Fraction Learning in Chinese Sixth Graders: The Direct and Indirect Associations With Executive Function

ABSTRACT This study examined whether executive functions (working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility) were associated with different components of sixth graders' fraction knowledge—procedural knowledge, conceptual knowledge, and magnitude representation—and whether these associations were indirectly linked through fifth‐grade whole‐number knowledge. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that after accounting for prior whole‐number knowledge, only cognitive flexibility uniquely predicted later fraction conceptual knowledge. No executive function component uniquely predicted fraction procedural knowledge or magnitude representation. Supplementary analyses showed that inhibitory control specifically predicted performance on fraction comparison items. Analyses of indirect associations indicated that working memory updating was indirectly associated with later fraction procedural and conceptual knowledge in relation to whole‐number procedural knowledge. Overall, the findings suggest that the relationship between executive function and fraction learning is selective and partly reflected in indirect associations, highlighting the joint importance of domain‐general cognitive processes and early whole‐number knowledge for later fraction learning.