Journal article

Publication year: 2019

Pages: 544-561

Journal: Child Development

Volume number: 90

Issue number: 2

ISSN: 0009-3920

eISSN: 1467-8624

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12909

Publisher: Wiley

Abstract: 
This study assessed the extent to which executive functions (EF), according to their factor structure in 5-year-olds (N = 244), influenced early quantity-number competencies, arithmetic fluency, and mathematics school achievement throughout first and second grades. A confirmatory factor analysis resulted in updating as a first, and inhibition and shifting as a combined second factor. In the structural equation model, updating significantly affected knowledge of the number word sequence, suggesting a facilitatory effect on basic encoding processes in numerical materials that can be learnt purely by rote. Shifting and inhibition significantly influenced quantity to number word linkages, indicating that these processes promote developing a profound understanding of numbers. These results show the supportive role of specific EF for specific aspects of a numerical foundation.

Harvard Citation style: Simanowski, S. and Krajewski, K. (2019) Specific Preschool Executive Functions Predict Unique Aspects of Mathematics Development: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study, Child Development, 90(2), pp. 544-561. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12909

APA Citation style: Simanowski, S., & Krajewski, K. (2019). Specific Preschool Executive Functions Predict Unique Aspects of Mathematics Development: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study. Child Development. 90(2), 544-561. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12909