Finger Use and Arithmetic Skills in Children and Adolescents: a Scoping Review

Although the role played by finger use in children’s numerical development has been widely investigated, their benefit in arithmetical contexts is still debated today. This scoping review aimed to systematically identify and summarize all studies that have investigated the relation between fingers and arithmetic skills in children. An extensive search on Ovid PsycINFO and Ovid Eric was performed. The reference lists of included articles were also searched for relevant articles. Two reviewers engaged in study selection and data extraction independently, based on the eligibility criteria. Discrepancies were resolved through discussion. Of the 4707 identified studies, 68 met the inclusion criteria and 7 additional papers were added from the reference lists of included studies. A total of 75 studies were included in this review. They came from two main research areas and were conducted with different aims and methods. Studies published in the mathematical education field ( n = 29) aimed to determine what finger strategies are used during development and how they support computation skills. Studies published in cognitive psychology and neuroscience ( n = 45) specified the cognitive processes and neurobiological mechanisms underlying the fingers/arithmetic relation. Only one study combined issues raised in both research areas. More studies are needed to determine which finger strategy is the most effective, how finger sensorimotor skills mediate the finger strategies/arithmetic relation, and how they should be integrated into educational practice.