UAA professor Hattie Harvey co-authors article on interplay between executive function skills and early mathematics
by Michelle Saport |
UAA assistant professor Hattie Harvey, Ph.D., co-authored with a colleague from the University of Denver the article, "Executive Function Skills, Early Mathematics, and Vocabulary in Head Start Preschool Children," published earlier this month in the Journal of Early Education and Development, a top-ranked education journal. This article provides evidence of the interplay between developing executive function skills and early mathematics, with the finding that vocabulary skills were a stronger predictor of mathematics ability over and above executive function skills. Further, no differences emerged between English language learners and native English speaking children on the contribution of receptive vocabulary to early mathematics skills. These research findings point to the critical implication for the need to scaffold executive function skills and vocabulary within early childhood mathematics curricula, with specific considerations for children from low socioeconomic populations. Learn more and read the article at tandfonline.com.