Bidirectional EF–mathematics relationships are reported but the longitudinal evidence is mixed and method-dependent¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2023 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Some balanced longitudinal studies report bidirectional EF–mathematics relations, but replication failures and modelling critiques leave directionality unresolved. → Scerif 2023

Evidence¶

Scerif 2023¶

Scerif, G., Blakey, E., Gattas, S., Hawes, Z., Howard, S., Merkley, R., O'Connor, R., & Simms, V. (2023). Making the Executive 'Function' for the Foundations of Mathematics: the Need for Explicit Theories of Change for Early Interventions. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09824-3

q2 · i? · review · r3

The review reports, citing Coolen et al. (2021), that "only EF surviving as a predictor of growth" once baseline mathematics was controlled, against studies reporting bidirectionality (e.g. Cameron et al. 2019; Schmitt et al. 2017).

"However, there is also some indication of asymmetries in early in childhood, with at least one study reporting concurrent and longitudinal relationships between EF and foundational mathematics skills in 4-year olds, but only EF surviving as a predictor of growth for these skills once baseline levels of mathematics skills were taken into account (Coolen et al., 2021)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

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• Across basic and extended RI-CLPMs and CLPMs of five-wave secondary-school data, math self-concept and achievement show consistent reciprocal (bidirectional) directional ordering — related
• Executive functioning and early numeracy skills assessed in kindergarten directly predict mathematical performance in second grade, jointly explaining 57.3% of its variance — related
• Evidence for integrated EF–mathematics interventions is growing but mixed — related