Abstract
Validating the structure of early numeracy skills is critical to understanding the developmental trajectories of mathematics skills at early ages. However, little research has been devoted to construct evaluation of the Counting, Numerical Relations, and Arithmetic Reasoning domains. This study was designed to address this gap in the literature by (a) developing a broad and deep measure of Counting skills, Numerical Relations skills, and Arithmetic Reasoning skills, (b) examining the structure of these three skill domains, and (c) examining the relations between these three domains. In Phase 1 of this study, measure development was conducted using a sample of 306 children (50.5% girls; 46.9% White, 41.0% African American, and 12.1% other). In Phase 2, further measure development was conducted as well as evaluation of the structure of and relations between the three domains using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Three hundred ninety-three children from the Tallahassee and Panama City areas in Florida participated in Phase 2 (51.7% girls, 55.7% White, 33.8% African American, and 10.5% other). Results indicated that the relations between the early numeracy skills were best explained by a three-factor model of Counting, Numerical Relations, and Arithmetic Reasoning. The findings from this study provide a strong foundation upon which to build future research in early numeracy skills.
|
