Early Home Influences on Math Learning in Young Children

NIH RePORTER · NIH · R03 · $146,035 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY Mathematics are essential skills for daily living as well as academic success and future employment. Yet in the U.S., educational disparities exist in children’s math skills from school entry through K-12 education. One possible contributor to differences at the start of kindergarten could be differential verbal inputs about mathematics by parents – also known as “math talk.” Research, almost exclusively with mothers and in English, finds that math talk in early childhood contributes to math skills in preschool and kindergarten. However, little is known about math talk by fathers, math talk in Spanish or bilingual English-Spanish parent-child interactions, or combined caregiver math talk and their effect on math skill development. Capitalizing on the NICHD-funded Baby Books 2 project, a bilingual (English-Spanish) longitudinal parenting intervention for low-to-moderate income first-time parents and their young child, we explore the amount and types of math talk in recorded mother-child and father-child play and reading interactions at 9, 18, 24 and 30 months. Specifically, we compare, through observational coding and textual analysis of transcripts, the frequency, variety, and types of math talk that parents engage in with their very young children, in English and Spanish. We also assess how mothers’ and fathers’ math talk, independently and together, contribute to children’s math skills assessed at 38-46 months, after controlling for parental (e.g., nativity, education, mental health) and child (e.g., temperament, language skills) characteristics. This research will increase our understanding of early parental contributions to young children’s early math skills and, potentially, identify the types of verbal inputs that are most supportive for children’s school readiness.

Key facts

NIH application ID
10741668
Project number
1R03HD110672-01A1
Recipient
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE
Principal Investigator
Stephanie Michelle Reich
Activity code
R03
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2023
Award amount
$146,035
Award type
1
Project period
2023-09-01 → 2026-08-31