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Cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS), previously referred to as sluggish cognitive tempo, is a set of symptoms characterized by excessive daydreaming, mental fogginess, and slowed behavior/thinking. Studies examining the association between CDS and academic functioning have reported mixed findings and have relied upon limited measures of CDS, broad ratings of academic impairment, and/or focused only on elementary-aged children. The current study examined the relationship between CDS and academic functioning in adolescents using a comprehensive, multi-informant, multi-method design. Participants were 302 adolescents (Mage = 13.17 years; 44.7% female; 81.8% White; 52% with ADHD) recruited in the fall of their 8th grade. Above and beyond ADHD inattentive symptoms, CDS symptoms were related to poorer homework performance, lower math fluency, and lower daily academic motivation across multiple informants, and teacher-reported CDS symptoms were related to lower grades. Findings were not moderated by ADHD diagnosis, suggesting that associations between CDS and academic outcomes do not differ for adolescents with and without ADHD. Findings demonstrate that CDS symptoms are uniquely associated with daily academic difficulties as well as global indices of academic performance. These findings have implications for assessing and monitoring CDS symptoms in interventions aiming to improve the academic functioning in adolescents with and without ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decades of research has documented the consequences of allocating school students into a hierarchy of classes with narrow ranges of mathematics attainment, a process known as streaming, tracking, setting, or "ability" grouping. The purported benefits of streaming are inconsistent and disputed, but the harms are clear, in particular, (1) the limiting curriculum often available in low streams and (2) the loss of self-confidence that results from being positioned in a low stream. Building on this foundation, we discuss streaming in mathematics as tied to systemic racism in Aotearoa New Zealand, where the harmful effects of streaming fall most heavily on Māori and Pasifika students. Previous analyses of race and streaming have focused primarily on the racial composition of streamed classes, bias in stream allocation, and racialised teacher expectations in streamed settings. In contrast, we focus on the emotional consequences of streaming, arguing that streaming produces racialised emotions of shame and entitlement as unintended but predictable consequences. We illustrate the racialised production of entitlement and shame through collaborative storying, interweaving our own biographies with a re-analysis of student interviews from two prior studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the expectancy-value perspective on identity and identity formation, this paper explores the relationship between math identity (MI) and the dimensions of motivation (i.e. intrinsic value, attainment value, utility value and perceived competence) and math achievement in primary school. An additional aim of our research was to explore these relationships in different cultural contexts and investigate potential gender and grade differences concerning MI. The participants were 11,782 primary school students from Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Finland, Portugal and Serbia. All predictors from the motivation spectrum were significant for students' MI across the examined countries and had a stronger association with MI than math achievement. Among the motivational dimensions, intrinsic value had the strongest association with students' MI. Boys had significantly more positive math identities than girls in Estonia, Finland, Norway and Portugal. The results showed that the grade 4 students perceived themselves less as "math persons" than their grade 3 peers in all countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teacher expectations not only relate positively to student achievement, but also to student beliefs such as their self-concept. Nevertheless, most studies focus on the relations with student achievement, followed by studies on beliefs. Beliefs are a significant determinant of academic success and can include student self-concept or emotions, such as anxiety. The extent to which anxiety can be influenced by teacher expectations has been investigated in very few studies. This paper examined how teacher expectations related to changes in student achievement, self-concept, and anxiety in mathematics within a school year. The data were from a longitudinal study "Outcomes of teacher education", funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and based on 28 teachers and 509 primary school students. Teacher expectations were operationalized using the residual approach. Student mathematics achievement was assessed via a standardized mathematics test and their self-concept as well as their mathematics anxiety via a questionnaire. The multi-level structure was considered in the analyses, because the interclass-correlation of student mathematics achievement exceeded the critical value of 10%. The results showed that teacher expectations were positively related to student achievement as well as self-concept and negatively related to anxiety towards mathematics. The change in the explained variance was small (self-concept and anxiety) to large (achievement). The results extend findings on the expectation effect in the classroom, as they focus not only on student achievement but also on student beliefs and are discussed regarding their significance for academic success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kindergarteners' numerical abilities are fundamental to their future academic development. The cognitive correlates of numerical abilities remain in debate. The present study examined whether non-verbal number sense and literacy could persistently predict kindergarteners' numerical abilities. A large-scale sample consisting of 930 children aged from 5.0 to 6.9 years were assessed for numerical abilities (addition and subtraction), non-verbal number sense (numerosity comparison), literacy (character reading), and general cognitive processing (word span, rapid automatized naming, mental rotation, figure matching and rhythm). The results showed that, after controlling for all other aspects of cognitive processing available, non-verbal number sense did not correlate with numerical abilities, while literacy was a stable cognitive predictor of numerical abilities in both age groups. And rapid automatized naming (RAN) was the most powerful cognitive predictor in the 6 years of age group. Further dominance analysis also showed that literacy was the most important predictor of numerical performance in the 5 years of age group and was next only to RAN in the 6 years of age group. The results suggest that literacy rather than non-verbal number sense is a unique cognitive correlate for kindergartener's numerical abilities. We argue that increased focus on natural language, especially literacy, may help to improve kindergarteners' math ability. Highlights: A large-scale sample consisting of 930 Chinese children aged from 5.0 to 6.9 years were assessed for numerical abilities, non-verbal number sense, literacy, and general cognitive processing. The link between non-verbal number sense and children's numerical abilities did not survive after controlling for other cognitive processing. Literacy rather than non-verbal number sense is a stable cognitive correlate for kindergartener's numerical abilities in 5.0–6.9 years old kindergarteners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined whether sport participation in preschool was related to executive functioning (EF) and academic outcomes (i.e., math, language, literacy) in the fall and spring of kindergarten, as well as whether EF in the fall of kindergarten mediated the relation between sport participation in preschool and academic outcomes in the spring of kindergarten. The sample was drawn from a state-funded prekindergarten program evaluation (n = 120 children; mean age at baseline = 57.63 months, female = 47%, mean monthly family income = $1636.92). Parents reported on child sport participation in the spring of the child's preschool year. Children were directly assessed on EF and academic achievement in the fall and spring of kindergarten. Results revealed that sport participation in preschool only predicted literacy in the spring of kindergarten. There was no evidence that EF mediated the relation between sport participation and academic outcomes. Implications and future directions are discussed. Highlights: Preschool sport participation may predict specific academic skills in kindergarten. Executive functioning did not mediate the relation between sport and academic skills. Varied conceptualizations of sport may inform relations between sport and cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teacher innovative behavior is one of the vital factors, affecting student engagement, addresses diverse needs, promotes critical thinking, fosters lifelong learning, and contributes to educational research and development. By encouraging and supporting teacher innovation, we may can ensure that education remains relevant, effective, and impactful in preparing students for the future. Teacher innovative behavior is also needed to improve the mathematics skills of elementary school students, and it is important to determine the predictors that significantly affecting Teacher innovative behavior. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a model that predicted possible factors affecting mathematics teachers' innovative behavior based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). Data were collected from 132 elementary school teachers in China to verify the model, and the analysis was conducted using a structural equation modelling approach. Theoretically, 10 of the 15 hypotheses were found to be significant. The results showed that facilitating conditions and self-efficacy significantly affect mathematics teachers' innovative behavior. Meanwhile, Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) knowledge, Social Influences, Rewards, Work engagement and anxiety did not show any effect. The contribution developed a model and provided new knowledge about the factors affecting elementary school teachers' innovative behavior. Practically, this could be used to improve teachers' innovative behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Task-related change in physiological arousal is suggested to reflect active involvement with the task. While studies often examine such task-related changes in arousal as averaged across the entire task, the present study focused on temporal changes in arousal during a task. More specifically, we investigated changes in elementary school students' physiological arousal during an arithmetic task and associations between these changes and students' mindset, performance on the task, and math grades. We used a person-oriented approach to analyze the tonic electrodermal activity of 86 fourth graders, recorded while they were working on an arithmetic task. With model-based clustering of students' on-task electrodermal activity, we identified three groups of students with differing temporal dynamics of physiological arousal during the task: Increasing Arousal, Decreasing Arousal and Decreasing and Increasing Arousal. The Decreasing Arousal profile contained more students classified as holding a Fixed Mindset Tendency than would be expected if physiological profile membership and mindset tendency were independent. The Increasing Arousal profile performed better on the task than the Decreasing Arousal profile. No association was found with math grades. These results provide a new insight into individual differences in temporal patterns of on-task physiological arousal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary school students have trouble understanding concepts related to fractions. On the other hand, technology constantly provides interesting tools that stimulate students' interest and foster learning. Among these, tangible user interfaces allow users to interact with digital applications through the manipulation of everyday objects. Given that conventional tangible materials are already used in the teaching of fractions, the study at hand presents the results of a project in which their impact on learning was compared to that of materials digitally enhanced with the use of tangible user interfaces. The results indicated that the learning outcomes were better for the group of students who used the latter. Moreover, students' enjoyment was greater. However, there were no differences in terms of motivation, ease-of-use, and subjective learning effectiveness. The results can be attributed to both the characteristics of tangible user interfaces and the teaching framework that was followed. Nevertheless, the educational potential of tangible user interfaces has to be further explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to determine whether Escape Rooms can be used as an active methodological approach for the purpose of teaching mathematics. The research adapted a quantitative approach via an experimental design. Two different study groups were established, the first of which comprised the control group who were taught using conventional training methods, and the second consisted of the experimental group, who were taught using a novel approach incorporating an Escape Room activity. The participants included 80 students who were all attending secondary school within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The findings revealed how the activity involving the Escape Room led to a significant enhancement in the student's motivation, achievement and autonomy. The conclusion can be drawn that using an Escape Room in mathematics teaching can enhance learning achievement, anxiety, motivation and autonomy, with students' negative attitudes regarding mathematics learning considered as an important variable, particularly with respect to autonomy and motivation. Hence, Escape Rooms can potentially be more effective than conventional methods for teaching mathematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Zambia, as well as many other African and non-Western cultures, the extent and kind of children's chores may contribute to their learning, yet often also conflict with their schooling. In the moderation analysis we present in this manuscript, we aimed to explore the interactive effects of schooling and chores on children's mathematics performance at different levels of math knowledge and computational skill, taking into account how the assessment questions were presented. The sample consisted of 1,535 children (719 girls) living in rural and peri-urban communities in Zambia who were administered the Zambia Achievement Test (ZAT). We categorized the 60 items of the ZAT by their targeted content knowledge, sizes of the numbers involved, and forms of representation. Our results showed that chores supported the development of very basic mathematics skills and knowledge in children who had less schooling, but also significantly lowered the performance of students who were in school once their school attendance rose above certain levels. Moreover, this interaction between chores and school attendance was observed predominantly in girls, with a lesser effect of chores on boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses an example of an educational project in modern mathematics in which school students create mathematics that is new to them. The mathematical results produced by the students in the theory of definability also have an "absolute" novelty, i.e., are the basis for professional publications. The described course was based on recent results of this article's authors in the theory of definability. The new results were obtained by a group of 10 schoolchildren from different regions of Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The relation between the human body movements and cognition has been a research hotspot in physical education and health promotion in recent years. This study applied the embodied cognition theory to examine the effects of the Movement Integrity with Intelligent Play (MIIP) program on preschoolers' math performance. Objective: This study explores whether the Movement Integrity with Intelligent Play is connected with math performance, physical activity (PA) levels, and enjoyment of kindergarten students. Method: A quasi-experimental trial was delivered to evaluate the effects of the MIIP program that integrated bodily movements into math cognitive tasks related to pattern cognitive skills. A total of 54 (N = 54, 30 girls, Mage = 75.69 ± 3.36) children from two preschool classrooms served as participants and were assigned to one of the following two conditions: the integrated condition group (ICG, n = 28), and the conventional condition group (CCG, n = 26). During a 2-week intervention period, the ICG received a task-relevant PA (3×30 min/wk) in addition to their regular in-school math lessons (2×30 min/wk). Finally, math performance, PA levels, and enjoyment were assessed. Results: Following the intervention, significant differences (p < 0.05) in math performance, PA levels, and enjoyment were found in the ICG. The results demonstrated that preschool children in ICG outperformed children in the CCG. Children in the CCG showed no significant differences in math performance and PA levels. In addition, children in the ICG scored higher scores (M = 9.25 ± 2.71) on perceived enjoyment of the instructional method than children in the CCG (M = 7.07 ± 3.91). Conclusions: The integrated intervention has beneficial effects not only on math performance, PA levels but also on enjoyment. Transforming the focus of instruction to an integrated PA enhanced both math performance, PA levels, and increased enjoyment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various studies have highlighted the important influence of math ability in a numerate society. In this study, we investigated the influence of emotional (math anxiety and math enjoyment) and cognitive-motivational (math self-efficacy) factors on math performance. Participants were 145 fifth-grade students (84 boys and 61 girls). The results showed that math performance was negatively correlated with math anxiety and positively correlated with math enjoyment and math self-efficacy. Moreover, math anxiety was negatively associated with enjoyment in math and math self-efficacy, whereas math enjoyment was positively correlated with math self-efficacy. Hierarchical regression analysis showed a significant influence of math anxiety and math self-efficacy on math performance in fifth-grade students. Results are discussed in terms of a new perspective in emotional and motivational factors to train in school contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate third-grade reading and math proficiency for children born to adolescent women compared with those born to non-adolescent women. Methods: A statewide, retrospective cohort study was conducted in Rhode Island using third-grade year-end examination data from 2014 to 2017 as part of a statewide initiative to improve third grade reading levels. Children's third-grade reading and math proficiencies were compared between those born to nulliparous adolescent women (age 15–19 at the time of delivery), and nulliparous women 20 years or older at delivery. Bivariate analyses were conducted to compare maternal and child characteristics between adolescent and non-adolescent groups. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association between having an adolescent mother and being proficient in reading and math after adjusting for lunch subsidy, core city residence, child race/ethnicity and sex. Results: Of the 8,248 children meeting the inclusion criteria, 20% were born to adolescent women and the remaining 80% were born to non-adolescent women. After adjusting for potential confounders, children born to adolescent women were significantly less likely to be proficient in both reading (adjusted risk ratio (aRR) 0.77, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.71–0.83) and math (aRR 0.78, 95% CI: 0.72–0.85). Conclusions for Practice: Children born to adolescent women had significantly lower rates of reading and math proficiency when compared with children of non-adolescent women. These children may benefit from additional resources focused on early academic performance in order to address disparities in reading and math proficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obtaining adequate numeracy skills and listening comprehension skills at primary school are vital for children's future success. However, classrooms are often noisy and reverberant which may interfere with learning these skills. Two scoping reviews were conducted to synthesise research assessing the effect of different classroom acoustic conditions on (1) children's numeracy performance and (2) children's listening comprehension and to identify areas for future research. The PRISMA-ScR protocol was used for these scoping reviews. A comprehensive search of four online databases was conducted in September 2021 using the search term classroom AND (noise OR reverberation OR acoustics) AND (numeracy OR math* OR arithmetic) for the first scoping review, and in May 2022 using the search term classroom AND (acoustic* OR noise OR reverb*) AND ("listening comprehension" OR "auditory comprehension" OR "spoken language comprehension" OR "speech comprehension") for the second scoping review. The effect of the acoustic conditions on children's numeracy was varied with most studies showing a negative or no effect of noise, but two showed a positive effect. Therefore, future research is needed to better understand the effect of different classroom acoustic conditions on children's numeracy performance. For listening comprehension overall, signal-to-noise ratios below + 10 dB mostly had a negative effect on children's listening comprehension compared to quiet conditions; however, variables such as the noise type, signal-to-noise ratio tested, the listening comprehension domain examined, the population studied, and the voice used for the stimuli affected this. Future research avenues to better understand these effects are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used a multiple probe design to evaluate the effects of a teacher-implemented video-schedule intervention on the mathematical skills and untargeted challenging behaviors of five elementary-school students with autism. Results indicated that the intervention was effective in improving participants' academic performance, and a decrease in the level of challenging behaviors and stereotypy was observed for participants following the introduction of intervention. Additionally, academic gains generalized across academic problems and to a small group setting, suggesting that this technology-based intervention is an efficient use of instructional time. Future research targeting a variety of academic skills and examining intervention implementation by additional practitioners (e.g., teaching assistants) is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study quantified the possible learning losses in reading and math skills among a sample of Finnish Grade 3 children (n = 198) who spent 8 weeks in distance learning during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020. We compared their reading and math skill development trajectories across Grades 1, 2, and 4 to a pre-COVID sample (N = 378). We also examined if gender, parental education, maternal homework involvement, and child's task-avoidant behavior predict children's academic skills at Grade 4 differently in the pre-COVID sample compared with the COVID sample. Children's reading and math skills were tested, mothers reported their education and homework involvement, and teachers rated children's task-avoidant behavior. The results showed, on average, lower reading skills in the COVID sample than in the pre-COVID sample but there were no differences in math skills. Although the COVID sample had lower levels in reading, their developmental trajectories in reading and math skills were not different from the pre-COVID sample before the pandemic in Grades 1 and 2. From Grade 2 to 4, however, the development was slower in reading fluency and comprehension in the COVID sample, but not in math. The predictors of change from Grade 2 to 4 in reading and math skills were not different in the samples. The results showed that the development of reading skills in particular may have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Data literacy is increasingly important in today's data-driven world. Students across many educational systems first formally learn about data in elementary school not as a separate subject but via the mathematics curriculum. This experience can create tensions in the priorities of learning and assessment given the presence of other foundational mathematics content domains such as numbers, algebra, measurement, and geometry. There is a need to study data literacy in comparison to these other content domains in elementary mathematics. To address this need, we developed a methodology motivated by thinking curriculum theory and aligned with international assessment framework, for comparative analysis across mathematics content domains. This methodology examined increasing levels of cognitive domains from knowing to applying to reasoning across mathematics content domains. Intended, assessed, and attained curricula were analyzed using Singapore as a case study, combined with broader comparisons to attainments in four East Asian countries in TIMSS, an international large-scale assessment. Results: We found that learning in the data domain had very limited coverage in intended and assessed curricula in Singapore. However, compared to other mathematics content domains, the data curriculum placed heavier emphasis on higher-order cognitive domains including the use of generally difficult mixed data visualizations. This demanding curriculum in Singapore was associated with the highest attainment in the data domain among average 4th grade Singaporean students relative to students in four East Asian countries in TIMSS, as analyzed by quantile regression. However, lower-performing Singaporean students at the 10th percentile generally did not outperform their East Asian peers. We further found very limited applications of data in other mathematics domains or cross-domain learning more generally. Conclusion: Our study offers a comparative analysis of the data curriculum in elementary school mathematics education. While the data curriculum was cognitively demanding and translated to very high average attainments of Singaporean students, the curriculum did not equally help weaker Singaporean students, with implications on current discourse on equity–excellence trade-off in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Our study further highlights the lack of cross-domain learning in mathematics involving data. Despite the broad applicability of data science, elementary school students' first formal experience with data may lack emphasis on its cross-domain applications, suggesting a need to further integrate data skills and competencies into the mathematics curriculum and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online one-on-one tutoring serves as a personalized approach to supplement classroom instruction. However, with the growing tutoring market, a single tutor often handles inquiries from students across primary, middle, and high school levels. Consequently, the extent of tutors’ interactions with students of varying grades and their use of tutoring strategies to enhance student learning remains unclear. To address this gap, we collected and analyzed 1500 tutoring dialogues from amateur mathematics tutors concurrently instructing students from primary, middle, and high school levels. These dialogues were annotated using a coding scheme and a well-trained powerful artificial intelligence (AI) model. The interaction dynamics were subsequently examined using epistemic network analysis and lag sequential analysis, yielding findings on the occurrences, co-occurrences, and sequential patterns of dialogic strategies. First, the results reveal that tutors frequently engaged in off-topic behaviors and direct instruction, regardless of students’ educational level. Second, tutors’ constructive questions and knowledge sharing and instruction were more associated with greater constructive expressions from students at higher educational levels, while primary students primarily demonstrated simple acknowledgment. Third, tutors exhibited limited sequential patterns of dialogic strategies when tutoring primary and middle school students, mainly focusing on question-asking behaviors and evaluation and feedback. In contrast, tutors displayed diverse patterns across various categories of dialogic strategies when instructing high school students, emphasizing the facilitation of students’ reasoning and metacognition. These findings underscore the importance of training tutors to develop dialogic skills and adopt tailored pedagogical approaches for different educational levels, ensuring effective and efficient online one-on-one mathematics tutoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the relationship between play-based learning and achievement in mathematics in Palestinian elementary school children. Forty teachers from eight schools received training in play-based pedagogies and follow-up support visits from programme staff (intervention group); four matched schools served as the control group. Grade-appropriate tests were administered to all students in two consecutive school terms. A total of 859 students (458 females, 401 males) and 832 students (477 females, 355 males) completed maths tests in term 1 and 2, respectively. Results revealed that the intervention group attained higher test scores than the control group in both terms (P < 0.01). Furthermore, in term 2 an interaction effect between group and gender was found (P < 0.05), with girls in the intervention group achieving the highest scores. Our finding suggest that play-based learning approaches may enhance academic achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a cluster randomized trial, we investigated the effects of mathematics professional development on student achievement in elementary schools. Pairs of schools were matched on prior mathematics; percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch and percentage of limited English proficient students were randomly assigned to two groups. One received professional development on mathematics that focuses on diagnosing student thinking and the other received professional development on formative assessment. Student-level achievement data (pretest and posttest performance on a standardized test of mathematics) were nested within grades and schools and analyzed using mixed-effects multi-level linear modeling. The results indicate students in schools that were provided the mathematics professional development had greater mathematics achievement than students in schools in a control condition. The effect held across grade levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored whether Year 1 school children exposed to a 12-week classroom-based gross motor program progressed differently than Year 1 children undertaking their regular school program in motor proficiency, mathematics, and reading outcomes. Fifty-five Australian Year 1 school children (25 boys, 30 girls, mean age 6.77 ± 0.40 years) were exposed to either (i) their normal school program (Class N) or (ii) a 12-week program comprised of gross motor circuits and physically active: a) reading lessons (Class R) or b) mathematics lessons (Class M). Motor proficiency and academic performance in mathematics and reading were assessed using the Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (2nd Edition) and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test—2nd Edition—Australian Standardised Edition, respectively. Differences in outcomes between classes following the 12-week program were assessed. Mean change scores for the mathematics composite were significantly greater for participants in Class R (9.61 ± 5.62, p =.001) and Class M (7.57 ± 5.79, p =.019) than for participants in Class N (0.76 ± 8.00). Mean change scores for reading (11.54 ± 7.51, p =.017) and total motor composites (6.12 ± 5.07, p =.034) were also significantly greater for participants in Class M than Class N (4.47 ± 3.50 and 0.82 ± 4.38 respectively). A 12-week classroom-based gross motor program may be beneficial for motor skill development and learning in Year 1 school children. This pilot evaluation may usefully inform future experimental studies to further investigate whether classroom-based motor skill programs have a beneficial effect on motor proficiency and academic outcomes in children in the early years of primary school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning maths is challenging for many primary school students, and teachers must understand students' learning and emotional processes specific to learning maths. The current research, grounded in control-value theory, focused on achievement emotions regarding maths. Primary school students (N = 71) were studied with the primary objective of examining the longitudinal trajectories of achievement emotions of third graders over two years. The Portuguese Achievement Emotions Questionnaire for Elementary Students was administered biannually to assess enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom regarding maths. The results indicate that enjoyment decreased and boredom increased over time, revealing three emotional profiles: positive, negative and moderate. The positive profile showed the highest scores in maths achievement. Profile membership was moderately stable and became increasingly stable and structured. In examining the complexity of students' emotional profiles and processes, the importance of understanding them to enhance educational support, development, and learning was highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on stereotype threat and stereotype lift theory, this study explores implicit stereotype threat effects of gender stereotypes on the performance of primary school children in mathematics. Moreover, effects of implicit gender stereotypical cues (gender-specific task material) on motivational aspects were explored, which have revealed mixed results in stereotype threat research in the past. N = 151 German primary school children (47.7% female; mean age: M = 9.81, SD = 0.60) calculated either stereotypical or neutral mathematical text problems before motivational aspects were assessed. Contradicting our expectations, results neither revealed a stereotype threat effect on girls' performance nor a lift effect on the boys. Instead, girls calculating stereotypical tasks outperformed girls in the control group, whereas boys' performance did not significantly differ compared to the control group. Regarding motivational aspects, only traditional gender differences emerged as girls reported significantly more pressure and tension calculating the mathematical tasks. The discussion focuses on the way in which stereotypes can affect children's cognitive performance and in turn, their mathematical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Properties of arithmetic operations are important in mathematics and play a significant role in elementary school students' learning of mathematics. At the same time, it is quite challenging to help students learn arithmetic operational properties beyond memorization, so that they know when and how to use a specific arithmetic property. This paper reports a study containing two parts to explore students' learning of the Commutative Property of Addition (CPA) as related to the content presentation in textbooks. Part one is to assess selected students' performance on CPA at the end of Grade two, and part two is to explore possible contributions of textbooks to students' performance in Shanghai. Firstly, we evaluated the performance of 41 second-graders on CPA by collecting data through a paper-and-pencil test, which was followed up with individual interviews. Through analyzing how textbooks present and organize this topic, we sought to better understand from a curriculum standpoint how students' performance on CPA is impacted by textbooks. Results revealed that Shanghai textbooks make a positive contribution to students' learning performance. The findings from this study help to shed light on how those textbooks aid student learning, and provide an example for further reflection on student learning of arithmetic operational properties in different curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, motivated by the desire to understand which forms of parent-initiated activity are productively implicated in young children's mathematics learning, we present a methodological critique of recent research. Many such studies, based on assumptions that parent-initiated activities can be categorised as formal or informal, direct or indirect, or advanced or basic, exploit surveys to elicit how frequently parents engage their children in various predetermined activities. While such survey data have the potential to yield important insights, the analytical procedures typically employed prevent them. Studies involving factor analyses yield uninterpretable factors, which are then used to create summative variables based on the scores of individual activities. Other studies, drawing on untested preconceptions, simply create summative variables. In all cases, these summative variables are based on such a wide range of qualitatively different activities that labels like formal or informal become arbitrary and the potential of individual activities to support learning gets lost beneath colleagues' desires for statistical significance. In closing, we ask colleagues, albeit somewhat rhetorically, what is the purpose of such research? Is it to identify those activities that support learning or to offer statistically robust factors, which, due to the diversity of activities embedded within them, offer few useful insights? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most prevalent features of digital mathematics textbooks, compared to traditional ones, is the provision of automated feedback on students' solutions. Since feedback is regarded as an important factor that influences learning, this is often seen as an affordance of digital mathematics textbooks. While there is a large body of mainly quantitative research on the effectiveness of feedback in general, very little is known about how feedback actually affects students' individual content specific learning processes and conceptual development. A theoretical framework based on Rabardel's theory of the instrument and Vergnaud's theory of conceptual fields is developed to study qualitatively how feedback actually functions in the learning process. This framework was applied in a case study of two elementary school students' learning processes when working on a probability task from a German 3rd grade digital textbook. The analysis allowed detailed reconstruction of how students made sense of the information provided by the feedback and adjusted their behavior accordingly. This in-depth analysis unveiled that feedback does not necessarily foster conceptual development in the desired way, and a correct solution does not always coincide with conceptual understanding. The results point to some obstacles that students face when working individually on tasks from digital mathematics textbooks with automated feedback, and indicate that feedback needs to be developed in design-based research cycles in order to yield the desired effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prekindergarten programs are instrumental for smooth transition to the primary grades. Although the prevalence of these programs has expanded, limited studies document the long-term outcomes associated with children's engagement in such programs and for specific content areas such as mathematics. Objective: This study predicted the longitudinal mathematics achievement of 458 students as they progressed through elementary and middle school, accounting for their participation in Georgia's prekindergarten (Pre-K) program at age 4. Method: Archived academic achievement data in mathematics were extracted from one school district in the southeastern United States. A multilevel approach was employed to account for the nesting of students within schools. Liner and logistic regression analyses were used to examine the long-term relationship between prekindergarten participation and mathematics achievement. Results: After controlling for the effects of race, sex, and poverty, results indicated that participation in Georgia's Pre-K program positively predicted mathematics achievement through seventh grade. For fourth through seventh grades, the odds of a Georgia Pre-K participant meeting the state's academic standards on the statewide standardized test were 1.67–2.10 times greater than the odds for a nonparticipant. Conclusion: Although the reported effect sizes were small, children's participation in the Georgia Pre-K program had a long-term influence on their mathematics achievement through elementary and middle school, providing evidence of sustained benefits of a state-funded prekindergarten program. Quality learning experiences during the early years might provide skills and knowledge that serve as building blocks for later mathematics achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a teaching experiment in which second-grade primary school students compared a city and a town according to population estimates. The activities were presented to them as Fermi problems and required an analysis of the reality to identify sub-problems that students could deal with. The students' products were analyzed from the perspective of mathematical modeling and it was observed that the students developed their own mathematical methods to make the required estimates. Learning opportunities were identified when students needed concepts and procedures that they had not yet worked with. The results show that estimation acts as a facilitator for the generation of mathematical models that enable students to connect their real-world knowledge to new mathematical learning. In the conclusions, there is a discussion of the implications of the use of Fermi problem sequences to initiate mathematical modeling and link up mathematical and extra-mathematical knowledge about social problems in the first years of primary education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evaluations of effectiveness of educational reforms are often based on the level of improvement in student performance from one cycle of a particular assessment to the next. However, improvements in overall performance do not necessarily translate to improved equality. Indeed, improvements that favour certain subgroups of students can exacerbate educational performance gaps and thus, inequality. This research examines changes in equality of mathematics achievement and subgroup performance differences in Irish primary school students over time. Ireland constitutes an interesting case study due to the introduction of a new National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy in 2011, the initial implementation of which has been linked to significant improvements in student mathematics performance. This paper aims to investigate whether these improvements have been accompanied by improvements in equality. Methods: Using data from the Irish National Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading (NAMER) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) from the period before and after the introduction of the Strategy, the study examines (i) deviations in student scores, (ii) variability in achievement at student and school levels and (iii) performance gaps based on demographic and socioeconomic factors over time. Bivariate analyses and multilevel regression models were used to identify student- and school-level variables related to mathematics performance. Results: The results showed a decrease in variability in students' mathematics performance after the introduction of the Strategy; this decrease was statistically significant only for TIMSS. Additionally, there was a considerable decrease in variance in mathematics performance attributed to between-school differences over time. These findings constitute evidence of increased equality as performance differences between students and schools tended to shrink. Regarding performance gaps and variance in mathematics performance explained by background characteristics, this study provided mixed results. In NAMER, subsequent to the introduction of the Strategy, the performance gaps and variance in mathematics achievement explained by selected demographic and socioeconomic characteristics decreased considerably. However, this was not the case for TIMSS. Conclusions: The evidence provided by this study suggests that Ireland has made reasonable progress in addressing inequality. However, there is room for improvement, as a significant proportion of the variance in student mathematics performance is still explained by demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLP) model, high individual academic performance in a particular subject is related to high self-concept in that subject, whereas high average classroom performance has a negative effect on self-concept. In the present study, data from Finnish primary school students in grade 3 (504 students), grade 4 (487 students), and grade 6 (365 students) are used to examine whether the assumptions of the BFLP effect model hold already in primary school. Furthermore, we examined gender differences in BFLP effect. The results showed that as expected students' high performance in literacy and in mathematics was related to high self-concept in the same subject. Support for the negative classroom effect was small and it depended on the school subject and student's gender. That is, a high average classroom performance already in grade 3 had a negative but small effect on boys' self-concept in mathematics. In literacy and among girls, only little support was found for the negative classroom effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes elementary students' awareness and representation of the aggregate properties and variability of data sets when engaged in predictive reasoning. In a design study, 46 third-graders interpreted a table of historical temperature data to predict and represent future monthly maximum temperatures. The task enabled students to interpret numbers in context and apply their understanding of inherent natural variation to create a generalised data set. Student predictions, representations, and written and verbal descriptions were analysed using two frameworks—Awareness of Mathematical Pattern and Structure (AMPS), and Data Lenses. While 54% of students used the variability of the given data table to predict temperatures that were within the historical range for each month, only 20% described the table by focusing on aggregate properties. Student representations varied from highly structured line and bar graphs to idiosyncratic drawings on weather-related themes. In total, 83% of student representations were either idiosyncratic or direct copies of the data table. These findings suggest a progression in students' predictive reasoning, with an awareness of range and seasonal patterns emerging before a multifaceted aggregate view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article was to determine the factors in teachers' actions that could explain differences in the emotional atmosphere of primary school classrooms. Based on pupils' drawings about their mathematics lessons, we analyzed both the pupils' and their teachers' actions, including pupils requesting help, sitting alone, and talking about mathematics, as well as the teacher helping, praising and criticizing. We could conclude that the teacher has a central role in the formation of the emotional atmosphere in mathematics lessons. The emotional atmosphere can be built up to be positive when the teacher encourages the pupils to talk about mathematics and their own understanding with each other. The emotional atmosphere is then open and tolerant. The emotional atmosphere can turn to be negative when the pupils are working by themselves and are afraid of criticism and embarrassment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even in primary school, mathematics achievement depends upon the efficiency of cognitive, metacognitive and self-regulatory processes. Thus, for pupils to carry out a computation, such as a written calculation, metacognitive mechanisms play a crucial role, since children must employ self-regulation to assess the precision of their own thinking and performance. This assessment, in turn, can be helpful in the regulation of their own learning. In this regard, a body of literature suggests that the application of psychoeducational interventions that promote the development of mathematics-related metacognitive (e.g., control) processes, based on the analysis of the students' errors, can successfully influence mathematics performance. The main objective of the current study was to investigate the impact of a metacognitive and cognitive training program developed to enhance various arithmetic skills (e.g., syntax, mental and written calculation), self-regulatory and control functions in primary and secondary school students exhibiting atypical mathematical development. Sixty-eight Italian children, 36 male and 32 female (mean age at pretest = 9.3 years, SD = 1.02 years), meeting the criteria for the diagnosis of dyscalculia or specific difficulties in mathematics, took part in the study. Of these, 34 children (i.e., experimental group) underwent the cognitive and self-regulatory intervention enhancing mathematics skills training for 16 weekly sessions. The remaining students were assigned to the control group. For a pre-test and post-test, a battery of standardized mathematical tests assessing different mathematics skills, such as written and mental operations, digit transcription and number ordering skills, was administered and provided a series of measures of calculation time and accuracy (i.e., number of errors). In the post-test, the experimental group exhibited better accuracy in written calculation and in digit transcription. Overall, the current outcomes demonstrate that psychoeducational interventions enriching metacognitive and mathematical achievements through error analysis may be an effective way to promote both the development of self-regulatory and control skills and mathematical achievement in children with atypical mathematical development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the role of metacognitive postdiction skills, intrinsic motivation and prior proficiency in mathematics as Propensity factors within the opportunity–propensity (O–P) model of learning. We tested Belgian children from Grade 1 till 6 in January and June. The study revealed overlapping yet different predictors for mathematical accuracy and fluency, which led us to the practical recommendation for teachers to pay attention to both aspects of mathematics. The metacognitive postdiction skills of children were related to accuracy in mathematics during the whole elementary school period. In addition, we observed that children evaluated their own performance as worse when they were slower in Grades 3 and 4. Intrinsic motivation was related to accuracy but not to fluency in Grade 3. Especially prior mathematical accuracy mattered as a propensity factor. More than half of the variance in accuracy and less than one-fifth of the variance in fluency in January predicted the performances of children for mathematics in June, a finding that highlights the importance of longitudinal designs including students' prior mathematical accuracy' as well. Finally, we observed that poor mathematics performers are less intrinsically motivated, and less metacognitively accurate. Moreover, they overestimate their performances more often than well-performing peers in all grades, stressing the importance of paying attention to these aspects in mathematics education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education is an emerging approach to improve students’ achievement and interest in STEM disciplines. However, the implementation of integrated STEM education depends strongly on teachers’ competence, which entails, among others, teachers’ attitudes. Nonetheless, not much is known about the factors that influence teachers’ attitudes toward teaching integrated STEM. Therefore this paper uses a survey method to get insight into the relationship between three groups of variables and teachers’ attitudes toward teaching integrated STEM: teacher background characteristics, personal attitudes and school context variables. The results of the multiple regression analyses reveal three variables that are positively linked with teachers’ attitudes: professional development, personal relevance of science and social context. Moreover two variables show a negative correlation: having more than 20 years of teaching experience and experience in mathematics. The results of this study provide valuable information about factors related to teachers’ attitudes toward teaching integrated STEM. Moreover, these results can be deployed by school administrators to guide them when implementing integrated STEM education in their school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to assess the differences in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) according to academic performance (AP) in children who attend public schools in the city of Cordoba, Argentina.Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out in a sample of 494 children aged 9-12 years (mean = 9.5; standard deviation [SD] = 0.65; IQR 1) who attended 4th grade of public schools in the city of Córdoba, Argentina in 2014. HRQoL was assessed by self-administration of the KIDSCREEN-52 child version in classroom. AP was established with the final grades in language and mathematics obtained from the school records. Marginal means and SD's of the HRQoL scores were compared between AP groups by calculating the effect size (ES), and linear mixed effect models were used to evaluate the (independent) association of AP with HRQoL.Results: Statistically significant differences were found in the psychosocial dimensions of the HRQoL between the AP groups. The main differences in HRQoL between children with very good-excellent grades and those with unsatisfactory AP were found in school environment (ES = 0.69), parent relation and home life (ES = 0.61), autonomy (ES = 0.61), self-perception (ES = 0.49), and social acceptance (ES = 0.48). Children with very good-excellent grades scored better in all of these dimensions.Conclusions: Children with very good-excellent grades in language and mathematics scored better in the psychosocial domains of HRQoL. AP is an important factor in the analysis of the social and psychological aspects of children's health. Further research is required to explore more deeply the direction and characteristics of this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conduct a large scale experiment to investigate peer effects in computer assisted learning (CAL). Identification relies on three levels of randomization. We find an average 0.17 standard deviation improvement in math scores among primary school students. This average effect is the same for students treated individually or in pairs, implying that peer effects double the learning benefit from a given equipment. Among paired students, poor performers benefit more from CAL when paired with good performers and vice versa. Average performers benefit equally irrespective of who they are paired with. This suggests that the treatment is dominated by knowledge exchange between peers. We also find that CAL treatment reduces the dispersion in math scores and that the beneficial effects of CAL can be strengthened if weak students are systematically paired with strong students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study presents the results of a project in which a series of digital games were used for teaching Mathematics to first, fourth, and sixth-grade primary school students (ages 6-7, 8-9, and 11-12). Mathematics was selected as the teaching subject because of the difficulties students face in understanding basic math concepts. Although digital games are used quite extensively for educational purposes, they are scarcely used for teaching Mathematics. The games were developed by the classes' teachers using Microsoft's Kodu Game Lab. The learning outcomes were compared to two other groups of students. The first was taught using the model proposed by Driver and Oldham while the second was taught conventionally. Data was collected using questionnaires and evaluation sheets. A total of 201 students participated in the study coming from three schools in Athens, Greece. Results indicated that students in the games group outperformed, in most cases, students in the other groups. Students' views for the games were highly positive. The implications for software engineers and education administrators are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) 1998/1999, we examine the relationship between elementary students' (K-5) manipulative use and mathematics learning. Using a cross-sectional correlational analysis, we found no relationship between manipulative use and student mathematics achievement. However, using a longitudinal analysis, we documented a positive relationship between manipulative use and student mathematics learning during their elementary school years (K-5). From a teaching and learning perspective, these findings provide important evidence of the influence of long-term manipulative use on students' overall learning. From policy and methodological perspectives, these findings provide evidence for the importance of modeling student learning (as opposed to achievement) when studying the effectiveness of instructional strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Poor diet quality may impair academic achievement in children, but such evidence is limited. Therefore, we investigated the associations of healthy diet in Grade 1 assessed by Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), Baltic Sea Diet Score (BSDS), and Finnish Children Healthy Eating Index (FCHEI) with academic achievement in Grades 1-3 in children. Methods: The participants were 161 Finnish children who were 6-8 years old in Grade 1 and attended in a large ongoing physical activity and dietary intervention study. Dietary factors were assessed using 4-day food records, and MDS, BSDS, and FCHEI were calculated. Academic achievement was assessed by reading fluency, reading comprehension, and arithmetic skill tests. The data were analyzed using linear regression analysis and analysis of covariance adjusted for age, sex, parental education, household income, body fat percentage, physical activity, the PANIC Study group, and total energy intake. Results: MDS was positively associated with reading comprehension in Grade 3 (standardized regression coefficient β = 0.167, P = 0.032). BSDS was positively associated with reading fluency in Grades 2-3 and reading comprehension in Grades 1-3 ( β = 0.161-0.274, P < 0.05). FCHEI was positively related to reading fluency in Grades 1-2 and reading comprehension in Grades 1-3 ( β = 0.190-0.344, P < 0.05). Children in the highest third of BSDS and FCHEI had better reading fluency and reading comprehension in Grades 1-3 than children in the lowest third ( P < 0.05). None of the diet scores was associated with arithmetic skills. Conclusions: Healthier diet assessed by BSDS or FCHEI in Grade 1 was associated with better reading skills, but not with arithmetic skills, among children in Grades 1-3. Long-term intervention studies are needed to investigate the effects of improvements in diet quality on academic achievement among children. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01803776. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of proof has attracted considerable research attention over the pastdecades in part due to its indisputable importance to the discipline of mathematics and tostudents' learning of mathematics. Yet, the teaching and learning of proof is an instructionallyarduous territory, with proof being recognized as a hard-to-teach and hard-to-learn concept atall levels of education. Prior research has examined, documented, and cast light on theprocesses underpinning different problems of classroom practice in the area of proof, buthas paid less emphasis on acting upon such problems to generate possible solutions throughresearch-based interventions in mathematics classrooms. In this Editorial, we first situate thecontributions in this Special Issue in a brief chronological account of scholarly work on research-based interventions in the area of proof, and we conclude with a proposal for somehigh-leverage directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to explore the beliefs of elementary school students about mathematics and about themselves as mathematics learners. The participants, Israeli grade 4 and grade 6 students, completed questionnaires. Using an 'animal metaphor' to tap beliefs, some students perceived mathematics as difficult and complicated, while for others, mathematics was connected to wisdom. The data from other questionnaire items indicated that students at both grade levels generally did not enjoy learning mathematics, but believed it was very important to study this subject. They also believed that they were good at mathematics, but the grade 6 students' self-perceptions of achievement were lower than those of the grade 4 students. Compared to the boys, the girls in both grades 4 and 6 expressed lower perceptions of their mathematics achievement levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of the construction and perpetuation of gender stereotypes are classic research subjects in social psychology and in the field of educational guidelines in France. The most recent government decree aims to counter stereotypes in schools, by exposing pupils to counter-stereotypes. This study examines the effects of activating counter-stereotypes, versus stereotypes and gender neutral input, on the test performance of female and male fourth-grade students in a mathematical task in a 'real-life' classroom setting. Theoretical implications of social mechanisms to combat gender stereotypes are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial thinking skills positively relate to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) outcomes, but spatial training is largely absent in elementary school. Elementary school is a time when children develop foundational cognitive skills that will support STEM learning throughout their education. Spatial thinking should be considered a foundational cognitive skill. The present research examined the impact of an embodied spatial training program on elementary students' spatial and mathematical thinking. Students in rural elementary schools completed spatial and math assessments prior to and after participating in an origami and pop-up paper engineering-based program, called Think3d!. Think3d! uses embodied tasks, such as folding and cutting paper, to train two-dimensional to three-dimensional spatial thinking. Analyses explored spatial thinking gains, mathematics gains - specifically for problem types expected to show gains from spatial training - and factors predicting mathematics gains. Results showed spatial thinking gains in two assessments. Using a math categorization to target problems more and less likely to be impacted by spatial training, we found that all students improved on real-world math problems and older students improved on visual and spatial math problems. Further, the results are suggestive of developmental time points for implementing embodied spatial training related to applying spatial thinking to math. Finally, the spatial thinking assessment that was most highly related to training activities also predicted math performance gains. Future research should explore developmental issues related to how embodied spatial training might support STEM learning and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important goal in mathematics is to flexibly use and apply multiple, efficient procedures to solve problems and to understand why these procedures work. One factor that may limit individuals' ability to notice and flexibly apply strategies is the mental set induced by the problem context. Undergraduate ( N = 41, Experiment 1) and fifth- and sixth-grade students ( N = 87, Experiment 2) solved mathematical equivalence problems in one of two set-inducing conditions. Participants in the complex-first condition solved problems without a repeated addend on both sides of the equal sign (e.g., 7 + 5 + 9 = 3 + _), which required multistep strategies. Then these students solved problems with a repeated addend (e.g., 7 + 5 + 9 = 7 + _), for which a shortcut strategy could be readily used (i.e., adding 5 + 9). Participants in the shortcut-first condition solved the same problem set but began with the shortcut problems. Consistent with laboratory studies of mental set, participants in the complex-first condition were less likely to use the more efficient shortcut strategy when possible. In addition, these participants were less likely to demonstrate procedural flexibility and conceptual understanding on a subsequent assessment of mathematical equivalence knowledge. These findings suggest that certain problem-solving contexts can help or hinder both flexibility in strategy use and deeper conceptual thinking about the problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are known to exhibit significantly lower academic and social functioning than other children. Yet the field currently lacks knowledge about specific impairment trajectories experienced by children with ADHD, which may constrain early screening and intervention effectiveness. Data were analyzed from a nationally representative U.S. cohort in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K) for 590 children (72.7 % male) whose parents reported a formal diagnosis of ADHD. Children's math, reading, and interpersonal skills were assessed at 5 time points between kindergarten and fifth grade. Growth mixture model analyses indicated 4 latent trajectory classes for reading, 8 classes for math, and 4 classes for interpersonal skills. Membership in reading and math trajectory classes was strongly related; overlaps with interpersonal skills classes were weaker. Trajectory class membership was correlated with demographic characteristics and behavioral functioning. Children with ADHD display substantial heterogeneity in their reading, math, and interpersonal growth trajectories, with some groups of children especially likely to display relatively severe levels of academic and social impairment over time. Early screening and intervention to address impairment, particularly reading difficulties, among kindergarten students with ADHD is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a video modeling intervention with concrete-representational-abstract instructional sequence in teaching mathematics concepts to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A multiple baseline across skills design of single-case experimental methodology was used to determine the effectiveness of the intervention on the acquisition and maintenance of addition, subtraction, and number comparison skills for four elementary school students with ASD. Findings supported the effectiveness of the intervention in improving skill acquisition and maintenance at a 3-week follow-up. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the recommendations from the American Psychological Association's (APA, ) task force on the sexualization, no known research has shown the effects of sexualized advertisements on children's cognitive abilities. The present experiments address this question with a sample of 8-10 year-olds. Primary school children were exposed to advertisements that portrayed sexualized vs. non-sexualized children and then were asked to complete a math test (Study 1 and Study 2) preceded by a working memory test (Study 2). As predicted, exposure to sexualized images of girls hampered girls', but not boys', math performance (Study 1, N = 79). Findings from Study 2 ( N = 102) replicated Study 1's results for girls and demonstrated that sexualized ads of boys disrupted boys' math performance as well, thus indicating that same-gender sexualized images are disruptive for both girls' and boys' cognitive performance. Moreover, the detrimental effect of same-gender sexualized images on both girls' and boys' math performance was mediated by a reduction in working memory resources. These findings clearly demonstrate the damaging effects of sexualized advertisements on children's cognitive performance and suggest the urgency of implementing interventions aimed at combating sexualization in early childhood, which transmits the cultural message that having a sexy (young or adult) body is extremely important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]