Output details

The Notions of Chance and Probabilities in Preschoolers

This article reports the findings of an experimental study focusing on preschoolers’ perceptions of the likelihood of events. Through two probabilistic tasks young children were tested to ascertain whether they had assimilated basic probabilistic concepts. This paper complements recent research which supports that chance and probabilistic thinking are evident in Early Years and interrelate with intuitive thinking. Parts of the findings have been presented at two conferences: Congress of European Research in Mathematics Education 6 (Lyon, 2009), 33rd Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (Thessaloniki, 2009).The significance of this research complies with a broader international interest in designing developmentally appropriate activities and inserting Probabilities and Statistics as a core theme in Early Years Mathematics Curricula.