ABSTRACT
This chapter sets out to answer some of the questions people ask about mathematics and teaching in the early years and sets the scene for the rest of the book. It is new to this edition since, with the increased focus on training for early years practitioners at foundation degree and early years profession status levels, students may no longer address these issues in a wider study of mathematical learning. The chapter considers what mathematics is, looks at attitudes to learning mathematics from the point of view of both the practitioner and the children they are working with, summarises some of the theoretical perspectives on learning mathematics, considers the range of mathematics young children can learn and draws out the implications for settings.
