The Contribution of Executive Functions to Emergent Mathematic Skills in Preschool Children
Abstract
Mathematical ability is related to both activation of the prefrontal cortex in neuroimaging studies of adults and to executive functions in school-age children. The purpose of this study was to determine whether executive functions were related to emergent mathematical proficiency in preschool children. Preschool children (N = 96) were administered an executive function battery that was reduced empirically to working memory (WM), inhibitory control (IC), and shifting abilities by calculating composite scores derived from principal component analysis. Both WM and IC predicted early arithmetic competency, with the observed relations robust after controlling statistically for child age, maternal education, and child vocabulary. Only IC accounted for unique variance in mathematical skills, after the contribution of other executive functions were controlled statistically as well. Specific executive functions are related to emergent mathematical proficiency in this age range. Longitudinal studies using structural equation modeling are necessary to better characterize these ontogenetic relations.
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Additional studies show distinct relations of executive functions to mathematics and reading, controlling for general mental ability, baseline academic ability, and social-emotional competence and effortful control.
“A number of additional studies have shown distinct relations of executive functions to mathematics and reading, again controlling for general mental ability (Clark et al. 2010, Espy et al. 2004), baseline measures of academic ability (McClelland et al. 2007), and aspects of social and emotional competence and temperamental effortful control”
From School Readiness and Self-Regulation: A Developmental Psychobiological Approach (2015) · cites this paper as Espy et al. 2004
The inherent demand of mathematics activities on executive functions is highlighted by conceptual and content-based analyses, achievement analyses, neurobiology of mathematical thinking, and textbook exercises.
“The inherent demand of mathematics activities on executive functions is highlighted by conceptual and content-based analyses of early mathematics learning activities for young children (Blair et al. 2008b, Bull & Lee 2014) as well as by analyses of mathematics achievement (Espy et al. 2004).”
From School Readiness and Self-Regulation: A Developmental Psychobiological Approach (2015) · cites this paper as Espy et al. 2004
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- Authors
- Espy, K. A., McDiarmid, M. M., Cwik, M. F., Stalets, M. M., Hamby, A., & Senn, T. E.
- Affiliations
- Southern Illinois University Carbondale (US)
- Venue
- Developmental Neuropsychology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2004-08
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 465-486
- ISSN
- 1532-6942 (ISSN-L)
- 8756-5641
- OpenAlex
- W2159990821
- Cited by
- 687
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 36 · 2022: 44 · 2021: 45 · 2020: 41 · 2019: 48 · 2018: 54 · 2017: 34 · 2016: 44 · 2015: 38 · 2014: 44 · 2013: 41 · 2012: 30
- FWCI
- 9.50
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Developmental Neuropsychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Lincoln (University of Nebraska) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Keywords
- executive function, preschool children, working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, prefrontal cortex
- MeSH terms
- Aptitude, Brain Damage, Chronic, Child, Preschool, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Infant, Premature, Diseases, Inhibition, Psychological, Male, Mathematics, Memory, Short-Term, Neuropsychological Tests, Problem Solving, Psychometrics, Reference Values, Risk Factors, Set, Psychology, Vocabulary, Models, Statistical, Prefrontal Cortex
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