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Cognitive and Academic Skills in Two Developmental Cohorts of Different Ability Level: A Mutualistic Network Perspective.

Silvana Mareva; The CALM team; Joni Holmes

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Title: Cognitive and Academic Skills in Two Developmental Cohorts of Different Ability Level: A Mutualistic Network Perspective.
Author: Silvana Mareva; The CALM team; Joni Holmes
Source: Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition · DOI 10.1037/h0101870 Published 2021-11-08 · Open source record
License: CC BY 3.0 deed

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Abstract Mutualistic theories assume that the mastering of a skill, either cognitive or academic, supports and amplifies the development of other such abilities. The current study uses network science to model cross-sectional associations between cognitive and academic performance in two age-matched developmental cohorts. One cohort was a community sample drawn from the general school population, while the other included struggling learners. The community sample outperformed the struggling learners across all measures. Network models suggested that although the tasks were similarly interrelated across cohorts, there were some notable differences in association strength: Academic skills were more closely coupled in the community sample, while maths was more strongly related to cognitive skills in the struggling learners. We demonstrate the utility of network models as an analytic framework that is consistent with contemporary theories of learning difficulties and the nature of the relationship between cognitive and learning skills more broadly. Keywords: learning difficulties, cognitive skills, academic skills, mutualism, network models General Audience Summary Multiple theories attempt to explain why academic and cognitive performance are closely related. Most traditional theories assume a one-way perspective whereby specific cognitive skills constrain particular aspects of academic development. However, contemporary evidence suggests that links between cognitive skills and academic achievement are rarely specific and that the mastery of academic skills can also influence cognitive development. In this study, we use a novel statistical modelling approach consistent with the possibility that cognitive and academic skills might reciprocally influence one another, and we compare whether the same patterns of associations emerge for children drawn from the general school population and those who are struggling at school. Our modelling approach demonstrated that there are multiple direct links between cognitive and academic skills, which are broadly similar for both groups of children. Overall, we argue that researchers aiming to understand learning difficulties should consider that while cognitive skills can influence learning, the process of learning can also influence cognitive skills.

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Original journal: Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition
Published: 2021-11-08
DOI: 10.1037/h0101870
Open record: PMC9254563

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