ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines issues concerning the teaching and learning of mathematics from a developmental perspective. It focuses on to develop-mentalists that they have much to learn from research in mathematics education. The book examines the compatibility of the comparison-of-quantities position with the available research, and then considers the developmental and instructional ramifications of the conclusions that emerge from that undertaking. It explores the implications of the comparison-of-quantities position perspective for several important aspects of children's developing mathematical knowledge. The book also examines the origins and development of children's mathematical knowledge. It reviews research on children's early counting knowledge, giving particular attention to the major claims about early counting that have been made from the counting-first perspective and critically reexamining the evidence adduced in support of those claims.
