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Low performance on mathematical tasks in preschoolers: the importance of domain-general and domain-specific abilities
H M Costa1,2, B Nicholson1, C Donlan3
1Department of Psychology, Kingston University London, UK.
Background:
Different domain-specific and domain-general cognitive precursors play a key role in the development of mathematical abilities. The contribution of these domains to mathematical ability changes during development. Primary school-aged children who show mathematical difficulties form a heterogeneous group, but it is not clear whether this also holds for preschool low achievers (LAs) and how domain-specific and domain-general abilities contribute to mathematical difficulties at a young age. The aim of this study was to explore the cognitive characteristics of a sample of preschool LAs and identify sub-types of LAs.
Methods:
81 children were identified as LAs from 283 preschoolers aged 3 to 5 years old and were assessed on a number of domain-general and domain-specific tasks.
Results:
Cluster analysis revealed four subgroups of LAs in mathematics: (1) a weak processing sub-type; (2) a general mathematical LAs sub-type; (3) a mixed abilities sub-type; and (4) a visuo-spatial deficit sub-type. Whilst two of the groups showed specific domain-general difficulties, none showed only domain-specific difficulties.
Conclusions:
Current findings suggest that preschool LAs constitute a heterogeneous group and stress the importance of domain-general factors for the development of mathematical abilities during the preschool years.
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