Abstract
Abstract:
The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of cognitive skills (executive function), language factors(listeningcomprehension,Englishasasecondlanguage,ESL)andkindergarten attendanceonearlynumeracyinacross-sectionalsampleofSouthAfricanchildren(N=442)in thebeginningofGrade1.Themeanageofchildrenwas81.62months(SD=5.40).Structural equationpathmodelsshowedthatkindergartenattendancepredictedchildren’searlynumeracy performance even when controlling for executive function and language skills. Listening comprehensionskillspredictedtheearlynumeracyskillsmorestronglythandidexecutivefunction skills.ESLwasassociatedwithweakerearlynumeracyperformance.