Abstract:
Mathematics is one of the core subjects in the Basic Education Curriculum in Kenya. It means that all pupils are
required to have a strong grounding in the subject which depends on the level of their early mathematics
competencies. The purpose of the study was therefore to establish the level of pupils’ acquisition of early
mathematics competencies. The study was also to determine how class size was related to pupils’ acquisition of
early mathematics competencies. The study was guided by Social Development Theory by Lev Vygotsky. The
study adopted a correlation research design and a mixed research method approach. The dependent variable was
pupils’ acquisition of early mathematics competencies while the independent variable was class size. The results
from data analysis revealed that majority of the pupils had acquired early mathematics competencies and there was
a difference in pupils’ acquisition of early mathematics competencies between grade three pupils in public and
those in private primary schools. The relationship between class size and pupils’ acquisition of early mathematics
competencies was significant at p<0.05 level of significance
