The Foundations of Numerical and Mathematical Abilities : A Literature Review
The processing of numerical information is a dominant feature of everyday life. Whether it is in the context of financial transactions, such as shopping for groceries or in gauging how many people are in a room, we are constantly using numerical in...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/601731468151782558/The-foundations-of-numerical-and-mathematical-abilities-a-literature-review http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26821 |
| Summary: | The processing of numerical information
is a dominant feature of everyday life. Whether it is in the
context of financial transactions, such as shopping for
groceries or in gauging how many people are in a room, we
are constantly using numerical information to guide our
behavior and make decisions. While there has been much more
attention placed on literacy and its importance for life
success, there is clear evidence to suggest that basic
numerical and mathematical skills play a critical role in
determining an individual's life success. Furthermore,
there is abundant evidence that low numeracy skills are
associated with substantial costs to society at large
(Butterworth, Varma, and Laurillard; Bynner and Parsons,
1997; Duncan et al., 2007). In view of this, a better
understanding of how the ability to process numerical
information develops could lead to improvements in how these
skills are taught and used by individuals to improve their
lives across the globe. As an extension of this, improving
numerical skills among individuals will have benefits for
society at large as it will lead to a stronger working force
and thus measurable economic improvements. The focus of the
review will be on the foundations of number processing
abilities upon which higher-level abilities, such as mental
arithmetic are built. In this way, the literature review
does not provide a comprehensive overview of the development
of numerical and mathematical skills, but rather explore the
foundational systems underlying numerical and mathematical
abilities. By doing so the review aims to identify key
variables that characterize foundational competencies of
numerical abilities that can be used in the context of
educational assessments and become targets for educational
interventions. It is a central contention of the present
review that in order to improve the early acquisition of
numerical competencies, a focus on foundational systems is
necessary. If the foundations are well set then the system
can develop optimally. |
|---|