Differences in the neural recruitment for EF and mathematics by children from diverse socio-cultural contexts

早期的数学发展是整体学业成绩的有力预测因素，糟糕的数学技能与生活质量、收入和健康呈负相关。数学方面的社会经济成就差距在儿童入学之前就已经出现，并在整个教育过程中扩大，这使得了解社会经济地位差距是如何产生的至关重要，以打破低收入家庭儿童的负面生活轨迹。执行功能(EFS)是促进目标导向行为的认知功能，包括工作记忆、转移和抑制。EF和数学发展紧密相连，这表明EFS有可能缩小成绩差距。然而，SES-EF梯度，呈现出SES较低的儿童比SES较高的同龄人更差的EF，结果几乎完全来自同一地区、城镇或教室内的儿童样本。虽然这是一个优势，允许研究人员在研究SES的同时控制其他因素，但它可能掩盖了最近被跨文化识别的EF保护因素。目前的研究旨在通过对来自不同社会文化背景的儿童的样本，来探索SES-EF梯度是否在国内如此强烈地存在，以及某些因素如何影响数学和EF所涉及的潜在神经认知机制。这项研究将是第一次在国内不同的社会文化背景下扩展对社会经济和数学能力梯度的研究，阐明我们对社会经济和数学能力发展的理解。这样做将使干预措施的发展有可能缩小儿童中与SES相关的差距，并改善随后的生活轨迹。

Early mathematical development is a strong predictor of overall academic achievement, with poor mathematical skills presenting negative correlations with quality of life, income, and health. Socioeconomic achievement gaps in mathematics arise before children begin school, and increase throughout education, making it vitally important to understand how socioeconomic status (SES) disparities arise, to disrupt negative life trajectories for children in low-income families. Executive functions (EFs) are cognitive functions that promote goal directed behaviours, including working memory, shifting and inhibition. EF and mathematical development are tightly linked, suggesting that EFs could have the potential to narrow achievement gaps. However, the SES-EF gradient, presenting lower-SES children with poorer EF than their higher-SES peers, results almost entirely from within country samples of children from within the same region, town, or classroom. Whilst this is a strength, allowing researchers to explore SES whilst controlling for other factors, it could potentially be masking EF-protective factors that have recently been identified cross-culturally. The current research aims to explore whether the SES-EF gradient exists so robustly within-country with samples of children from diverse sociocultural settings and how certain factors may impact the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms implicated in mathematics and EF. This study will be the first to extend research on the SES-EF gradient across diverse socio-cultural contexts within-country, elucidating our understanding ofthe development of EF and mathematical ability. Doing so will enable the development of interventions which have the potential to diminish SES-related disparities in children, and improve subsequent life trajectories.