Contribution of exekutive functions and self-control capacity to mathematics performance in elementary students

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Catherine Gunzenhauser
• Subject Area: General and Domain-Specific Teaching and Learning
• Term: from 2015 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 273312989

Self-regulatory capacities as individual learning preconditions are pivotal for acquiring mathematical competencies in elementary school and beyond. However, different aspects and conceptualizations of self-regulation (originating from different research traditions) have been investigated largely separately from one another. A better understanding of their interactions and joint influences on mathematics performance will lay crucial foundations for the future development of interventions to improve children's mathematics performance. The proposed project will contribute to disentangling the distinct and joint influences of executive functions and self-control capacity in the context of mathematics instruction in German third graders. In a first step, the relationship between both constructs will be investigated while taking into account motivational components (mathematics self-concept). In a second step, the contributions of executive functions and self-control capacity on mathematics performance will be examined. The proposed project will focus on mathematics performance. This is because executive functions, but also self-control capacity, seem to be particularly important for mathematics performance (as compared to other school subjects). Third graders will be selected as the study population. In this age group, executive functions as well as self-control capacity are well developed and relatively stable. Moreover, children in this age group start using memory-based strategies in mathematics problem solving; which is a central approach to mathematics problem-solving throughout the following school career. The proposed project has two aims which include several research questions.1. Investigation of the relationship between executive functions and self-control capacity in the context of mathematics instructions in third graders: 1.1 Do executive functions contribute to self-control capacity in the context of mathematics performance? 1.2 Do motivational components contribute to self-control capacity in the context of mathematics performance beyond executive functions?2. Investigation of the distinct and joint contributions of executive functions and self-control capacities in the context of mathematics instruction to mathematics performance in third graders: 2.1 Do executive functions and self-control capacity in the context of mathematics performance contribute distinctly to mathematics performance? Are there joint influences of both constructs? 2.2 Do executive functions and self-control capacity in the context of mathematics performance contribute to later mathematics performance? 2.3 Do the relative magnitudes of contributions of executive functions and self-control capacity in the context of mathematics instruction on children's mathematics performance depend on the measurement of mathematics performance (tests vs. grades?).

• DFG Programme: Research Grants