Abstract:

Home numeracy environment (HNE) that parents create for their children at home in early years is suggested to promote children’s early math skills and motivation. However, less is known how HNE relates to children’s math adjustment beyond early years—after children had entered school. Consequently, the present study examined longitudinal links between home numeracy environment (i.e., parental teaching of math and informal math activities) and children’s math adjustment (math performance, math interest, and self-concept of ability in math) in second and third grades in Lithuania. A total of 639 Lithuanian children and their parents were followed across three assessment points: the beginning of Grade 2 (T1), the end of Grade 2 (T2), and the end of Grade 3 (T3). At each assessment point, children completed math performance tests and answered questionnaires about their interest in math and their self-concept of ability in math. At each assessment point, parents answered questionnaires about their teaching of math and informal math activities. The results were analyzed using the cross-lagged panel model. Highest parental education was used as a control variable.

Three main results emerged. First, parental teaching of math negatively whereas informal math activities positively predicted subsequent math performance (from T1 to T2 and from T2 to T3). Second, informal math activities longitudinally positively predicted children’s interest in math (from T1 to T2). Third, math performance longitudinally negatively predicted parental teaching of math (from T1 to T2 and from T2 to T3), suggesting that parents may increase their teaching of math in response to their children’s low math performance. Children’s self-concept of ability in math was not associated with variables of the HNE. Taken together, our findings emphasize the proactive role of informal math activities at home as these may promote children’s math adjustment, whereas parental teaching of math is likely to play a responsive role in relation to children’s poor math performance.

Keywords:

Math, parents, HNE, math performance, math motivation.