Early numeracy in low-performing young children Pirjo Aunio *a , Jarkko Hautama ¨ki b , Nina Sajaniemi b and Johannes E. H. Van Luit c a University of Jyva ¨skyla ¨, Finland; b University of Helsinki, Finland; c Utrecht University, The Netherlands The aim of this study was to explore the early numeracy of low-performing young children. The mean age of the children was six years and four months. The 511 participants belonged to three groups: multi-language children, children with special educational needs and children with average performance. The results showed that there were significant group differences in early numeracy: the children in the reference group had better relational and counting skills than those with a multi-language background and those with special educational needs. Some differences were found in counting skills between the children with multi-language background and those with special educational needs. Finally, (special) educational support for low-performing children is discussed. Introduction Early numeracy Early numeracy refers to children’s abilities to understand and operate with quantities. In general, mathematical competence is the ability to construct a rich set of relationships between three mathematical ‘worlds’, namely the world of real quantities, the world of counting numbers, and the world of formal symbols (Griffin, 2003). The model of the central conceptual structures for numbers developed by Case and his colleagues (e.g. Case & Okamoto, 1996; Griffin & Case, 1998; Griffin, 2003) represents the most recent attempt to describe the development of mathematical thinking starting in early childhood. The central conceptual structure for whole numbers is a cognitive structure that permits a child to interpret the world of quantity and numbers in increasingly sophisticated ways, to acquire new knowledge in this domain, and to solve the range of problems that it presents (Griffin, 2003). It develops through two stages in early childhood. In the pre- dimensional period, at roughly four years of age, children have two separate *Corresponding author. Niilo Ma ¨ki Institute, University of Jyva ¨skyla ¨, PO Box 35, FIN-40014, Jyva ¨skyla ¨, Finland. Email: pirjo.aunio@nmi.fi British Educational Research Journal Vol. 35, No. 1, February 2009, pp. 25–46 ISSN 0141-1926 (print)/ISSN 1469-3518 (online)/09/010025-22 # 2009 British Educational Research Association DOI: 10.1080/01411920802041822