Preschool Origins of Cross-National Differences in Mathematical Competence: The Role of Number-Naming Systems

Kevin F Miller; Catherine M Smith; Jianjun Zhu; Houcan Zhang

doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1995.tb00305.x

Preschool Origins of Cross-National Differences in Mathematical Competence: The Role of Number-Naming Systems

Kevin F Miller^1,2; Catherine M Smith¹; Jianjun Zhu³; Houcan Zhang⁴

¹ Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign · ² Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign · ³ Psychological Corporation · ⁴ Beijing Normal University

Psychological Science 1995

Differences in mathematical competence between U S and Chinese children first emerge during the preschool years, favor Chinese children, and are limited to specific aspects of mathematical competence The base-10 structure of number names is less obvious in English than in Chinese, differences between these languages are reflected in children's difficulties learning to count Language differences do not affect other aspects of early mathematics, including counting small sets and solving simple numerical problems Because later mathematics increasingly involves manipulation of symbols, this early deficit in apprehending the base-10 structure of number names may provide a basis for previously reported differences in mathematical competence favoring Chinese schoolchildren

DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.1995.tb00305.x
Volume: 6 (1)
Pages: 56-60
Language: en
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Sources: crossref