Dr Khng Kiat Hui and Dr Ng Ee Lynn Publish in the Journal for the Study of Education and Development

Dr Khng Kiat Hui, Asst Dean (Research Management) at the Office of Education Research and Centre for Research in Child Development (CRCD) Research Scientist, and Dr Ng Ee-Lynn, CRCD Research Scientist, have published in the Journal for the Study of Education and Development. Their paper, titled “Fine motor and executive functioning skills predict maths and spelling skills at the start of kindergarten: a compensatory account” is based on research findings from the “Singapore Kindergarten Impact Project”, of which they are respectively co-Principal Investigator (PI) and PI on.

In the paper, Dr Khng and Dr Ng discuss their research on executive function (EF) and fine motor skills (FMS) and their contribution to academic skills in early childhood. A study was conducted on whether and how EF and FMS affected mathematics, reading, and spelling skills at the start of kindergarten, and findings indicated that different approaches to interventions involving EF and FMS may be required for different skills (e.g. mathematics skills versus spelling skills) and that the early childhood curriculum should find more ways to enhance opportunities for FMS development.