Exploring the relationships between visuospatial working memory, math, letter-sound knowledge, motor competence, and gender in first grade children: A correlational study

Introduction: Development of crucial skills accelerates at the start of formal schooling, although, more knowledge is needed about the relationships between such skills. The current study explored the relationships between visuospatial working memory, letter-sound knowledge, math competence and motor competence, as well as potential effects of gender. Materials and methods: The sample consisted of 85 (42 girls) 6 to 7 years old first grade children, and was measured with a test battery consisting of tests designed for each skill domain. Results: Results demonstrated weak to moderate statistically significant correlations between visuospatial working memory, letter-sound knowledge, math competence, with no statistically significant gender differences. Two motor tasks measuring manual dexterity, placing bricks and building bricks, showed a weak statistically significant correlation. Discussion: We argue that the findings demonstrate the relationships between these skills are low to moderate in first grade. Furthermore, we argue that these skills ought to be trained deliberately. The potential role of visuospatial working memory in procurement of novel skills in early childhood ought to be explored further in future studies.