Abstract
The present study examined the development of mathematics skills of Kosovar primary school children in terms of their gender, living area, socio-economic status, and achievement level. A special emphasis was placed on longitudinal investigations of the development of mathematics skills in children with learning difficulties in mathematics over a 2-year and 4-month period. Participants were 553 fourth-graders, 85 of whom identified with mathematical learning difficulties were classified into two subgroups: children with low mathematics achievement and children with limited mathematics ability. Results have shown that there were no gender differences in mathematics achievement. Children’s living areas as well as their socio-economic status were observed to have a substantial impact on math performance. The performance level of limited math ability children was lower as compared to low math achieving children on all of the measures assessing math outcomes and reading comprehension. Findings indicate that a majority of the limited math ability group members still met the cutoff criterion after more than 2 years of school attendance.
Highlights
It is well recognized that many school-age children experience major difficulties in learning mathematics
The results of the present study showed that the mean RMAT Kosovo score (M= 24.72, SD= 7.59, n= 553) was almost identical to that reported for the pilot sample (M= 24.03, SD= 7.45, n= 67)
The results from the analyses further revealed that with the exception of their IQ level, which did not differ significantly (p> .100), children with limited math ability performed significantly worse than children with low math achievement on all the other measures (RMAT 1, RMAT 2, RMAT 3, Calculation, Reading comprehension 1, Reading comprehension 2, and Reading comprehension 3), with all p
Summary
It is well recognized that many school-age children experience major difficulties in learning mathematics. Math ability has been considered more as a gift in a limited number of individuals, and society in general seems to have accepted this situation This acceptance shows in the reluctance and reservation of the majority to deal with mathematics as a universal language for all cultures, and the difficulties that occur while learning quantities and relations appear to be both expected and normal. This gives a plausible explanation for the persistence of math difficulties even into adulthood, impacting negatively on the individuals’ decision-making in everyday life (McCloskey, 2007; Patton, Cronin, Bassett, & Koppel, 1997; Curry, Schmitt, & Waldron, 1996). That is why the assessment of children’s mathematics skills in school should become the first necessary, essential step for preventing such negative outcomes and supporting children’s further development
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