Eric.ed.gov – The Identification of Socio-Economic Differences and Their Effect on the Teaching of Readiness for “New Math Concepts” in the Kindergarten. Final Report.

This report is a continuation of a study conducted at the University of Wisconsin during the spring of 1967. The previous study, Technical Report #38, succeeded in teaching conservation of numerousness to small groups of kindergarten children, in a middle-class community. The purpose of the present study was to determine if the typical classroom teacher, in schools differing in socio-economic levels, could successfully use the lessons developed in the previous study to effect conservation of numerousness with kindergarten children. Four questions were considered – (1) can the typical classroom teacher teach the conservation lessons as successfully as a specially trained expert, (2) is the treatment of greater value for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, (3) is the treatment of greater value for younger kindergarten children than for older ones, and (4) do younger children from disadvantaged backgrounds, who may have more cognitive flexibility, benefit more from the lessons? The “Test of Conservation of Numerousness” was presented to 484 kindergarten students partitioned into a control and two experimental groups. The results showed that the only question which could be answered affirmatively was question number two. (RP)