Parents’ approaches to numeracy support: what parents do is rarely what they think is most important

The math children are exposed to at home is a crucial source of early math knowledge, but little is known about parents’ general approaches for supporting their children’s math development at home. The current study examined what general pedagogical approaches parents believed to be most important t...

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Main Authors: Camille Msall, Ashli-Ann Douglas, Bethany Rittle-Johnson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-09-01
Series:Frontiers in Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1114803/full
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author Camille Msall
Ashli-Ann Douglas
Bethany Rittle-Johnson
author_facet Camille Msall
Ashli-Ann Douglas
Bethany Rittle-Johnson
author_sort Camille Msall
collection DOAJ
description The math children are exposed to at home is a crucial source of early math knowledge, but little is known about parents’ general approaches for supporting their children’s math development at home. The current study examined what general pedagogical approaches parents believed to be most important to use in their home and if these beliefs aligned with the approaches they reported using most often. In a survey of 344 U.S. preschool parents (56% mothers, 61% sons, 77% White, 79% with a bachelor’s degree or more), 83% of parents showed a mismatch in the pedagogical approach they used most often compared to what they believed to be most important to use. The most popular pedagogical approach to use was incorporating math during daily living experiences (the “daily living” approach) compared to three other approaches. Notably, although used most often, the “daily living” approach was the approach most frequently selected as least important. Rather, “direct teaching” was the approach most frequently selected as most important. Overall, this suggests a disconnect between how parents approach their home math support and what they believe is most important for their child’s math development at home.
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spelling doaj.art-be105e9374f943b397ba1c0b7febc1b52023-09-18T05:47:41ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Education2504-284X2023-09-01810.3389/feduc.2023.11148031114803Parents’ approaches to numeracy support: what parents do is rarely what they think is most importantCamille MsallAshli-Ann DouglasBethany Rittle-JohnsonThe math children are exposed to at home is a crucial source of early math knowledge, but little is known about parents’ general approaches for supporting their children’s math development at home. The current study examined what general pedagogical approaches parents believed to be most important to use in their home and if these beliefs aligned with the approaches they reported using most often. In a survey of 344 U.S. preschool parents (56% mothers, 61% sons, 77% White, 79% with a bachelor’s degree or more), 83% of parents showed a mismatch in the pedagogical approach they used most often compared to what they believed to be most important to use. The most popular pedagogical approach to use was incorporating math during daily living experiences (the “daily living” approach) compared to three other approaches. Notably, although used most often, the “daily living” approach was the approach most frequently selected as least important. Rather, “direct teaching” was the approach most frequently selected as most important. Overall, this suggests a disconnect between how parents approach their home math support and what they believe is most important for their child’s math development at home.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1114803/fullhome math environmentearly math developmentpedagogyparents’ beliefsparent supportinvolvement
spellingShingle Camille Msall
Ashli-Ann Douglas
Bethany Rittle-Johnson
Parents’ approaches to numeracy support: what parents do is rarely what they think is most important
Frontiers in Education
home math environment
early math development
pedagogy
parents’ beliefs
parent support
involvement
title Parents’ approaches to numeracy support: what parents do is rarely what they think is most important
title_full Parents’ approaches to numeracy support: what parents do is rarely what they think is most important
title_fullStr Parents’ approaches to numeracy support: what parents do is rarely what they think is most important
title_full_unstemmed Parents’ approaches to numeracy support: what parents do is rarely what they think is most important
title_short Parents’ approaches to numeracy support: what parents do is rarely what they think is most important
title_sort parents approaches to numeracy support what parents do is rarely what they think is most important
topic home math environment
early math development
pedagogy
parents’ beliefs
parent support
involvement
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1114803/full
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AT ashlianndouglas parentsapproachestonumeracysupportwhatparentsdoisrarelywhattheythinkismostimportant
AT bethanyrittlejohnson parentsapproachestonumeracysupportwhatparentsdoisrarelywhattheythinkismostimportant