FoNS includes an awareness of the relationship between number and quantity and included notions of cardinality. In particular, children understand not only the one-to-one correspondence between a number’s name and the quantity it represents but also that the last number in a count represents the total number of objects (Jordan and Levine 2009; Malofeeva et al 2004; Van Luit and Schopman 2000). Significantly, the correspondence between a number’s name or symbol and the quantity represented is, essentially, a human invention requiring instruction (Geary 2013). Children who have difficulty with this mapping process tend to experience later mathematical difficulties (Kroesbergen et al. 2009; Mazzocco et al. 2011).
References
Geary, D. (2013). Early foundations for mathematics learning and their relations to learning disabilities. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(1), 23-27.
Jordan, N.., & Levine, S. (2009). Socioeconomic variation, number competence, and mathematics learning difficulties in young children. Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 15(1), 60-68.
Kroesbergen, E., Van Luit, J., Van Lieshout, E., Van Loosbroek, E., & Van de Rijt, B. (2009). Individual differences in early numeracy. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 27(3), 226-236.
Malofeeva, E., Day, J., Saco, X., Young, L., & Ciancio, D. (2004). Construction and evaluation of a number sense test with Head Start children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(4), 648-659.
Mazzocco, M., Feigenson, L., & Halberda, J. (2011). Impaired acuity of the approximate number system underlies mathematical learning disability (dyscalculia). Child Development, 82(4), 1224–1237.
Van Luit, J., & Schopman, E. (2000). Improving early numeracy of young children with special educational needs. Remedial and Special Education, 21(1), 27-40.