TY - JOUR
T1 - Working memory and mathematics in primary school children
T2 - A meta-analysis
AU - Friso-Van Den Bos, Ilona
AU - Van Der Ven, Sanne H.G.
AU - Kroesbergen, Evelyn H.
AU - Van Luit, Johannes E.H.
PY - 2013/12/1
Y1 - 2013/12/1
N2 - Working memory, including central executive functions (inhibition, shifting and updating) are factors thought to play a central role in mathematical skill development. However, results reported with regard to the associations between mathematics and working memory components are inconsistent. The aim of this meta-analysis is twofold: to investigate the strength of this relation, and to establish whether the variation in the association is caused by tests, sample characteristics and study and other methodological characteristics. Results indicate that all working memory components are associated with mathematical performance, with the highest correlation between mathematics and verbal updating. Variation in the strength of the associations can consistently be explained by the type of mathematics measure used: general tests yield stronger correlations than more specific tests. Furthermore, characteristics of working memory measures, age and sample explain variance in correlations in some analyses. Interpretations of the contribution of moderator variables to various models are discussed.
AB - Working memory, including central executive functions (inhibition, shifting and updating) are factors thought to play a central role in mathematical skill development. However, results reported with regard to the associations between mathematics and working memory components are inconsistent. The aim of this meta-analysis is twofold: to investigate the strength of this relation, and to establish whether the variation in the association is caused by tests, sample characteristics and study and other methodological characteristics. Results indicate that all working memory components are associated with mathematical performance, with the highest correlation between mathematics and verbal updating. Variation in the strength of the associations can consistently be explained by the type of mathematics measure used: general tests yield stronger correlations than more specific tests. Furthermore, characteristics of working memory measures, age and sample explain variance in correlations in some analyses. Interpretations of the contribution of moderator variables to various models are discussed.
KW - Children
KW - Executive functions
KW - Mathematics
KW - Meta-analysis
KW - Working memory
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84879562306&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.edurev.2013.05.003
DO - 10.1016/j.edurev.2013.05.003
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:84879562306
VL - 10
SP - 29
EP - 44
JO - Educational research review
JF - Educational research review
SN - 1747-938X
ER -