Do home mathematical activities relate to early mathematical skills? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Children's foundational mathematical skills are critical for future academic attainment. While home mathematical activities (HMAs) have been proposed to support these skills, the extent to which engaging in them supports mathematical skills remains unclear. This preregistered systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis identified 351 effect sizes from 72 samples in 20 countries, exploring the relation between frequency of HMAs and mathematical skills in children aged 7 years and under (Mage = 61 months). A small significant positive relation was found (r = .13), moderated by risk of bias, with larger effects associated with a higher risk of bias. Specific ways the field can move forward are discussed to better understand the role of the home mathematical environment in early mathematics.

Assessing the association between parents' math talk and children's math performance: A preregistered meta-analysis

The home math environment has gained considerable attention as a potential cause of variation in children's math performance, and recent research has suggested positive associations between parents' math talk and children's mathematical performance. However, the extent to which associations reflect robust causal effects is difficult to test. In a preregistered meta-analysis, we assess the association between parents' math talk and children's math performance. Our initial search identified 24,291 potential articles. After screening, we identified 22 studies that were included in analyses (k = 280 effect sizes, n = 35,917 participants). A multilevel random effects meta-analysis was employed, finding that parents' math talk is significantly associated with children's math performance (b = 0.10, SE = 0.03, p = .002). We tested whether associations differ as a function of sample characteristics, observation context, observation length, type of math talk and math performance measured, and modeling approaches to math talk variable analysis. In addition, we tested whether associations are robust to the inclusion of strong baseline covariates and found that effects attenuated when children's domain-general and/or prior math abilities are included. We discuss plausible bounds of the effects of parents' math talk on children's mathematical performance to inform power analyses and experimental work on the impact of parents' math language on children's math learning.

Investigating associations between parent engagement and toddlers' mathematics performance

Early mathematics skills relate to later mathematics achievement and educational attainment, which in turn predict career choice, income, health and financial decision-making. Critically, large differences exist among children in early mathematics performance, with parental mathematics engagement being a key predictor. However, most prior work has examined mothers' mathematics engagement with their preschool- and school-aged children. In this Registered Report, we tested concurrent associations between mothers' and fathers' engagement in mathematics activities with their 2- to 3-year-old toddlers and children's mathematics performance. Mothers and fathers did not differ in their engagement in mathematics activities, and both parents' mathematics engagement related to toddlers' mathematics skills. Fathers' mathematics engagement was associated with toddlers' number and mathematics language skills, but not their spatial skills. Mothers' mathematics engagement was only associated with toddlers' mathematics language skills. Critically, associations may be domain-specific, as parents' literacy engagement did not relate to measures of mathematics performance above their mathematics engagement. Mothers' and fathers' mathematics activities uniquely relate to toddlers' developing mathematics skills, and future work on the nuances of these associations is needed.

Cross-lagged relationship between home numeracy practices and early mathematical skills among Chinese young children

The present study examined the cross-lagged relationship between home numeracy practices (e.g., formal teaching, number games, and number application) and early mathematical skills (basic number processing, and arithmetic skills) among Chinese young children. A total of 155 children (82 boys; mean age = 67.49 months, SD = 3.58 months) were assessed with basic number processing and arithmetic skills at three timepoints during the kindergarten year, and their parents reported the frequency of parent-child numeracy activities. Main results from random-intercept cross-lagged panel models showed that, at the within-family level, earlier basic teaching activities uniquely predicted subsequent basic number processing, while both advanced teaching activities and number game activities at earlier timepoints predicted the following arithmetic skills. These results indicated a unidirectional effect from home numeracy practices on early mathematical skills during the early years.

Relations between the Home Learning Environment and the Literacy and Mathematics Skills of Eight-Year-Old Canadian Children

The home learning environment includes parental activities, attitudes, affect, knowledge, and resources devoted to supporting children’s development, including literacy and mathematics skills. These factors are related to the academic performance of preschool children (aged 3 to 6 years), before formal schooling and possibly beyond. In the present research, we examined the home learning environment of Canadian families as reported by either the mother (n = 51) or father (n = 30) of their Grade 3 child (n = 81; Mage = 8.7 years; range 8 to 9 years of age). Importantly, mothers’ and fathers’ reports of the home learning environment for school children were similar. For literacy, parents’ knowledge of children’s books and attitudes toward literacy were related to children’s vocabulary skills; home literacy was not related to word reading skills. For mathematics, parents’ reports of the frequency of activities such as practicing arithmetic facts and their attitudes toward mathematics were related to children’s arithmetic fluency. Other aspects of the home learning environment (time spent helping with homework, parents’ math anxiety) were not related to children’s performance. These results suggest some continuity between home learning environments and academic skills after children’s transition to school.

Parents' numeracy beliefs and their early numeracy support: A synthesis of the literature

Parents' academic beliefs influence the academic support they provide to their children. In this chapter, we review the published literature on empirical studies conducted with parents of preschoolers and propose a conceptual model for how different parental numeracy beliefs uniquely and differentially influence parents' early numeracy support and vary with their demographic characteristics. Parents' numeracy beliefs about their children were more consistently related to their numeracy support than their other numeracy beliefs but were inconsistently related to demographic characteristics. Parents' numeracy beliefs about themselves were significantly related to their socioeconomic status and the extent to which their numeracy support focused on advanced early numeracy skills, but were not significantly related to how often they provided numeracy support. We also discuss parents' beliefs regarding where and how children should learn numeracy. Overall, evidence to date highlights the role of parents' beliefs about their children as well as their socioeconomic status. We discuss several future directions.

Home Literacy and Numeracy Environments in Asia

The home learning environment includes what parents do to stimulate children’s literacy and numeracy skills at home and their overall beliefs and attitudes about children’s learning. The home literacy and numeracy environments are two of the most widely discussed aspects of the home learning environment, and past studies have identified how socioeconomic status and parents’ own abilities and interest in these domains also play a part in shaping children’s learning experiences. However, these studies are mostly from the West, and there has been little focus on the situation of homes in Asia, which captures a large geographical area and a wide diversity of social, ethnic, and linguistic groups. Therefore, this paper aims to review extant studies on the home literacy and numeracy environments that have been conducted in different parts of Asia, such as China, the Philippines, India, Iran, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. Specifically, we explore how parents in these places perceive their roles in children’s early literacy and numeracy development, the methods they regard as effective for promoting young children’s literacy and numeracy learning, and the frequency with which they engage their young children in different types of home literacy and numeracy activities. We also examine studies on the relationship of the home literacy and numeracy environment with young children’s developmental outcomes, and the effectiveness of parent training programs to improve the home literacy and numeracy environments in these contexts. By examining potential trends in findings obtained in different geographical areas, we can initially determine whether there are characteristics that are potentially unique to contexts in Asia. We propose future research directions that acknowledge the role of cultural values and social factors in shaping the home learning environment, and, by extension, in facilitating children’s early literacy and numeracy development.