Collar the vast majority of people in the street and ask them about maths.
The chances are that you will soon find that it was a hated subject at school. Feelings about maths run high and it is not uncommon for adults to admit to feelings of inadequacy about their numerical skills.
In view of this experience, maybe it was not surprising that a recent proposal to allow children in secondary schools to drop maths at 14 received significant amounts of press coverage. So what is it that makes maths so difficult for children?
According to many experts, children's difficultly with maths lies not in the maths itself but in their confidence. 'Maths is all about confidence,'
says Professor Enderby, a scientist concerned that children's poor performance in maths is acting as a barrier to them going on to study science. He explains, 'Our problem is that many children simply lose their confidence and so are stuck with quite negative attitudes. Until we look closely at what happens to children's confidence, we will always be turning out children who feel that they can't achieve in maths.'
Back on the street, Kerry Paige, an exhibition assistant, concurs. She says, 'When I was at school I often felt inferior with my maths. Now I always use a calculator, and even so I always do something twice to make sure that it's correct. My job doesn't really involve any figures.'
Sadly, not being confident at maths and not achieving maths at a basic level can be very limiting, as Sandra Brace, a careers and education advisor, explains. 'Many young people, even if they are very artistic, are disappointed to find that they cannot get on to the courses they want.
Fashion design, building and catering may seem practical, but all require basic maths. In terms of occupations, this means that some people end up taking "second best" for themselves.'
So if confidence and positive attitudes are fundamental to later success in number, what role can early years practitioners play? The answer, according to child psychologist Jennie Lindon, author of 'What does it mean to be four?', is in making sure that children enjoy their maths. 'We often move children on too fast and don't let them practise enough. We need to focus in on what they are enjoying and let them take their time and explore number,' she says.
As well as planning activities and allowing children to incorporate number into their play, perhaps we also need to check that children learn about number from us. Sadly, for those of us who are not confident with number and maths, our own attitudes may subconsciously influence our practice.
Many adults' memories of number is of doing sums and trying hard to get the 'correct answer' and thus a tick. The danger is that practitioners may give children the hidden message that using number, whether counting, adding or subtracting, is about 'getting it right'. Statements such as 'no, try again and this time count it more carefully' may easily send out some quite damaging messages.
In the same way, worksheets and sums, while falsely reassuring adults that children are learning, can be problematic. Early recording can simply make number too abstract too soon for many children. It is therefore reassuring to see that the Foundation Stage curriculum guides practitioners towards using practical activities to help children's development of number.
Ideally, children need to hear and see adults using number so that they can learn that it is meaningful. Jennie Lindon suggests that failure to do this, combined with an urgency to move children on, is one reason why children may lose confidence. 'If children do not see the reasons behind counting or how adults use maths, they cannot connect with it,' she explains. 'This straightaway pushes number into the abstract, which of course many young children are not ready to handle.'