Multiple influences of working memory capacity on number comprehension: The interplay with metacognition and number-specific prerequisites

Foundations for future math achievement: Early numeracy, home learning environment, and the absence of math anxiety

BACKGROUND

Mathematics achievement is pivotal in shaping children's future prospects. Cognitive skills (numeracy), feelings (anxiety), and the social environment (home learning environment) influence early math development.

METHOD

A longitudinal study involved 85 children (mean age T1 = 6.4 years; T2 = 7.9) to explore these predictors holistically. Data were collected on early numeracy skills, home learning environment, math anxiety, and their impact on various aspects of math.

RESULTS

The study found that early numeracy skills, home learning environment, and math anxiety significantly influenced math school achievement. However, they affected written computation, sequences, and comparisons differently. Early numeracy skills strongly predicted overall achievement and comparison subtest performance.

CONCLUSION

These findings underscore the substantial role of math anxiety and home learning environment in children's math achievement. The study emphasizes the need to consider the selective impacts of these factors in future research, shedding light on the multifaceted nature of mathematics achievement determinants.

The Longitudinal Contributions of Preschool Executive Functions and Early Math Abilities to Arithmetic Skills in Elementary School

Executive functions (EFs) are linked to children's overall math performance, although few studies have considered the joint role of prior math abilities for specific math subskills, such as arithmetic. The current study examined the longitudinal contributions of preschool EFs and early math abilities to children's accuracy and reaction time on arithmetic problems. Two hundred and eighty-three children completed EF and numeracy assessments at 5.25 years old. Children completed an arithmetic problem task in first (Mage = 7.14), second (Mage = 8.09), and third grade (Mage = 9.08). Results indicated that preschool EFs and math abilities are uniquely linked to children's accuracy and reaction time at age 7, whereas preschool EFs alone continue to predict accuracy at age 8 and reaction time at age 9, even after accounting for intervening arithmetic performance. The study highlights the sustained, unique importance of early EFs for children's arithmetic acquisition.

The Role of Working Memory in Early Literacy and Numeracy Skills in Kindergarten and First Grade

The working memory system supports learning processes such as acquiring new information and the development of new skills. Working memory has been found to be related to both early literacy and early numeracy in kindergarten and to linguistic and mathematical academic skills at older ages, but the contribution of each of the memory components at these ages is not yet clear. The purpose of this study is to examine the unique connections among the various systems of WM, early literacy, and early numeracy using various assessment tests of simple WM and complex WM, as well as a variety of tasks in math and language skills administered to the same 250 children in kindergarten and 150 children in first grade. Consistent with the predictions, significant relations among all components of memory and mathematics and language knowledge at both ages were found, although these connections were differential for the different types of tasks and memory systems. The connection of complex WM was stronger in its contribution and more significant in first grade in both mathematics and language domains. Complex WM resources were more important in early literacy at kindergarten age, while simple WM seems to be important in early numeracy. The theoretical and educational implications of these results are discussed accordingly.