Mathematics Prediction on the Basis of executive Functions in Normal 4th Grade Children

The aim of this study was determination of the relation between executive functions components, comprising switching, inhibition, updating, phonological loop, central executive, visual-spatial sketch pad and mathematics performance in  the students.

the research method was correlation. The Statistical society was 4038 girl students of fourth grade of elementary schools in Tehran. 367 students were chosen by multi-stage cluster sampling. In order to examine this relationship Stroop task, Wisconsin task, N-back task, Forward and Backward span tests, Corsi block, and mathematics test were utilized.

Correlations tests and statistical regression analysis were employed to analyze obtained data. The correlation results indicate that all of executive functions are correlated with mathematics performance. That is, switching, inhibition, updating have a negative correlation on the mathematics, while phonological loop, central executive, visual-spatial sketch pad have a positive correlation. However, regression analyses suggest that functions contribute differently on mathematics performance. Inhibition was the strongest and visual-spatial sketch pad was the weakest predicting component in the mathematics performance. Updating, switching, phonological loop and central executive are the next important components.

The results support the concept that the executive function is an important predictor of children’s mathematics performance.