Defining Spatial Reasoning: A Content Analysis to Explicate Spatial Reasoning Skills for Early Childhood Educators’ Use

Spatial reasoning is critical for mathematics learning and achievement, and its comprising skills are necessary in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. To support young children in learning to reason spatially, clear definitions of the construct and supports for early childhood educators to teach the skills are needed. This study defines spatial reasoning as a comprehensive, comprehensible framework of skills. Using problem-driven content analysis, 835 text units from 103 sources, plus definitions from two reputable dictionary sources, were used to adopt, adapt, and infer the definitions for 40 terms that collectively represent spatial reasoning. Findings provide both the definitions and evidence of the extent to which various spatial reasoning skills have been investigated empirically. Directions for future research are discussed, including the need to refine the framework to ensure its utility for teachers and researchers.