Developmental trajectories of young rural Chinese children's skills in mathematics and word reading: The roles of cognitive-linguistic skills

IF 3.1 1区教育学 Q1 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Early Childhood Research Quarterly Pub Date : 2025-08-14 DOI:10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.08.003

Yawei Yang , Xiao Zhang , Nan Xiao , Xiang Hu , Ping Wang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This longitudinal study examined the relations between cognitive-linguistic skills and the developmental trajectories of mathematics and word reading abilities in 247 rural Chinese children. Baseline measures at age 4 (M ± SD = 50.46 ± 6.69 months) assessed four cognitive-linguistic skills (sustained attention, working memory, visual-spatial skills, and receptive vocabulary) and two academic skills (mathematics and word reading). Academic skills were reassessed at 12-month intervals over 2 years to examine the contribution of early cognitive-linguistic skills to academic development through age 6. Results of latent growth modeling showed that: (1) Sustained attention, working memory, and visual-spatial skills each made a unique contribution to the children's initial mathematics skills but not to their initial word reading skills; (2) Receptive vocabulary was related to children's initial word reading skills and their initial mathematics skills; (3) Working memory was related to the growth of children's mathematics and word reading skills, and sustained attention was related to the growth of their mathematics skills. These findings suggest that cognitive-linguistic skills contribute differentially to individual differences in mathematics and word reading skills among rural Chinese children. They also emphasize the need for educators and policymakers to improve rural education through implementing cognitive-linguistic intervention programs, thereby enhancing the academic development of rural children.

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中国农村儿童数学和文字阅读技能的发展轨迹：认知语言技能的作用

本研究对247名中国农村儿童进行了认知语言技能与数学和词汇阅读能力发展轨迹的纵向研究。4岁时（M±SD = 50.46±6.69个月）的基线测量评估了四项认知语言技能（持续注意力、工作记忆、视觉空间技能和接受性词汇）和两项学术技能（数学和单词阅读）。在两年内每隔12个月重新评估一次学业技能，以检查早期认知语言技能对6岁前学业发展的贡献。潜在增长模型的结果表明：(1)持续注意、工作记忆和视觉空间技能对儿童的初始数学技能有独特的贡献，而对儿童的初始单词阅读技能没有贡献；(2)接受性词汇与幼儿最初的单词阅读能力和数学能力有关；(3)工作记忆与儿童数学和单词阅读技能的增长有关，持续注意与儿童数学技能的增长有关。这些发现表明，认知语言技能对中国农村儿童数学和单词阅读技能的个体差异有不同的影响。他们还强调教育工作者和政策制定者需要通过实施认知语言干预计划来改善农村教育，从而促进农村儿童的学业发展。

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来源期刊

Early Childhood Research Quarterly Multiple-

CiteScore

7.00

自引率

8.10%

发文量

109

期刊介绍： For over twenty years, Early Childhood Research Quarterly (ECRQ) has influenced the field of early childhood education and development through the publication of empirical research that meets the highest standards of scholarly and practical significance. ECRQ publishes predominantly empirical research (quantitative or qualitative methods) on issues of interest to early childhood development, theory, and educational practice (Birth through 8 years of age). The journal also occasionally publishes practitioner and/or policy perspectives, book reviews, and significant reviews of research. As an applied journal, we are interested in work that has social, policy, and educational relevance and implications and work that strengthens links between research and practice.