Flexibilidad cognitiva e inhibición como predictores de las competencias matemáticas tempranas en preescolares

Abstract

Mathematical performance is a basic instrumental competence for any educational system. Therefore, order to learn this discipline, several authors have highlighted the importance of the adequate development of early mathematical skills, due to their undeniable contribution to this objective. However, as these skills vary in complexity, their development probably places different demands on higher cognitive mechanisms and processes. Hence, the importance of knowing and assessing the executive functions that underlie these skills and that at an early age can predict or explain the differentiated performance in this area. Given this background, several studies have investigated the relationship between executive functions and mathematical skills; however, despite the abundant evidence, there is no consensus on the specific contribution of cognitive flexibility and inhibition in the development of early mathematical skills in preschool children. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the predictive capacity of cognitive flexibility and behavioral and cognitive inhibition in preschool children's early mathematical competencies of relational logic and numerical type. To meet this objective, a non-experimental ex post facto design was implemented with a sample of 104 preschool children, 50 prekindergarten students (48,1%; mean age = 4,97) and 54 kindergarten students (51,9%; mean age = 6,07), belonging to public schools (N = 32; 30,8%) and subsidized schools (N = 72; 69,2%) in the region of Valparaíso, Chile. For the evaluation of executive functions, a battery of three cognitive tests was applied: the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) to assess