Pathways to arithmetic, geometry, and measurement in preschool children: The role of general cognitive and language skills

Abstract

Based on a sample of 138 children aged approximately 5 years in Hong Kong, this study examined how general cognitive and language skills, including working memory, short-term memory, visual-spatial skills, and receptive vocabulary, were associated with young children's performance in arithmetic, geometry, and measurement. The results showed that these cognitive and language skills yielded unique contributions to different domains of mathematical abilities after controlling for children's sex, age, maternal education, paternal education, and family income. Specifically, working memory, visual-spatial skills, and receptive vocabulary were related to arithmetic performance; receptive vocabulary was associated with measurement performance; and short-term memory was related to geometry performance. These findings' implications for theory and practice are discussed.