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.

Does Native Script Exposure Influence Second Language Early Literacy Skills?: A Preliminary Study in South Indian Preschoolers

The preschool period is marked by the development of several domains such as communication, cognition, social skills, and literacy skills. As language and literacy skills overlap during the preschool period, it is important to understand the dynamics of language and literacy in early school years. Due to language diversity, India does not bear a single-language system, and often the language spoken at home may not be the same at school for curricular instructions. Therefore, the present study focuses on the influence of script in bi- or multilingual scenarios in India. More importantly, the home language may or may not have its specific script; thus, facilitating early literacy skills at home can be questionable. The study followed a cross-sectional study design. One hundred and forty participants were divided into two groups based on their native language (Malayalam and Tulu groups). Each group was further divided based on their age, younger and older groups. An early literacy checklist and a parent perception questionnaire were developed to assess the early literacy skills in second language (L2). The findings revealed a developmental trend in early literacy skills in children with the older group performing better than the younger group. The study results also shed light on this less researched domain of influence of native script on L2 learning in a linguistically diverse country like India. The study's findings emphasize the parental understanding of the importance of home literacy–based activities for children and evaluation of early literacy skills which will help in early identification and treatment.

Early literacy and early numeracy: the value of including early literacy skills in the prediction of numeracy development

The purpose of this study was to examine whether early literacy skills uniquely predict early numeracy skills development. During the first year of the study, 69 3- to 5-year-old preschoolers were assessed on the Preschool Early Numeracy Skills (PENS) test and the Test of Preschool Early Literacy Skills (TOPEL). Participants were assessed again a year later on the PENS test and on the Applied Problems and Calculation subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement. Three mixed effect regressions were conducted using Time 2 PENS, Applied Problems, and Calculation as the dependent variables. Print Knowledge and Vocabulary accounted for unique variance in the prediction of Time 2 numeracy scores. Phonological Awareness did not uniquely predict any of the mathematics domains. The findings of this study identify an important link between early literacy and early numeracy development.