Role of home math environment in the intergenerational transmission of math skills

IF 4.7 1区教育学 Q1 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Learning and Instruction Pub Date : 2025-02-17 DOI:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2025.102080

Minna Torppa , Maria Psyridou , Daria Khanolainen , Tuire Koponen , Jenni Salminen

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Mathematical difficulties among parents seem to be a major risk factor for a child's mathematical development. At the same time, the home math environment (HME) has been reported to be associated with children's mathematical skills.

Aims

To examine the role of formal (teaching) and informal (games and everyday activities) HME in the intergenerational transmission of arithmetic skills.

Sample

The sample included Finnish children who were followed at ages 2, 5, Grade 1 spring (age 7–8) and Grade 2 spring (age 8–9). The sample (N = 402) comprised children who had skill assessment data from Grade 1 (N = 366) or 2 (N = 321), whose parents’ skills were assessed (N = 114 fathers and 153 mothers), and who had HME data available (340 families in Grade 1, 105 families at age 5, and 140 families at age 2).

Methods

The children's arithmetic fluency and parental mathematical skills were tested using several tasks. HME was assessed via parental questionnaires. The data were analysed using latent interaction models.

Results

Both mothers' and fathers' skills significantly predicted children's arithmetic skills. Formal and informal HME were found to moderate the effect of parental skills on children's skills. The formal HME factors suggested potential protective effects, whereas the informal HME factors indicated mixed results.

Conclusions

Lower parental mathematical skills were a significant risk factor for children's arithmetic skills. Teaching activities at home seem to have the potential to alleviate familial risk.

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来源期刊

Learning and Instruction Multiple-

CiteScore

11.30

自引率

4.80%

发文量

109

期刊介绍： As an international, multi-disciplinary, peer-refereed journal, Learning and Instruction provides a platform for the publication of the most advanced scientific research in the areas of learning, development, instruction and teaching. The journal welcomes original empirical investigations. The papers may represent a variety of theoretical perspectives and different methodological approaches. They may refer to any age level, from infants to adults and to a diversity of learning and instructional settings, from laboratory experiments to field studies. The major criteria in the review and the selection process concern the significance of the contribution to the area of learning and instruction, and the rigor of the study.