In this study we investigated the structure of quantitative competence of kindergartners by testing a hypothesized four-factor model of quantitative competence consisting of the components counting, subitizing, additive reasoning and multiplicative reasoning. Data were collected from kindergartners in the Netherlands (n = 334) and in Cyprus (n =…

Chinese children routinely outperform American peers in standardized tests of mathematics knowledge. To examine mediators of this effect, 95 Chinese and US 5-year-olds completed a test of overall symbolic arithmetic, an IQ subtest, and three tests each of symbolic and non-symbolic numerical magnitude knowledge (magnitude comparison, approximate…

In Asia, some children are taught a calculation technique known as the 'mental abacus'. Previous research indicated that mental abacus experts can perform extraordinary feats of mental arithmetic, but it disagrees as to whether the technique improves working memory. The present study extended and clarified these findings by contrasting performance…

Chinese and American kindergarten children were given a test of addition skills, a numerical memory span measure, and an addition strategy assessment. When unable to retrieve an addition fact from memory, Chinese children counted verbally, whereas American children used finger counting or guessed. This difference appeared to be related to a…