Cognitive predictors of reading, writing, and arithmetic learning: a scoping review

Abstract

This study consists of a scoping review whose objective is to identify, in the scientific literature, the cognitive predictors associated with the learning of reading, writing, and arithmetic in school-age children, as well as to map the ways in which these predictors have been investigated. Method: Following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, searches were conducted in seven databases (LILACS, SciELO, Web of Science, PsycInfo, Wiley, Taylor and Francis, and ERIC) and in Google Scholar, covering the period from 2016 to 2025. The final sample comprised 56 studies: 37 from indexed databases and 19 from grey literature. The abstracts were submitted to qualitative synthesis and lexical analysis with the support of the IRaMuTeQ software, using word cloud, similarity analysis, and Descending Hierarchical Classification (DHC). Results: The analysis organized the corpus into four thematic categories: (1) cognitive processes and mathematical development; (2) phonological awareness, rapid naming, and literacy; (3) cognitive and motivational predictors of academic performance; and (4) early identification of risk for learning difficulties. The evidence indicates that academic competencies are supported by a network of skills, particularly phonological processing, working memory, executive functions, and rapid automatized naming, influenced by factors such as motivation, emotions, and self-regulation. Conclusion: Learning results from the dynamic integration of interrelated cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes. Although the international literature presents robust advances in the identification of early risk profiles, gaps remain in longitudinal studies in the Brazilian context that analyze these skills in an integrated manner. The findings reinforce the need to ground pedagogical practices and educational policies in this scientific evidence to prevent early difficulties in learning reading, writing, and arithmetic.