| Summary: | In this study we aimed to investigate preschool teachers' perceptions of mathematics in relation to play. And what pre-school teachers have to say about their active presence about children's mathematical learning. In addition, we also want to investigate how they describe that mathematics in both planned and spontaneous play is implemented. We used these issues to get close to our aim; What approaches do pre-school teachers have to play and learning in relation to mathematics? How do preschool teachers describe the implementation of mathematics in relation to play? In this study we used qualitative research and we interviewed six active preschool teachers and summarized their answers. We found out that a phenomenological research approach suits this study. The theories we have based our study on are Lev. S Vygotskij, Alan Bishop and Friedrich Fröbel. Our result: In this study, we have studied pre-school teachers' perceptions of how mathematics can be applied through play. According to preschool teachers, play leads to mathematics learning. Furthermore, they believe that play and learning go hand in hand, so it can be difficult to define what play is and what learning is, according to most of them. The study shows that learning takes place in preschool daily and in all activities the children participate in or observe. According to the teachers, learning in mathematics can take place when the child plays by himself, or in interaction with other peers, and with a teacher present. This teachers’ presence depends on the situation in the game. According to the teachers, they can sometimes observe the game and only participate to implement a clarification in the game, be a co-researching teacher with empathy. Our conclusions may be that learning in mathematics takes place all the time, but it is clarified by the active role of preschool teachers and awareness of their approach.
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