Mathematical skills and motor life skills in toddlers: do differences in mathematical skills reflect differences in motor skills?

Author
Reikerås, E., Moser, T., & Tønnessen, F. E.
Source
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 25(1), 72-88.
Year
2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine whether there is a correlation between children's early mathematical skills and their motor life skills. The authors base the study on the three following research questions: Do toddlers' mathematical skills vary according to their level of motor life skills? If so, what mathematical areas differ most? How large are these differences?

Result

Overall, the study indicates a significant correlation between toddlers' motor life skills and their mathematical skills. Children with weak, middle or strong motor life skills exhibit similar levels of mathematical skills, and the differences between the three groups are significant. The largest difference is between the group with weak motor life skills and the group with strong motor life skills, whereas the other differences between the groups are moderate. The observational material shows significant differences within all six mathematical areas, but the most marked difference is within the areas enumeration and logical reasoning. The authors assess that the most important contribution of the study is the indication that differences in motor life skills seem to reflect differences in mathematical skills among children at an early age.

Design

The authors draw on data from a larger, longitudinal research project – the Stavanger Project - The Learning Child (Stavangerprosjektet – Det lærende barnet). The empirical material in this study consists of structured observations of toddlers' motor and mathematical skills. The observations were carried out at the children's ECEC centre by employees who had received training in using two observation materials: The Mathematics, The Individual and the Environments (MIO) and The Early Years Movement Skills Checklist (EYMSC). The MIO material was divided into six sections covering the following mathematical areas: counting and series of numbers, enumeration, shape and space, pattern and order, mathematical language, and logical reasoning. The motor skills material covered the child's ability to self-help/autonomy and unfolding on the playground. Observations of the children's mathematical and motor life skills were carried out over a period of three months, from when the children were 30 months to 33 months. A total of 450 children from 185 departments in 86 ECEC centres took part in the study. The empirical material was analysed statistically to examine whether there is a difference in children's mathematical skills depending on whether they had high, medium or low levels of motor life skills.

References

Reikerås, E., Moser, T., & Tønnessen, F. E. (2017). Mathematical skills and motor life skills in toddlers: do differences in mathematical skills reflect differences in motor skills? European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 25(1), 72-88.

Financed by

The Stavanger Project was carried out in collaboration between the Reading Centre at the University of Stavanger and the City of Stavanger.