SImms_et_al_Pediatric_Research_2013.pdf (467.42 kB)
Download fileMathematics difficulties in extremely preterm children: evidence of a specific deficit in basic mathematics processing
journal contribution
posted on 2013-04-04, 14:27 authored by Victoria Simms, Camilla GilmoreCamilla Gilmore, Lucy Cragg, Neil Marlow, Dieter Wolke, Samantha JohnsonBackground. Extremely preterm (EP, <26 weeks gestation) children have been
observed to have poor academic achievement in comparison to their term-born
peers, especially in mathematics. This study investigated potential underlying causes
of this difficulty.
Methods. 219 extremely preterm participants were compared with 153 term-born
control children at 11 years old. All children were assessed by a psychologist on a
battery of standardised cognitive tests and a number estimation test assessing
children’s numerical representations.
Results. EP children underperformed in all tests in comparison to the term controls
(the majority of p’s<.001). Different underlying relationships between performance on
the number estimation test and mathematical achievement were found in extremely
preterm compared to control children. That is, even after controlling for cognitive
ability, a relationship between number representations and mathematical
performance persisted for EP children only (EP: r= .346, n= 186, p< .001; Control:
r= .095, n=146, p= .256).
Conclusion. Interventions for EP children may target improving children’s numerical
representations in order to subsequently remediate their mathematical skills.
History
School
- Science
Department
- Mathematics Education Centre