RT journal article
T1 Informal Mathematical Thinking: Invariance of the Role of Domain-General and Domain-Specific Precursors in Spain and Chile
A1 Cerda, Gamal
A1 Pérez, Carlos
A1 Chandía, Eugenio
A1 Aragón Mendizábal, Estívaliz Lorena
A1 Navarro Guzmán, Francisco José Ignacio
A2 Psicología
K1 early numeracy
K1 symbolic comparison
K1 cognitive predictors
K1 preschool education
K1 cross-cultural study
K1 structural equation modeling
K1 domain-general skills
K1 domain-specific skills
AB This study examines how domain-general (processing speed and receptive vocabulary) and domain-specific (symbolic and non-symbolic comparison) cognitive skills contribute to early informal mathematical thinking in preschoolers. The aim was to assess the invariance of these predictive relationships across two sociocultural contexts: Chilean and Spanish samples. A total of 130 children participated, and structural equation modeling was used to estimate latent structures and test multigroup invariance. The results revealed a consistent latent structure across samples and a significant contribution of symbolic and non-symbolic comparison to early math performance, while processing speed and vocabulary showed context-specific variations. These findings indicate that although foundational mathematical competencies rely on common cognitive mechanisms, cultural and educational contexts modulate the strength of these associations. This study contributes to understanding the cognitive architecture underlying early numeracy and highlights the importance of culturally sensitive assessment and intervention strategies.
PB MDPI
SN 2079-3200
YR 2025
FD 2025-10-08
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/39313
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/39313
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 07-nov-2026