Top

Gepubliceerd in:

23-11-2023 | Original Paper

Literacy Rather than Non-verbal Number Sense Predicts Kindergarteners’ Numerical Abilities

Auteurs: Zhijun Cui, Wenxuan Cui, Jiaxin Cui, Xinlin Zhou

Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Child and Family Studies | Uitgave 3/2024

Abstract

Kindergarteners’ numerical abilities are fundamental to their future academic development. The cognitive correlates of numerical abilities remain in debate. The present study examined whether non-verbal number sense and literacy could persistently predict kindergarteners’ numerical abilities. A large-scale sample consisting of 930 children aged from 5.0 to 6.9 years were assessed for numerical abilities (addition and subtraction), non-verbal number sense (numerosity comparison), literacy (character reading), and general cognitive processing (word span, rapid automatized naming, mental rotation, figure matching and rhythm). The results showed that, after controlling for all other aspects of cognitive processing available, non-verbal number sense did not correlate with numerical abilities, while literacy was a stable cognitive predictor of numerical abilities in both age groups. And rapid automatized naming (RAN) was the most powerful cognitive predictor in the 6 years of age group. Further dominance analysis also showed that literacy was the most important predictor of numerical performance in the 5 years of age group and was next only to RAN in the 6 years of age group. The results suggest that literacy rather than non-verbal number sense is a unique cognitive correlate for kindergartener’s numerical abilities. We argue that increased focus on natural language, especially literacy, may help to improve kindergarteners’ math ability.

vorige artikel Trajectories of Low-income Mothers’ and Fathers’ Engagement in Learning Activities and Child Academic Skills

volgende artikel Testing Longitudinal Relations among Preschool Sport and Kindergarten Executive Function and Academic Outcomes

Aguinis, H., Gottfredson, R. K., & Joo, H. (2013). Best-practice recommendations for defining, identifying, and handling outliers. Organizational Research Methods, 16(2), 270–301. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428112470848.CrossRef

Alloway, T. P., & Alloway, R. G. (2010). Investigating the predictive roles of working memory and IQ in academic attainment. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 106(1), 20–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2009.11.003.CrossRefPubMed

Azen, R., & Budescu, D. V. (2003). The dominance analysis approach for comparing predictors in multiple regression. Psychological Methods, 8(2), 129–148. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.8.2.129.CrossRefPubMed

Barnes, M. A., Stubbs, A., Raghubar, K. P., Agostino, A., Taylor, H., Landry, S., Fletcher, J. M., & Smith-Chant, B. (2011). Mathematical skills in 3- and 5-year-olds with spina bifida and their typically developing peers: a longitudinal approach. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 17(3), 431–444. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617711000233.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Berkowitz, T., Schaeffer, M. W., Maloney, E. A., Peterson, L., Gregor, C., Levine, S. C., & Beilock, S. L. (2015). Math at home adds up to achievement in school. Science, 350(6257), 196–198. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac7427.CrossRefPubMed

Chen, Q., & Li, J. (2014). Association between individual differences in non-symbolic number acuity and math performance: a meta-analysis. Acta Psychologica, 148, 163–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2014.01.016.CrossRefPubMed

Cheng, Y.-L., & Mix, K. S. (2014). Spatial training improves children’s mathematics ability. Journal of Cognition and Development, 15(1), 2–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2012.725186.CrossRef

Clements, D. H., & Sarama, J. (2007). Early childhood mathematics learning. Second handbook of research on mathematics teaching and learning (Vol. 1, pp. 461–555). New York: Information Age Publishing.

Condry, K. F., & Spelke, E. S. (2008). The development of language and abstract concepts: the case of natural number. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 137(1), 22–38. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.137.1.22.CrossRefPubMed

Cui, J., Georgiou, G. K., Zhang, Y., Li, Y., Shu, H., & Zhou, X. (2017). Examining the relationship between rapid automatized naming and arithmetic fluency in Chinese kindergarten children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 154, 146–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2016.10.008.CrossRefPubMed

Cui, J., Zhang, Y., Wan, S., Chen, C., Zeng, J., & Zhou, X. (2019). Visual form perception is fundamental for both reading comprehension and arithmetic computation. COGNITION, 189, 141–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2019.03.014.CrossRefPubMed

Davidson, K., Eng, K., & Barner, D. (2012). Does learning to count involve a semantic induction? Cognition, 123(1), 162–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2011.12.013.CrossRefPubMed

Dehaene, S. (2011). The number sense: how the mind creates mathematics (Rev. and updated ed). Oxford University Press.

Denckla, M. B., & Rudel, R. G. (1976). Naming of object-drawings by dyslexic and other learning disabled children. Brain and Language, 3(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/0093-934X(76)90001-8.CrossRefPubMed

Deng, C., Liu, M., Wei, W., Chan, R. C. K., & Das, J. P. (2011). Latent factor structure of the Das-Naglieri Cognitive Assessment System: a confirmatory factor analysis in a Chinese setting. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 32(5), 1988–1997. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2011.04.005.CrossRefPubMed

Di Lonardo Burr, S. M., Xu, C., Douglas, H., LeFevre, J.-A., & Susperreguy, M. I. (2022). Walking another pathway: the inclusion of patterning in the pathways to mathematics model. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 222, 105478. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105478.CrossRefPubMed

Feigenson, L., Dehaene, S., & Spelke, E. (2004). Core systems of number. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8(7), 307–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2004.05.002.CrossRefPubMed

Gallistel, C. R., & Gelman, R. (2000). Non-verbal numerical cognition: from reals to integers. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(2), 59–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(99)01424-2.CrossRefPubMed

Geary, D. C., Berch, D. B., & Koepke, K. M. (2015). The evolution of number systems. In Mathematical Cognition and Learning (Vol. 1, pp. 335–353). Elsevier.

Geary, D. C., Bow-Thomas, C. C., Fan, L., & Siegler, R. S. (1993). Even before formal instruction, Chinese children outperform American children in mental addition. Cognitive Development, 8(4), 517–529. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2014(05)80007-3.CrossRef

Georgiou, G. K., Tziraki, N., Manolitsis, G., & Fella, A. (2013). Is rapid automatized naming related to reading and mathematics for the same reason(s)? A follow-up study from kindergarten to Grade 1. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 115(3), 481–496. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2013.01.004.CrossRefPubMed

Gilmore, C. K., McCarthy, S. E., & Spelke, E. S. (2007). Symbolic arithmetic knowledge without instruction. Nature, 447(7144), 589–591. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05850.CrossRefPubMed

Ginsburg, H. (1977). Children’s arithmetic: the learning process. (ix, 197). D. Van Nostrand.

Ginsburg, H., & Baroody, A. J. (2003). TEMA-3: Test of early mathematics ability. Austin, TX: Pro-ed.

Göbel, S. M., Watson, S. E., Lervåg, A., & Hulme, C. (2014). Children’s arithmetic development: it is number knowledge, not the approximate number sense, that counts. Psychological Science, 25(3), 789–798. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613516471.CrossRefPubMed

Gordon, E. (1989). Advanced measures of music audiation. Gia Publications.

Halberda, J., Mazzocco, M. M. M., & Feigenson, L. (2008). Individual differences in non-verbal number acuity correlate with maths achievement. Nature, 455(7213), 665–668. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07246.CrossRefPubMed

Hornburg, C. B., Schmitt, S. A., & Purpura, D. J. (2018). Relations between preschoolers’ mathematical language understanding and specific numeracy skills. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 176, 84–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2018.07.005.CrossRefPubMed

Huttenlocher, J., Jordan, N. C., & Levine, S. C. (1994). A mental model for early arithmetic. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 123(3), 284–296. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.123.3.284.CrossRefPubMed

Jordan, N. C., Kaplan, D., Ramineni, C., & Locuniak, M. N. (2009). Early math matters: kindergarten number competence and later mathematics outcomes. Developmental Psychology, 45(3), 850–867. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014939.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Kleemans, T., Segers, E., & Verhoeven, L. (2011). Cognitive and linguistic precursors to numeracy in kindergarten: evidence from first and second language learners. Learning and Individual Differences, 21(5), 555–561. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2011.07.008.CrossRef

Koponen, T., Georgiou, G., Salmi, P., Leskinen, M., & Aro, M. (2017). A meta-analysis of the relation between RAN and mathematics. Journal of Educational Psychology, 109(7), 977–992. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000182.CrossRef

Kung, M., Schmitt, S. A., Zhang, C., Whiteman, S. D., Yang, F., & Purpura, D. J. (2019). The role of mathematical language in mathematics development in China and the US. International Journal of Educational Research, 95, 131–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2019.02.008.CrossRef

Kyttälä, M., & Lehto, J. E. (2008). Some factors underlying mathematical performance: the role of visuospatial working memory and non-verbal intelligence. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 23(1), 77–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173141.CrossRef

Laski, E. V., & Yu, Q. (2014). Number line estimation and mental addition: examining the potential roles of language and education. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 117, 29–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2013.08.007.CrossRefPubMed

LeFevre, J.-A., Fast, L., Skwarchuk, S.-L., Smith-Chant, B. L., Bisanz, J., Kamawar, D., & Penner-Wilger, M. (2010). Pathways to mathematics: longitudinal predictors of performance: pathways to mathematics. Child Development, 81(6), 1753–1767. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01508.x.CrossRefPubMed

Li, H., Shu, H., McBride-Chang, C., Liu, H., & Peng, H. (2012). Chinese children’s character recognition: visuo-orthographic, phonological processing and morphological skills: Chinese Children’s Character Recognition. Journal of Research in Reading, 35(3), 287–307. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9817.2010.01460.x.CrossRef

Libertus, M. E., Feigenson, L., & Halberda, J. (2013). Is approximate number precision a stable predictor of math ability? Learning and Individual Differences, 25, 126–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2013.02.001.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Malone, S. A., Heron-Delaney, M., Burgoyne, K., & Hulme, C. (2019). Learning correspondences between magnitudes, symbols and words: Evidence for a triple code model of arithmetic development. Cognition, 187, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2018.11.016.CrossRefPubMed

McBride-Chang, C., Shu, H., Zhou, A., Wat, C. P., & Wagner, R. K. (2003). Morphological awareness uniquely predicts young children’s Chinese character recognition. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(4), 743–751. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.95.4.743.CrossRef

Miura, I. T., & Okamoto, Y. (2003). Language supports for mathematics understanding and performance. In A. J. Baroody & A. Dowker (Eds.), The development of arithmetic concepts and skills: constructing adaptive expertise (pp. 229–242). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers; APA PsycInfo®. https://www.proquest.com/books/language-supports-mathematics-understanding/docview/620074927/se-2?accountid=8554, Chapter xxi, 494 Pages.

Moritz, C., Yampolsky, S., Papadelis, G., Thomson, J., & Wolf, M. (2013). Links between early rhythm skills, musical training, and phonological awareness. Reading and Writing, 26(5), 739–769. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-012-9389-0.CrossRef

Mussolin, C., Nys, J., Leybaert, J., & Content, A. (2012). Relationships between approximate number system acuity and early symbolic number abilities. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 1(1), 21–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tine.2012.09.003.CrossRef

Navarrete, C. B., & Soares, F. C. (2020). dominanceanalysis: Dominance Analysis. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=dominanceanalysis

Peng, P., Lin, X., Unal, Z. E., Lee, K., Namkung, J., Chow, J., & Sales, A. (2020). Examining the mutual relations between language and mathematics: a meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 146(7), 595–634. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000231.CrossRefPubMed

Purpura, D. J., Baroody, A. J., & Lonigan, C. J. (2013). The transition from informal to formal mathematical knowledge: mediation by numeral knowledge. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(2), 453–464. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031753.CrossRef

Purpura, D. J., & Ganley, C. M. (2014). Working memory and language: skill-specific or domain-general relations to mathematics? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 122, 104–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2013.12.009.CrossRefPubMed

Purpura, D. J., & Logan, J. A. R. (2015). The nonlinear relations of the approximate number system and mathematical language to early mathematics development. Developmental Psychology, 51(12), 1717–1724. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000055.CrossRefPubMed

Purpura, D. J., Logan, J. A. R., Hassinger-Das, B., & Napoli, A. R. (2017). Why do early mathematics skills predict later reading? The role of mathematical language. Developmental Psychology, 53(9), 1633–1642. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000375.CrossRefPubMed

Rodic, M., Zhou, X., Tikhomirova, T., Wei, W., Malykh, S., Ismatulina, V., Sabirova, E., Davidova, Y., Tosto, M. G., Lemelin, J.-P., & Kovas, Y. (2015). Cross-cultural investigation into cognitive underpinnings of individual differences in early arithmetic. Developmental Science, 18(1), 165–174. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12204.CrossRefPubMed

Schmitt, S. A., Purpura, D. J., & Elicker, J. G. (2019). Predictive links among vocabulary, mathematical language, and executive functioning in preschoolers. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 180, 55–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2018.12.005.CrossRefPubMed

Schneider, M., Beeres, K., Coban, L., Merz, S., Susan Schmidt, S., Stricker, J., & De Smedt, B. (2017). Associations of non-symbolic and symbolic numerical magnitude processing with mathematical competence: a meta-analysis. Developmental Science, 20(3), e12372. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12372.CrossRef

Shepard, R. N., & Metzler, J. (1971). Mental rotation of three-dimensional objects. Science, 171(3972), 701–703. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.171.3972.701.CrossRefPubMed

Skwarchuk, S.-L., Sowinski, C., & LeFevre, J.-A. (2014). Formal and informal home learning activities in relation to children’s early numeracy and literacy skills: the development of a home numeracy model. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 121, 63–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2013.11.006.CrossRefPubMed

Slusser, E., Ribner, A., & Shusterman, A. (2019). Language counts: Early language mediates the relationship between parent education and children’s math ability. Developmental Science, 22(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12773.

Spelke, E. S. (2017). Core knowledge, language, and number. Language Learning and Development, 13(2), 147–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/15475441.2016.1263572.CrossRef

Toll, S. W. M., & Van Luit, J. E. H. (2014). The developmental relationship between language and low early numeracy skills throughout kindergarten. Exceptional Children, 81(1), 64–78. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402914532233.CrossRef

Tong, X., Siu-Yin Lam, S., & McBride-Chang, C. (2015). Chinese literacy acquisition: a multidimensional puzzle. In J. D. Wright (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition) (pp. 508–514). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.52016-9.

Vogel, S., & De Smedt, B. (2021). Developmental brain dynamics of numerical and arithmetic abilities. NPJ Science Of Learning, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-021-00099-3.

Wang, L., Sun, Y. H., & Zhou, X. L. (2016). Relation between approximate number system acuity and mathematical achievement: the influence of fluency. Frontiers in Psychology, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01966.

Wei, W., Chen, C., & Zhou, X. (2016). Spatial ability explains the male advantage in approximate arithmetic. Frontiers in Psychology, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00306.

Wei, W., Yuan, H., Chen, C., & Zhou, X. (2012). Cognitive correlates of performance in advanced mathematics. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(1), 157–181. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.2011.02049.x.CrossRefPubMed

Wijns, N., Verschaffel, L., De Smedt, B., & Torbeyns, J. (2021). Associations between repeating patterning, growing patterning, and numerical ability: a longitudinal panel study in 4‐ to 6‐year olds. Child Development, 92(4), 1354–1368. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13490.CrossRefPubMed

Wynn, K. (1992). Children’s acquisition of the number words and the counting system. Cognitive Psychology, 24(2), 220–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0285(92)90008-P.CrossRef

Xenidou-Dervou, I., Gilmore, C., van der Schoot, M., & van Lieshout, E. C. D. M. (2015). The developmental onset of symbolic approximation: Beyond nonsymbolic representations, the language of numbers matters. Frontiers in Psychology, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00487.

Xie, F., Zhang, L., Chen, X., & Xin, Z. (2020). Is spatial ability related to mathematical ability: a meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 32(1), 113–155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09496-y.CrossRef

Xu, Z., Wang, L.-C., Liu, D., Chen, Y., & Tao, L. (2020). The moderation effect of processing efficiency on the relationship between visual working memory and Chinese character recognition. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1899. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01899.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Zhang, J., Fan, X., Cheung, S. K., Meng, Y., Cai, Z., & Hu, B. Y. (2017). The role of early language abilities on math skills among Chinese children. PLOS One, 12(7), e0181074 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181074.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Zhang, X. (2018). Letter-name knowledge longitudinally predicts young Chinese children’s Chinese word reading and number competencies in a multilingual context. Learning and Individual Differences, 65, 176–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2018.06.004.CrossRef

Zhang, X., & Lin, D. (2017). Does growth rate in spatial ability matter in predicting early arithmetic competence? Learning and Instruction, 49, 232–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2017.02.003.CrossRef

Zhang, X., & Lin, D. (2018). Cognitive precursors of word reading versus arithmetic competencies in young Chinese children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 42, 55–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2017.08.006.CrossRef

Zhang, Y., Chen, C., Liu, H., Cui, J., & Zhou, X. (2016). Both non-symbolic and symbolic quantity processing are important for arithmetical computation but not for mathematical reasoning. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 28(7), 807–824. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2016.1205074.CrossRef

Zhou, X., Wei, W., Zhang, Y., Cui, J., & Chen, C. (2015). Visual perception can account for the close relation between numerosity processing and computational fluency. Frontiers in Psychology, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01364.

Zhou, X., & Zeng, J. (2022). Three-component mathematics for students. Infant and Child Development, 31(1), e2283. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.2283.CrossRef

Titel: Literacy Rather than Non-verbal Number Sense Predicts Kindergarteners’ Numerical Abilities
Auteurs: Zhijun Cui
Wenxuan Cui
Jiaxin Cui
Xinlin Zhou
Publicatiedatum: 23-11-2023
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Child and Family Studies / Uitgave 3/2024
Print ISSN: 1062-1024
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-2843
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-023-02723-9

Bohn Stafleu van Loghum

Deel dit onderdeel of sectie (kopieer de link)

Abstract

Log in om toegang te krijgen

Andere artikelen Uitgave 3/2024

Engaging Families in Supporting the Whole Child: Chicago West Side Parents’ Perceptions of Child Health

Relation Between Child Psychological Maltreatment Profiles and Problematic Online Behaviors Among Chinese College Students

Parent Personality, Child Neglect, and Violence in Relation to Competence and Burnout*

Self-Reported Adverse Childhood Experiences and Risk for Internalizing and Externalizing Difficulties among Adolescent Custodial Grandchildren

Socialization via Online Gaming: Perspectives of Five Autistic Adolescents and Their Parents

The Role of Family Conflict and School Problems in Adolescent Emotion Dynamics