ABSTRACT

Research shows that executive functions (EF) and fine motor skills (FMS) contribute to early academic skills, possibly in overlapping ways. We examine whether and how EF and FMS interact in the concurrent prediction of maths, reading and spelling skills at the start of kindergarten. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) on data from 1248 five-year-olds supports a compensatory account of EF and FMS in contributing towards maths and spelling skills. Controlling for socio-economic status, age, time spent in kindergarten and intelligence, the influence of EF on spelling achievement was larger for children with poorer compared to better FMS, and vice versa; FMS significantly predicted maths achievement only in children with high but not low EF, and vice versa. Identifying EF or FMS difficulties at or before the start of kindergarten may be important. Different approaches to intervention involving EF and FMS may be appropriate for maths versus spelling skills. We suggest for early childhood curricula to enhance opportunities for FMS development, especially for children who enter kindergarten with poor FMS.

摘要

研究表明，执行功能 (EF) 和精细运动技能 (FMS) 可能以重叠的方式促进早期学术技能。我们研究了 EF 和 FMS 在幼儿园开始时的数学、阅读和拼写技能的并发预测中是否以及如何相互作用。基于 1248 名五岁儿童数据的结构方程模型 (SEM) 支持对 EF 和 FMS 对数学和拼写技能做出贡献的补偿性解释。控制社会经济地位、年龄、在幼儿园的时间和智力，与较好的 FMS 相比，EF 对拼写成绩的影响对于较差的 FMS 儿童更大，反之亦然；FMS 仅显着预测 EF 高但不低的儿童的数学成绩，反之亦然。在幼儿园开始时或之前识别 EF 或 FMS 困难可能很重要。涉及 EF 和 FMS 的不同干预方法可能适用于数学与拼写技能。我们建议早期儿童课程以增加 FMS 发展的机会，特别是对于 FMS 较差的幼儿园儿童。