematical development based on an intervention in mathematics 2012/2013. Two groupings with preschool-classes participated in the study. In the Forest group who during the study continued their regular teaching, participated teachers and pupils from three preschool-classes and in the Garden group who were affected to change their teaching through an intervention, participated teachers and pupils from four preschool-classes. The intervention affected the preschool-class teachers to use a clear structure in their teaching using the material, Tänka, Resonera och Räkna med förskoleklass (Sterner m fl., 2014). This material is designed and based on research and experience. Preschool-class teachers in the Garden group also underwent an 18-hour professional development program linked to the intervention material's theories and background. Based on the data collected and the analysis made, I can say when and how pupils' mathematical development and pupils' difficulties in mathematics development become visible to the preschool-class teachers. It is visible that the pupils' mathematical development occurs in all preschool-classes, but the study shows that there is a difference between the Garden group and the Forest group regarding the mathematical development that is visible for preschool-class teachers. The study also shows that communication and subject knowledge increases the opportunities for preschool-class teachers to detect pupils' difficulties in mathematics development. The intervention material together with the professional development program provides assistance to preschool-class teachers and presents an increased opportunity to detect and remedy difficulties or misunderstandings that pupils may get into in mathematics. The intervention material also contributes to increased interaction between teacher-teacher, teacher-pupil and pupil-pupil. The increased interaction gives preschool-class teachers an increased awareness regarding their own knowledge and communication. The increased knowledge awareness leads to increased awareness of pupils' progress, which in turn provides better progress of the pupils' knowledge.

This paper reports the long-term results of an intervention study with 134 six-year-old students from seven preschool-classes in northern Sweden to evaluate whether the Think, Reason and Count in Preschool-class programme (TRC) could prevent at-risk students from becoming low-performing students in mathematics. Whereas the pre-test score revealed that the intervention and the control group preformed equally, scores on the delayed follow-up-test in Grade 3 showed that the intervention group performed better than the control group and that at-risk students had closed the performance gap between themselves and their not-at-risk peers.

This chapter is an analysis and comparison of students' subject knowledge in mathematics in Grade 3 (Age 9) after an extensive whole-class intervention using the teaching material think, reason, and count (TRC) during the preschool-class year (Age 6). The national test (NT) reveals that the TRC-group (n = 79; 4 classes) performed better than the control group (n = 55; 3 classes), and a significant difference is shown on two of the subtests. This chapter shows that inclusive mathematics education in preschool-class focusing on reasoning about representations of numbers develops good mathematical knowledge and is especially supportive for students at-risk. Correlation of the tested areas of mathematics to TRC reveal that at-risk-students perform better in all areas of TRC.

One of the latest reforms in Sweden in order to increase equity and quality in education is making national assessment compulsory in preschool-class (age 6). The claimed political volition is all students’ best possible mathematical development. In this paper, we examine the preparatory work, the assignment to the National Agency of Education, and the assessment material itself, searching for what meaning is inscribed regarding the student, mathematics and assessment. The results imply that the politics of the assessment might exaggerate a search for flaws and control instead of promoting all students learning and in addition contributing to the schoolification of preschool-class.