Enhancing children's numeracy and executive functions via their explicit integration.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Executive functions (EF) are critical for learning and predicting early mathematics development.
• Interventions integrating EF and mathematics are not well understood.
• Early mathematical skills are foundational for academic success.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of an integrated executive function (EF) and mathematics intervention on four-year-olds' numeracy skills.
• To determine if the intervention group shows greater improvement in mathematics compared to a control group.
• To explore the interconnectedness of EF and mathematics skills post-intervention.

Main Methods:

• 193 four-year-olds participated, with 103 randomized to an integrated EF and mathematics intervention.
• Children were assessed 5 months apart using pre-registered hypotheses.
• Multi-level modeling and network analyses were employed to analyze the data.

Main Results:

• The intervention group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in overall numeracy compared to the control group.
• Executive function (EF) and mathematics measures exhibited increased interconnectedness after the intervention.
• Disadvantaged children in the intervention group achieved greater gains than their control counterparts.

Conclusions:

• Integrating executive functions (EF) into mathematics interventions can effectively enhance numeracy skills in young children.
• The interconnectedness of EF and mathematics strengthens with targeted intervention.
• Educational and socio-economic contexts are crucial considerations for EF and mathematics development, particularly for disadvantaged children.