Pathways to numeracy: A comparative analysis of policy and curricular materials for early years mathematics in three States of India

• In Event: Every child “counts”: Early numeracy acquisition in the Global South

Proposal

The Sustainable Development Goals advocate for universal pre-primary education by 2030, with early childhood education (ECE) featuring as a specific target (SDG 4.2). India’s 2020 National Education Policy strongly emphasizes the importance of ECE and envisions age 3-8 encompassing ECE, Grade 1 and 2 as the foundational stage of all learning. It also proposes developing a comprehensive National Curricular and Pedagogical Framework for Early Childhood Care and Education (NCPFECCE).

A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that across rural India, in the early years, children’s acquisition of foundational numeracy concepts is extremely poor, and significantly poorer than their early language development (Annual Status of Education Report 2018, 2019). However, there is little evidence regarding how children’s early numeracy outcomes reflect curriculum expectations in the years leading up to and in the early grades of formal schooling. Most research on textbooks in general has been done in the global north, and among studies on mathematics textbooks specifically, few have examined content for early childhood and early primary grades.

This paper presents findings from a mixed methods secondary data study that examines pathways to numeracy in rural India. It offers a comparative analysis of policy frameworks and curricular materials of early numeracy in pre-primary and early primary grades from three States in India (Assam, Rajasthan and Telangana). While the materials reviewed generally align with nationally prescribed Learning Outcomes, some significant gaps and inconsistencies also emerge. The paper reports on the considerable differences across states in the type and availability of material for young children, particularly at the pre-school level. It finds differences in the degree of attention paid to each of the four main domains associated in the literature with effective early years mathematics teaching and learning: Number concepts, Spatial Thinking, Measurement, Pattern and Sequence. Variations by state also include differences in whether and how these domains are interconnected; the emphasis placed on connecting the topic at hand to children’s immediate environment; the nature of instructions for teachers; as well as the inclusion of opportunities to involve children’s parents in teaching and learning activities. The research finds, in addition, that Grade 1 mathematics textbooks tend to begin from an advanced stage, focusing largely on number concepts, with little opportunity for revision and recap of other topics – the assumption being that children would have been exposed to these other domains at the pre-primary stage.

Findings from this comparative study show that young children have differential exposure to key concepts across the sample states, and highlight divergence from India’s national policy frameworks. The paper suggests that mathematics books could be more effectively structured to ensure continuity and progression in children’s learning. Ultimately, it points towards a need for India to ensure stronger and more equitable acquisition of foundational mathematics concepts for all children in their early years.

Authors

• Caroline Dyer, University of Leeds

• Aashna Khurana, ASER Centre, Pratham Education Foundation

• Purnima Ramanujan, ASER Centre

• Suman Bhattacharjea, ASER Centre