Cognition, emotion, and arithmetic in primary school: A cross-cultural investigation.

The study investigated cross-cultural differences in variability and average performance in arithmetic, mathematical reasoning, symbolic and non-symbolic magnitude processing, intelligence, spatial ability, and mathematical anxiety in 890 6- to 9-year-old children from the United Kingdom, Russia, and China. Cross-cultural differences explained 28% of the variance in arithmetic and 17.3% of the variance in mathematical reasoning, with Chinese children outperforming the other two groups. No cross-cultural differences were observed for spatial ability and mathematical anxiety. In all samples, symbolic magnitude processing and mathematical reasoning were independently related to early arithmetic. Other factors, such as non-symbolic magnitude processing, mental rotation, intelligence, and mathematical anxiety, produced differential patterns across the populations. The results are discussed in relation to potential influences of parental practice, school readiness, and linguistic factors on individual differences in early mathematics. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Cross-cultural differences in mathematical ability are present in preschool children. Similar mechanisms of mathematical development operate in preschool children from the United Kingdom, Russia, and China. Tasks that require understanding of numbers are best predictors of arithmetic in preschool children. What does this study add? Cross-cultural differences in mathematical ability become greater with age/years of formal education. Similar mechanisms of mathematical development operate in early primary school children from the United Kingdom, Russia, and China. Symbolic number magnitude and mathematical reasoning are the main predictors of arithmetic in all three populations.

Spatial complexity of character-based writing systems and arithmetic in primary school: a longitudinal study.

Previous research has consistently found an association between spatial and mathematical abilities. We hypothesized that this link may partially explain the consistently observed advantage in mathematics demonstrated by East Asian children. Spatial complexity of the character-based writing systems may reflect or lead to a cognitive advantage relevant to mathematics. Seven hundered and twenty one 6-9-year old children from the UK and Russia were assessed on a battery of cognitive skills and arithmetic. The Russian children were recruited from specialist linguistic schools and divided into four different language groups, based on the second language they were learning (i.e., English, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese). The UK children attended regular schools and were not learning any second language. The testing took place twice across the school year, once at the beginning, before the start of the second language acquisition, and once at the end of the year. The study had two aims: (1) to test whether spatial ability predicts mathematical ability in 7-9 year-old children across the samples; (2) to test whether acquisition and usage of a character-based writing system leads to an advantage in performance in arithmetic and related cognitive tasks. The longitudinal link from spatial ability to mathematics was found only in the Russian sample. The effect of second language acquisition on mathematics or other cognitive skills was negligible, although some effect of Chinese language on mathematical reasoning was suggested. Overall, the findings suggest that although spatial ability is related to mathematics at this age, one academic year of exposure to spatially complex writing systems is not enough to provide a mathematical advantage. Other educational and socio-cultural factors might play a greater role in explaining individual and cross-cultural differences in arithmetic at this age.