Well, your topic is very interesting and I do not know why you wouldn't go on with this. But apart of interest and empathy you should study child psychology first and then ECE. I would recommend Arnold Gesell and his collaborators, especially Ilg and Bates. Well, their studies are "old" but very, very useful. Also, Jean Piaget and his collaborators, everything you can get. He (and they) has a lot of studies in different aspects of math. All the best.

Usually, in the books I have read, there are a lot of cited authors I do not know, so, I follow the trend. All the best.

I’m not sure if you are asking about pathways into studying in this area or if you are looking for theorists and researchers whose work you might explore. You might find the work of Constance Kamii of interest.

Sure, Constance Kamii followed Jean Piaget

@Lio Moscardini thank you yes I want to know the pathway, research or books to increase my knowledge about early childhood mathematics education or help me to research about that.

Nobody has to have to. You already have many experiences from which new questions have arisen. It's worth checking which universities are researching topics that match your interests and questions. I agree, Constance Kamii's research is a landmark; she pedagogized Piaget. Geeta Ramani's research is also very enlightening. For mathematical education, Hans Freudenthal is a must. His clever, critical and humorous writings are classic. But, start with real geometry, not the stuff you can buy. Also study the works of Elena Bodrova, because she introduces very well the ideas and practices of Lev Vygotsky. According to Vygotsky, play is the zone of the proximal development. Whoever teaches mathematics without play is not an educator at all. For awareness and metacognition, I recommend the writings of Paulo Freire and Cognitive Acceleration (Philip Adey). - There is no university that teaches all this. University is a worldwide network that advances the joy of research and humanity. All the best.

See an example of transformative pedagogy of mathematics educationResearch Proposal Monza - parlor game

I agree with professor Meyer-Baumgartner. However, I would like to mention that Vygotsky never said that play IS the zone of the proximal development; according to the definition of ZPD, it cannot be. But of course, the didactic play could be a tool used with children in order to make them to attain a ZPD.

Magdalena Dumitrana As for Vygotsky, the writings and thesis of Milda Bredikyte give differentiated information also about modern research (see also Pentii Hakkkarainen). A systemic game theory is required, in which not only the cognitive, but also the emotional and the relational elements come into play. The ZPD is a "viral" concept that thrives on attentive impulses and resources in a group. - In my latitudes, it is observable that ZPD is quite naturally perceived in the sense of transmission pedagogy. This is shown by the fact that teachers believe that the more difficult task sheet is ZPD. - It is a long way to Vygotsky.

Prof Meyer-Baumgartner, I've read Vygotsky and I am still reading him. Nothing you said is correct; this is the "Western approach" which converts a natural concept into something very difficult. I've read Bodrova, Karpov, Kozyrev (their English writings), and a lot of Western authors in love with Vygotsky.

When I was in primary school, a long time ago, the teachers followed some methods which were actually, of Russian origins. Later on, I realized that it was "something" of ZPD. If today's teachers find this difficult it is just because they did not read Vygotsky but listen only to their trainers who also did not read him. Actually, this is happening all over the world, including in Russia.