An increasing number of students show severe mathematical difficulties. Between
5% and 10% of children and adolescents experience a substantial learning deficit in
at least one area of mathematics (Barbaresi, Katusic, Colligan, Weaver, & Jacobsen,
2005). The identification of these mathematical difficulties is fundamental if we
consider the negative widespread drawbacks determined by math difficulties. Basic
mathematical skills are regularly used in everyday life, and their deficiency affects
both employment opportunities and socio-emotional well-being. In addition, results
of recent studies show how mathematical abilities predict financial and educational
success, particularly for women (Geary, Hoard, Nugent, & Bailey, 2013).
Domain-general cognitive abilities such as memory, attention, or processing speed
are important precursors of school learning. Of all these general cognitive skills,
several studies demonstrated that working memory is a key predictor of mathematical
competence. The term “working memory” (WM) refers to a temporary memory
system that plays an important role in supporting learning during the childhood
years because its key feature is the capacity to both store and manipulate information.
Various models of the structure and function of working memory exist, but in
the present chapter we will refer to the relkation to the multicomponent model of working memory
proposed by Baddeley and Hitch in 1974 and revised in succeeding years (Baddeley,
2000) and math abilities.
