Peer-reviewed article
Bidirectional associations among spatial skills, patterning, and mathematical skills in Chinese preschool children within one academic year.
Hongbin Xie, Nik Rosila Nik Yaacob ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study followed 281 Chinese preschoolers aged 3-6 years over seven months to understand how spatial skills, patterning, and mathematical abilities develop together. The research found that spatial and mathematical skills influence each other bidirectionally, while patterning skills predict later development in both spatial and mathematical domains. The findings suggest that teaching approaches integrating spatial reasoning and patterning with mathematics instruction may benefit young children's learning.
Key points
- Spatial and mathematical skills showed significant bidirectional associations over a seven-month period
- Patterning skills predicted subsequent mathematical and spatial skills, but not vice versa
- All three domains (spatial skills, patterning, mathematics) were significantly correlated at both measurement points
- Associations among these domains varied within a single academic year
- Early educational practices integrating spatial reasoning and patterning into mathematics may have short-term benefits
Limitations
The study only followed children over seven months within one academic year, so longer-term developmental patterns remain unclear. The research was conducted only with Chinese preschoolers, limiting generalizability to other cultural contexts and older age groups.
Abstract
Early mathematical development is closely linked to children's cognitive skills. However, the longitudinal relationships among spatial skills, patterning, and mathematics in early childhood remain insufficiently understood. This study examined bidirectional associations among Chinese preschoolers' spatial skills, patterning, and mathematical skills within one academic year. A total of 281 Chinese preschoolers aged 3-6 years (Mage = 4.53 years at Time 1) participated in atwo-wave longitudinal study with an approximately 7-month interval. A cross-lagged panel model was employed to examine bidirectional relations among the spatial skills, patterning, and mathematics while controlling for age, gender, and family socioeconomic status. Results showed that the longitudinal associations among these domains varied within a single academic year. Specifically, spatial and mathematical skills showed a significant bidirectional association, indicating a reciprocal developmental relation within a single academic year. In contrast, early patterning predicted subsequent mathematical skills and spatial skills, whereas neither mathematical skills nor spatial skills significantly predicted later patterning. Moreover, significant concurrent associations among all three domains were observed at both time points. The findings highlight the value of early educational practices that integrate spatial reasoning and patterning into mathematics instruction in the short term, while longer-term validation is still needed.