THE SCOPE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF GEOMETRIC CONCEPTS IN SELECTED KINDERGARTENS IN POLAND

The core curriculum of preschool education stipulates that the child that is prepared to study Mathematics in school can distinguish between basic geometric figures (circles, squares, triangles, rectangles). Nevertheless, a review of the records of student training in kindergarten revealed that there were no geometry-related subjects in any of them. Therefore, it was decided to further explore whether it was the teachers who did not implement geometrical concepts or just the students, who had no opportunity to observe or conduct classes in the field. In addition, if the latter was the case, the analysis was to include the extent to which teachers implement geometric concepts.A total of 150 teachers (females only), 78 teachers from 19 kindergartens located in Siedlce and 72 teachers from 18 kindergartens located in Biala Podlaska, participated in the research. The research methods of a diagnostic survey and document review were employed. Structured interviews were conducted with the teachers in order to identify the factors having an influence on the implementation of geometric concepts in kindergartens. The content analysis of geometry topics recorded in class registers was performed for the period of 8 months. The analysis of research results revealed that, in most cases, there was no systematic mathematical education with geometric content provided by most of the teachers participating in the research. They do not use children's potential, i.e. geometric intuition, in an effective way. However, if properly shaped in kindergarten, this intuition may be a baseline for a more systematic study of Mathematics, including geometry, in school. On the basis of this research, conclusions may be drawn about the scope of geometrical education in kindergartens.