Despite established literature regarding mathematics difficulties to be of higher prevalence than literacy difficulties, research into factors influencing the development of mathematics is far less comprehensive, especially in young children.While various domain-general abilities (including working memory, attention, inhibition and visual-spatial skills) are suggested to influence mathematics achievement, these should be considered within the context of additional number domain-specific approaches.There is a lack of consensus around the key skills which are of most predictive value for later maths success, and further focus is needed to specifically understand the most important factors in preschool children. A comprehensive narrative literature review was completed to contextualise this under-researched subject area and aimed to highlight the need for early identification of atypical (as a result of better understanding typical) mathematics development.The importance of both symbolic and non-symbolic number . representation in determining later maths achievements is acknowledged and the extent to which specific deficits in these skills can be identified in preschool children is debated along with their potential to predict later mathematics achievements. A Systematic Review to specifically appraise recent studies which investigate the relevance of domain-specific predictors of mathematics before the age of six sought to support the need for early identification of key factors in early maths learning. This informed an exploratory, quantitative study which combined domain-specific and domain-general variables not previously studied together.These were considered in a local population sample of 88 preschool children in order to identify interrelationships between skills, and key predictors for maths achievement in early primary school. Results indicated a close relationship between non-symbolic and symbolic processes in preschool, and highlighted that symbolic skills along with a number of domain general and environmental factors were predictive of maths attainment after a one year follow up. Implications for future research directions, and professional practice for teachers and Educational Psychologists are considered.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:707531 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Madill, Laura R. |
| Publisher | Queen's University Belfast |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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