The Knowledge Quartet as a Theoretical Lens to Explore Kindergarten Teachers’ Teaching of Mathematics

The aim of this study is to analyse kindergarten teachers’ teaching of mathematical activities for 5-year-olds to characterise the competence on which their teaching is based. The Knowledge Quartet, proposed by Rowland et al. (J Math Teach Educ 8(3):255–281, 2005), is argued to be suitable for analysing the mathematical competence of kindergarten teachers revealed foundational knowledge, knowledge-in-action and knowledge-in-interaction in their teaching. The paper reports an analysis of one kindergarten teacher’s taught activity within the frame of a project where mathematical activities had been designed by researchers. Taking advantage of her competence, the kindergarten teacher nurtures the children’s processes of appropriating the involved mathematical concepts. Some modifications to the Knowledge Quartet as an analytical tool are suggested due to kindergarten particularities.