Why year one students have difficulties in mastering the numbers parts-whole relationship?

Many students struggle to master numbers parts-whole relationship. This study investigated why year one students have difficulties in mastering the numbers parts-whole relationship through qualitative approach. Data was collected from a purposive sample of six Year One students chosen based on their mathematics performance in LINUS through individual interviews. Analyses of data indicated that some students are not fully aware of the strategies they used or the other available strategies, and they could not relate the role of parts-whole concept to real-world problems. The high mathematics performers used strategies like fact retrieval and commutativity whereas low and average mathematics performers depended on counting strategies to solve problems based on parts-whole relationship. This study seeks to inform mathematics teachers of the causes for the difficulties faced by students in solving parts-whole problems so that they can plan their teaching and learning activities accordingly to improve their students´ mastery of parts-whole relationship.