The relationship between fine motor skills and mathematical ability in children: A meta-analysis

Abstract

: The relationship between children's fine motor skills and mathematical ability is divergent in established studies, and to clarify the overall strength of association between them and their influencing factors, meta-analysis was used to integrate and analyze relevant studies at home and abroad. Through literature search and screening, a total of 34 papers with 42 effect sizes and a total sample size of 78, 527 individuals were included. Publication bias tests showed that there was no publication bias in the literature included in the meta-analysis for this study; heterogeneity tests revealed that the random effects model was selected as more appropriate. The results indicated that fine motor skills were moderately positively correlated with mathematical ability ( r = 0.27, 95% CI = [0.23, 0.32]); the relationship was moderated by cultural background and fine motor skills measurement instruments, but not by children's age and gender. The results suggest that educators should pay attention to the development of basic motor skills of early children, take effective training methods of fine motor skills, improve children's fine motor skills, and promote the development of their mathematical ability.