How Do Components of Executive Function Relate to Taiwanese Sixth Graders’ Mathematical Skills?

Executive functions are crucially important for helping to explain children’s mathematical performances. We investigated the relationships between components of executive functions and different aspects of mathematical ability in young school-aged Taiwanese children. In a cross-sectional design, a typically developing group of 122 sixth-grade students completed tests battery of working memory (WM), inhibition, and set-shifting tests, and a measure of achievement competence in mathematical concepts, computation, and applied problems. We found significant associations between general intellectual ability, working memory, inhibition, and set-shifting, and between these abilities and different mathematical skills. Verbal and spatial WM was positively correlated with different mathematical skills, and inhibition and set-shifting were positively correlated with mathematical performance to a lesser extent. We conducted partial correlation analyses to control for participants’ age, socioeconomic status, and processing speed, and we then found that verbal and spatial WM was related to the math domains of concepts, computation, and applied problems. Meanwhile, inhibition was correlated with the domain of applied problems. Regression analyses revealed that varied domains of mathematical skills were best predicted by a general intelligence index (GAI) and verbal working memory (WM). Inhibition predicted better performance in applied problems. We discuss the limitations and implications of these findings, as they provide important information about the specific associations between aspects of executive function and components of mathematics performance in middle childhood.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  Perceptual and Motor Skills

• Publication date

  2025-02-26

• Fields of study

  Mathematics, Medicine, Psychology

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1177/00315125251320423PMID 40011022
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• A canonical trajectory of executive function maturation from adolescence to adulthood

  2023cited by this paper
• Continuous time models support the reciprocal relations between academic achievement and fluid intelligence over the course of a school year

  2021cited by this paper
• Examining Individual Demographic and School Support Factors Regarding Teachers' Intention to Use Technology: A Hierarchical Regression Analysis

  2021cited by this paper
• The developmental trajectories of executive function from adolescence to old age

  2021cited by this paper
• Exploring a bidirectional model of executive functions and fluid intelligence across early development

  2019cited by this paper
• The role of the visual association cortex in scaffolding prefrontal cortex development: A novel mechanism linking socioeconomic status and executive function

  2019cited by this paper
• Corrigendum to “The mediating role of number-to-magnitude mapping precision in the relationship between approximate number sense and math achievement depends on the domain of mathematics and age” [Learn. Individ. Differ. 64 (2018) 113–124]

  2018cited by this paper
• Socioeconomic disparities in academic achievement: A multi‐modal investigation of neural mechanisms in children and adolescents

  2018cited by this paper
• Different Subcomponents of Executive Functioning Predict Different Growth Parameters in Mathematics: Evidence From a 4-Year Longitudinal Study With Chinese Children

  2018cited by this paper
• Direct and indirect influences of executive functions on mathematics achievement.

  2017cited by this paper
• The Neuroscience of Socioeconomic Status: Correlates, Causes, and Consequences.

  2017cited by this paper
• Executive function predicts school readiness in autistic and typical preschool children

  2017cited by this paper
• Verbal and Visual-Spatial Working Memory: What Develops Over a Life Span?

  2017cited by this paper
• Early Executive Function at Age Two Predicts Emergent Mathematics and Literacy at Age Five

  2017cited by this paper
• The development of executive functioning across the transition to first grade and its predictive value for academic achievement

  2017cited by this paper
• Moderating effects of executive functions and the teacher-child relationship on the development of mathematics ability in kindergarten.

  2016cited by this paper
• Learning executive function and early mathematics: Directions of causal relations

  2016cited by this paper
• Word Problem Solving in Contemporary Math Education: A Plea for Reading Comprehension Skills Training

  2016cited by this paper
• A meta-analysis of mathematics and working memory: Moderating effects of working memory domain, type of mathematics skill, and sample characteristics

  2016influential reference
• Executive function and early childhood education.

  2016cited by this paper
• School readiness and self-regulation: a developmental psychobiological approach.

  2015cited by this paper
• Developing Conceptual and Procedural Knowledge of Mathematics

  2015cited by this paper
• Relations between inhibitory control and the development of academic skills in preschool and kindergarten: a meta-analysis.

  2014influential reference
• Skills underlying mathematics: The role of executive function in the development of mathematics proficiency

  2014cited by this paper
• Construction play and cognitive skills associated with the development of mathematical abilities in 7-year-old children

  2014cited by this paper
• Executive Functioning and Mathematics Achievement

  2014cited by this paper
• Working memory and mathematics in primary school children: A meta-analysis

  2013influential reference
• The Contributions of Domain-General and Numerical Factors to Third-Grade Arithmetic Skills and Mathematical Learning Disability

  2013cited by this paper
• Executive functions in early learning: Extending the relationship between executive functions and school readiness to science

  2013cited by this paper
• Visuospatial working memory and mathematical ability at different ages throughout primary school

  2013cited by this paper
• Shifting ability predicts math and reading performance in children: A meta-analytical study

  2013influential reference
• The contribution of executive function and social understanding to preschoolers’ letter and math skills

  2013cited by this paper
• Executive functions.

  2013cited by this paper
• Executive Functions: What They Are, How They Work, and Why They Evolved

  2012cited by this paper
• The relationship between working memory, IQ, and mathematical skills in children

  2011cited by this paper
• Sleep Quality and Quality of Life in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes

  2011cited by this paper
• Cognitive predictors of achievement growth in mathematics: a 5-year longitudinal study.

  2011influential reference
• Working memory components as predictors of children's mathematical word problem solving.

  2011cited by this paper
• Modeling a cascade of effects: the role of speed and executive functioning in preterm/full-term differences in academic achievement.

  2011cited by this paper
• Early literacy and early numeracy: the value of including early literacy skills in the prediction of numeracy development.

  2011cited by this paper
• The role of the executive functions in school achievement at the end of Grade 1.

  2011influential reference
• Working memory, attention, and mathematical problem solving: A longitudinal study of elementary school children.

  2011cited by this paper
• Cognitive control goes to school: The impact of executive functions on academic performance

  2011cited by this paper
• WISC-IV Clinical Use and Interpretation: Scientist-Practitioner Perspectives

  2011cited by this paper
• Executive functions underlying multiplicative reasoning: problem type matters.

  2010influential reference
• Do different types of school mathematics development depend on different constellations of numerical versus general cognitive abilities?

  2010cited by this paper
• A developmental perspective on executive function.

  2010cited by this paper
• The Development of Cognitive Skills and Gains in Academic School Readiness for Children from Low-Income Families.

  2010cited by this paper
• Working memory and mathematics: A review of developmental, individual difference, and cognitive approaches.

  2010cited by this paper
• Developmental trajectories of executive functions across the lifespan

  2010cited by this paper
• Working memory and individual differences in mathematics achievement: a longitudinal study from first grade to second grade.

  2009cited by this paper
• A Comparison of Laboratory and Clinical Working Memory Tests and Their Prediction of Fluid Intelligence.

  2009cited by this paper
• Executive Functions after Age 5: Changes and Correlates.

  2009cited by this paper
• How numeracy influences risk comprehension and medical decision making.

  2009cited by this paper
• IQ and Neuropsychological Predictors of Academic Achievement.

  2009influential reference
• The consistency effect depends on markedness in less successful but not successful problem solvers : An eye movement study in primary school children

  2009cited by this paper
• National IQs Predict Educational Attainment in Math, Reading and Science across 56 Nations.

  2009cited by this paper
• Tracking Executive Function Across the Transition to School: A Latent Variable Approach

  2009cited by this paper
• Is There a Role for Executive Functions in the Development of Mathematics Ability

  2008cited by this paper
• Mathematical Cognition in Intellectually Precocious First Graders

  2008cited by this paper
• Executive function in preschoolers: a review using an integrative framework.

  2008cited by this paper
• Neuroimaging studies of normal brain development and their relevance for understanding childhood neuropsychiatric disorders.

  2008cited by this paper
• Working memory and arithmetic calculation in children: the contributory roles of processing speed, short-term memory, and reading.

  2008cited by this paper
• Working memory as a predictor of written arithmetical skills in children: the importance of central executive functions.

  2008cited by this paper
• Cognitive Abilities as Precursors of the Early Acquisition of Mathematical Skills During First Through Second Grades

  2008cited by this paper
• The precursors of mathematics learning: Working memory, phonological ability and numerical competence.

  2007cited by this paper
• Intelligence and educational achievement

  2007influential reference
• Intelligence and socioeconomic success: A meta-analytic review of longitudinal research ☆

  2007cited by this paper
• Relating effortful control, executive function, and false belief understanding to emerging math and literacy ability in kindergarten.

  2007cited by this paper
• Psychometric Intelligence and Achievement: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis.

  2007cited by this paper
• A Longitudinal Assessment of Executive Function Skills and Their Association with Math Performance

  2007cited by this paper
• School readiness and later achievement.

  2007cited by this paper
• Executive Functioning in Children, and Its Relations with Reasoning, Reading, and Arithmetic.

  2007cited by this paper
• An Alternative Reconceptualization of Procedural and Conceptual Knowledge.

  2007cited by this paper
• Working memory, short-term memory, and naming speed as predictors of children's mathematical performance

  2007cited by this paper
• The contribution of working memory to children's mathematical word problem solving

  2007cited by this paper
• Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth After 35 Years: Uncovering Antecedents for the Development of Math-Science Expertise

  2006cited by this paper
• Executive Functions and Performance on High-Stakes Testing in Children From Urban Schools

  2006cited by this paper
• Working Memory and Children’s Mathematical Skills: Implications for mathematical development and mathematics curricula

  2006cited by this paper
• Not All Executive Functions Are Related to Intelligence

  2006cited by this paper
• Development of cognitive control and executive functions from 4 to 13 years: evidence from manipulations of memory, inhibition, and task switching.

  2006cited by this paper
• Executive functions and achievements in school: Shifting, updating, inhibition, and working memory

  2006cited by this paper
• Is the GAI a good short form of the WISC-IV?

  2006influential reference
• A Model of the Development of Frontal Lobe Functioning: Findings From a Meta-Analysis

  2005cited by this paper
• Mathematical cognition and working memory.

  2005cited by this paper
• Working memory and intelligence--their correlation and their relation: comment on Ackerman, Beier, and Boyle (2005).

  2005cited by this paper
• Working memory and intelligence: the same or different constructs?

  2005cited by this paper
• Working memory capacity and fluid intelligence are strongly related constructs: comment on Ackerman, Beier, and Boyle (2005).

  2005cited by this paper
• Representation and working memory in early arithmetic.

  2005cited by this paper
• Working memory skills and educational attainment: evidence from national curriculum assessments at 7 and 14 years of age

  2004cited by this paper
• Executive Functions Following Traumatic Brain Injury in Young Children: A Preliminary Analysis

  2004cited by this paper
• The Contribution of Executive Functions to Emergent Mathematic Skills in Preschool Children

  2004influential reference
• Executive Functions in Children Aged 6 to 13: A Dimensional and Developmental Study

  2004cited by this paper
• The role of working memory in mental arithmetic

  2004cited by this paper
• Verbal and non-verbal working memory and achievements on National Curriculum tests at 11 and 14 years of age

  2003cited by this paper
• Working memory capacity and its relation to general intelligence.

  2003cited by this paper
• The multiple faces of working memory: Storage, processing, supervision, and coordination

  2003cited by this paper
• Assessment of Neuropsychological Function Through Use of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Testing Automated Battery: Performance in 4- to 12-Year-Old Children

  2002cited by this paper
• Assessment and Development of Executive Function (EF) During Childhood

  2002cited by this paper
• Are Mathematics Disabilities Due to a Domain-General or a Domain-Specific Working Memory Deficit?

  2001cited by this paper

• No citing papers are available for this paper.