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16 - Development of Numerical Knowledge

from Subpart II.2 - Childhood and Adolescence: The Development of Human Thinking

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 February 2022

Olivier Houdé
Affiliation:
Université de Paris V
Grégoire Borst
Affiliation:
Université de Paris V
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Summary

Numerical knowledge is of great and growing importance. While children are attending school, numerical knowledge is essential for learning more advanced mathematics and science, and eventually for learning computer science, psychology, sociology, economics, and a host of other subjects. After children leave school, numerical knowledge is essential not just in STEM areas but also in a wide range of other occupations. Illustratively, a survey of more than 2,000 employed people in the United States, chosen through random digit dials, indicated that 94 percent reported using math in their work, including majorities in occupations classified as upper white collar, lower white collar, upper blue collar, and lower blue collar (Handel, 2016). Moreover, numerical proficiency is related to occupational success: numerical knowledge at age seven years predicts SES at age forty-two years, even after statistically controlling for IQ, years of education, reading skill, working memory, race, and family SES (Ritchie & Bates, 2013).

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