Verbal and action-based measures of kindergartners' SFON and their associations with number-related utterances during picture book reading

Bibliographic Data

ID5265256
AuthorsSanne Rathé (0000-0002-4867-4050, Centre for Instructional Psychology and Technology KU Leuven Belgium, corresponding author), Joke Torbeyns (0000-0003-3244-0265, Centre for Instructional Psychology and Technology KU Leuven Belgium), Bert De Smedt (0000-0002-3313-3278, Parenting and Special Education Research Unit KU Leuven Belgium), Minna Hannula‐sormunen (0000-0002-6106-2569, Turku Institute for Advanced Studies and Department of Teacher Education University of Turku Finland), Lieven Verschaffel (0000-0002-5283-6470, Centre for Instructional Psychology and Technology KU Leuven Belgium)
Year2018
Volume88
Issue4
Pages550-565
Publication date2018-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Educational Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-0998 • E-ISSN: 2044-8279
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/bjep.12201
PMID29152713
OpenAlexW2769022864
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited21

BackgroundYoung children's spontaneous focusing on numerosity (SFON) as measured by experimental tasks is related to their mathematics achievement. This association is hypothetically explained by children's self-initiated practice in number recognition during everyday activities. As such, experimentally measured SFON should be associated with SFON exhibited during everyday activities and play. However, prior studies investigating this assumed association provided inconsistent findings.AimsWe aimed to address this issue by investigating the association between kindergartners' SFON as measured by two different experimental tasks and the frequency of their number-related utterances during a typical picture book reading activity.SampleParticipants were 65 4- to 6-year-olds in kindergarten (before the start of formal education).MethodsKindergartners individually participated in two sessions. First, they completed an action-based SFON Imitation task and a verbal SFON Picture task, with a short visuo-motor task in between. Next, children were invited to spontaneously comment on the pictures of a picture book during a typical picture book reading activity.ResultsResults revealed a positive association between children's SFON as measured by the Picture task and the frequency of their number-related utterances during typical picture book reading, but no such association for the Imitation task.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that children with higher SFON as measured by a verbal experimental task also tend to focus more frequently on number during verbal everyday activities, such as picture book reading. In view of the divergent associations between our SFON measures under study with everyday number activities, the current data suggest that SFON may not be a unitary construct and/or might be task-dependent

Action (physics) · Association (psychology) · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Everyday life · Imitation · Linguistics · Numerosity adaptation effect · Reading (process) · Task (project management) · Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills · Mathematics Education and Teaching Techniques · Psychology · Reading and Literacy Development · Social Psychology

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