Proving that proof has a place in the primary classroom

This article considers the place of proof, as a mathematical process, in the primary classroom. It describes the struggle the author, a primary school educator, went through with defining what proof is, what the educational goals of proof are, how these educational goals feature implicitly in the primary classroom, and what pedagogical considerations are necessary for these goals to be realised. The article reviews relevant literature and argues that the educational goals of proof will be realised for teachers who already incorporate mathematical inquiry and mathematical argumentation as a norm within their classroom. It concludes that such mathematical learning experiences will foster greater levels of conceptual understanding within all levels of the education system.