Early Mathematics and Phonological Awareness in Two Child Care Settings
Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Early Child Development and Care
Publisher
Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
Publication Date
2012
Abstract
Curriculum development during early childhood is informed through an understanding of the cognitive skills that develop concurrently in the earliest years. Extending previous work, this study examined the relationship between early mathematics and phonological awareness (PA) skills for 37 children (14 girls; overall mean age = 47.6 months, SD = 11.17) attending centre or home-based child care. Assessments included the Peabody picture vocabulary test – third edition (PPVT-III), test of early mathematics ability-3 (TEMA-3), and phonological awareness literacy screening. Letter sounds (LS) and name writing (NW) significantly mediated the relationship between PPVT and TEMA, while letter awareness (LA) approached significance as a mediator (p = 0.06). These findings support LeFevre et al.’s [(2010). Pathways to mathematics: Longitudinal predictors of performance. Child Development, 81, 1753–1767] claim that the linguistic pathway is in use for certain components of mathematical performance. Our results suggest a developmental pathway with TEMA skills linked with LA and LS for three- and four-year-olds and NW for four-year-olds. As children develop new skills, changes take place in both domains.
Recommended Citation
Early Mathematics and Phonological Awareness in Two Child Care Settings, Austin, A.M.B., Blevins-Kanabe, B., & Lokteff, M. Early Child Development and Care, DOI:10.1080/03004430.2012.716832.
