Literature review – Parent involvement and mathematic outcome

Abstract

The impact of parent involvement with their children's educational outcomes can have a profound effect on learning, achievement, motivation, engagement, values, and goals. This literature review is the first to focus on parental involvement and educational outcomes in the subject of mathematics. Search engines identified 1397 articles from 2010 to 2019. In the wake of the inclusion and exclusion process, 169 articles (n-group) related to children aged from 6 to 16 years were selected for review. As a result, an extensive range of indicators associated with parent involvement was identified and linked to 37 different outcomes for children studying mathematics. Framed by a structured coding analysis, the parent involvement indicators were classified into 12 new categories and discussed in the context of established theories. Finally, the outcome indicators were coded in the following categories: Learning, Belief, Motivation, Emotion, and Behaviour. The analysis uncovered 403 indicator connections linking children's mathematic outcomes to parental involvement. A predominance of the research focused on parents' different beliefs, motivations, communication, and support. Many of the parent involvement indicators were related to the children's mathematical achievement, performance, and skills. An effects matrix revealed that a majority of indicators showed positive effects. Nevertheless, a positive generalisation about parental involvement has the potential to erroneously hide negative aspects. Further research is needed to ensure consistency and unambiguous operationalisation of parental involvement, while also covering blind spots in the research field documented in the review. Finally, this review contributes to a further discussion outside the mathematics context with respect to the parent involvement concept and the need for increased research quality and scientific rigour.