Early Numeracy and Literacy: Untangling the Relation Between Specific Components

• Published in: Mathematical thinking and learning Vol. 17; no. 2-3; pp. 197 - 218
• Main Authors: Purpura, David J., Napoli, Amy R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Routledge 03.04.2015; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Concept Formation; Correlation; Emergent Literacy; Ethnicity; Knowledge; Knowledge Level; Literacy; Mathematical Concepts; Mathematics education; Mathematics Skills; Numeracy; Orthographic Symbols; Preschool Children; Reading Skills; Statistical Analysis; Vocabulary
• ISSN: 1098-6065; 1532-7833
• DOI: 10.1080/10986065.2015.1016817

Although it is evident that advanced aspects of numeracy are dependent on the successful acquisition of early skills, this developmental process does not occur in isolation from other academic factors. Early literacy skills are intertwined with the acquisition of early numeracy skills, particularly at the informal numeracy and numeral knowledge phases. However, the localization of these domains' impact in early numeracy development is unclear. To address this issue, 180 preschool children 3.13 to 5.88 years (51.1% female, 66.7% Caucasian, 14.4% African-American, 4.4% Hispanic, 14.4% other race/ethnicity) were assessed on measures of print knowledge, vocabulary, informal numeracy, and numeral knowledge. Results indicated that the relation between language and numeral knowledge is fully mediated by informal numeracy skills and the relation between informal numeracy skills and numeral knowledge skills is partially mediated by print knowledge. Explanations of the findings, implications for mathematics education, and future directions are discussed.