PHBern

REPO PHBern
Open Access Repository Bern University of Teacher Education

Developmental trajectories of children's spatial skills: Influencing variables and associations with later mathematical thinking

Möhring, Wenke; Ribner, Andrew D.; Segerer, Robin; Libertus, Melissa E.; Kahl, Tobias; Troesch, Larissa Maria; Grob, Alexander (2021). Developmental trajectories of children's spatial skills: Influencing variables and associations with later mathematical thinking. Learning and Instruction, 75, p. 101515. 10.1016/j.learninstruc.2021.101515

[img] Text
1-s2.0-S0959475221000748-main.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works (CC-BY-NC-ND).

Download (611kB)

Few studies have examined the long-term relations between children's early spatial skills and their later mathematical abilities. In the current study, we investigated children's developmental trajectories of spatial skills across four waves from age 3–7 years and their association with children's later mathematical understanding. We assessed children's development in a large, heterogeneous sample of children (N = 586) from diverse cultural backgrounds and mostly low-income homes. Spatial and mathematical skills were measured using standardized assessments. Children's starting points and rate of growth in spatial skills were investigated using latent growth curve models. We explored the influence of various covariates on spatial skill development and found that socioeconomic status, language skills, and sex, but not migration background predicted children's spatial development. Furthermore, our findings showed that children's initial spatial skills––but not their rate of growth––predicted later mathematical understanding, indicating that early spatial reasoning may play a crucial role for learning mathematics.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

PHBern Contributor:

Trösch, Larissa

Language:

English

Submitter:

Jessica Brunner

Date Deposited:

21 Jul 2022 11:15

Last Modified:

25 Apr 2023 14:31

Publisher DOI:

10.1016/j.learninstruc.2021.101515

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Spatial skills, Mathematical thinking, Growth, Developmental trajectory, Children, Cognitive development

PHBern DOI:

10.57694/72

URI:

https://phrepo.phbern.ch/id/eprint/72

Actions (login required)

Edit item Edit item