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

早期数学发展是整体学业成绩的一个强有力的预测因素，数学技能差与生活质量、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开始上学之前就出现了，并在整个教育过程中不断扩大，因此了解社会经济地位（SES）差距是如何产生的，以打破低收入家庭儿童的消极生活轨迹至关重要。执行功能（EF）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EF可能有潜力缩小成就差距。然而，SES-EF梯度，呈现较低的SES儿童与较差的EF比他们的较高的SES同龄人，结果几乎完全来自同一地区，城镇或教室内的儿童的国家样本。虽然这是一种优势，允许研究人员在控制其他因素的同时探索SES，但它可能会掩盖最近跨文化确定的EF保护因素。目前的研究旨在探索SES-EF梯度是否在不同社会文化背景的儿童样本中如此强大地存在，以及某些因素如何影响数学和EF中涉及的潜在神经认知机制。本研究将首次在国内不同的社会文化背景下扩展SES-EF梯度的研究，阐明我们对EF和数学能力发展的理解。这样做将有助于制定干预措施，这些措施有可能减少儿童中与社会经济服务相关的差距，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.