High Mathematics Achievement in Primary School: The Role of Mathematical, Motivational, and Cognitive Factors.

• In Event: Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: PS 12 Topic - Education, Schooling

Abstract

Introduction: Our understanding of the factors that contribute to low and typical mathematics achievement has greatly increased (e.g., Lyons et al., 2014; Schwenk et al., 2017), yet we know surprisingly little about the factors that predict exceptionally high mathematics achievement (e.g., Preckel et al., 2020). Studies in children with mathematical learning difficulties and typically developing children have uncovered several variables that explain individual differences in mathematics achievement, including domain-specific and domain-general cognitive factors as well as non-cognitive factors (e.g., Beilock, 2008; Fias et al., 2013; Szücs et al., 2014). Preckel et al. (2020) have recently stated that it is important to extend this research to the exceptionally high (mathematics) achievement range. Such information could, in turn, be important in identifying such high-achieving children and in designing differentiating curricula. While there are a number of studies examining the role of general cognitive factors in high mathematics achievement in adolescents (e.g. Lubinski & Benbow, 2006), we know very little about the domain-specific, i.e., mathematics-related, characteristics of high mathematics achievers. Because previous work has largely focused on adolescents and adults, we also know very little about these characteristics in younger children. Against this background, the current study used the work of Krutetskii (1976) as a theoretical framework to study the mathematical characteristics of high mathematics achievers in primary school. We additionally examined which role general motivational and cognitive factors play in the high mathematics achievement of these children. Importantly, the concurrent investigation of the three groups of factors, i.e., mathematics-specific abilities and general motivational and cognitive factors, gave us the opportunity to look into their unique contributions to high mathematics achievement.

Method: Participants were 162 children (8-to 10-year-olds), i.e., 81 high mathematics achievers and 81 average achievers. A curriculum-based, standardized achievement test, i.e., the “leerlingvolgsysteem LVS Wiskunde” (Van Rompaey & Vandenberghe, 2015), was used to select matched pairs of children for the two achievement groups. Following the work of Krutetskii, children completed measures that were selected to assess their mathematical cast of mind (attention to number), flexible mental calculation (adaptive number knowledge, strategy variety), and striving for elegance (use of varying strategies for multi-digit arithmetic). Children also completed measures of their need for cognition, spatial visualization ability, and working memory.

Results: Paired sample t-tests indicated that there were significant group differences on all of the above-mentioned tasks, but not on the attention to number task (see Table 1). A follow-up logistic regression analysis demonstrated that strategy variety, need for cognition, and spatial visualization ability were linked to an increased likelihood of belonging to the high mathematics achievement group (see Table 2).

Discussion: These results indicate that strategy variety, need for cognition, and spatial visualization ability might be particularly important characteristics of high mathematics achievers in primary school. Identifying such characteristics might be a first step in creating supportive educational environments for these learners.

Authors

• Merel Bakker, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven)
  Presenting Author

• Joke Torbeyns, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven)
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lieven Verschaffel, KU Leuven
  Non-Presenting Author

• Bert De Smedt, University of Leuven
  Non-Presenting Author