Peer-reviewed article
Mathematics Skills of Kosovar Primary School Children: A Special View on Children with Mathematical Learning Difficulties
Linda Salihu ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study tracked mathematics skills development in 553 fourth-grade children in Kosovo over 2 years and 4 months, with special focus on 85 children with mathematical learning difficulties. The research found that gender did not affect math performance, but where children lived and their family's economic status significantly influenced their mathematics achievement. Children with limited math ability performed consistently lower than those with low math achievement, and most children in the limited ability group remained in this category after more than two years of schooling.
Key points
- No gender differences were found in mathematics achievement
- Children's living area and socio-economic status had substantial impact on math performance
- Children with limited mathematics ability scored lower than low-achieving children on all mathematics and reading comprehension measures
- Majority of children with limited math ability remained in this category after 2 years and 4 months of school attendance
- Study used longitudinal design tracking the same children over extended period
Limitations
The document does not explain what specific interventions or teaching methods were used, if any, so it cannot tell us whether particular educational approaches help children with mathematical learning difficulties. It also does not detail the characteristics of the 'limited mathematics ability' versus 'low mathematics achievement' classifications in depth.
Abstract
The present study examined the development of mathematics skills of Kosovar primary school children in terms of their gender, living area, socio-economic status, and achievement level.A special emphasis was placed on longitudinal investigations of the development of mathematics skills in children with learning difficulties in mathematics over a 2-year and 4-month period.Participants were 553 fourth-graders, 85 of whom identified with mathematical learning difficulties were classified into two subgroups: children with low mathematics achievement and children with limited mathematics ability.Results have shown that there were no gender differences in mathematics achievement.Children's living areas as well as their socio-economic status were observed to have a substantial impact on math performance.The performance level of limited math ability children was lower as compared to low math achieving children on all of the measures assessing math outcomes and reading comprehension.Findings indicate that a majority of the limited math ability group members still met the cutoff criterion after more than 2 years of school attendance.