PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN’S DIFFICULTIES IN NUMBERS AND OPERATIONS PROBLEMS

This research used a mixed-methods descriptive survey approach, where we examined the responses of 47 children in Grade 3 to numbers and operations problems. In this study, we jointly addressed one objective: (1) determining children's challenges in solving addition/subtraction and number-related problems. The problems included 14 items, each comprising 1 to 7 tasks and required participants to answer in one-on-one interview form to identify their problem-solving difficulties. In this study, we qualitatively classified and provided descriptions for the problems encountered accordingly, and we quantitatively analysed the correct and incorrect responses using only descriptive statistics. One of the key findings that stood out was that almost 50% of the children faced difficulties in comprehending and applying number concepts and skills. They exhibited challenges, such as limited knowledge in recalling basic addition/subtraction facts and expressing numbers in multiple ways. While children were observed to have the potential to address problems, they encountered greater obstacles when performing additions and subtractions. Nevertheless, their struggles with numerical problems indicated an underlying incapacity to solve arithmetic operations accurately. The implication is that most children at the start of Grade 3 did not understand number concepts and strategies for solving addition and subtraction problems and required guidance to perform the tasks.