Abstract
This study described the kinds of early numeracy experiences that parents provide for their preschoolers, and determined the extent to which parental experiences and involvement in home activities enhanced preschoolers’ numeracy knowledge. Twenty-five parents completed a home activity questionnaire, a 2-week diary study, and a videotaped play session where they were asked to draw out numerical content. Preschoolers’ numeracy scores were predicted by: (1) parental reports of positive personal experiences with mathematics and (2) involvement in activities with complex (versus basic) numeracy goals. Parents felt that most activities had important or essential mathematical value, but focused on number sense goals. Finally, parents who reportedly spent more time on numeracy tasks received high quality interaction ratings in the videotaped sessions; but these variables did not predict numeracy scores. The findings are discussed in terms of educating parents about incorporating numeracy concepts.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, A. (1997). Families and mathematics: A study of parent–child interactions. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 28, 484–511.
Anderson, A., Anderson, J., & Shapiro, J. (2004). Mathematical discourse in shared storybook reading. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 35, 5–33.
Aunio, P., Aubrey, C., Godfrey, R., Pan, Y., & Liu, Y. (2008). Children’s early numeracy in England, Finland and People’s Republic of China. International Journal of Early Years Education, 16, 203–221.
Blevins-Knabe, B. (2008). Fostering early numeracy at home. Encyclopedia of Language and Literacy Research. Retrieved July 15, 2009 from: http://literacyencyclopedia.ca/index.php?fa=items.show&topicId=245.
Blevins-Knabe, B., & Musun-Miller, L. (1996). Number use at home by children and their parents and its relationship to early mathematical performance. Early Development and Parenting, 5, 35–45.
Blevins-Knabe, B., Berghout, A. A., Musun, L., Eddy, A., & Jones, R. M. (2000). Family home care providers’ and parents’ beliefs and practices concerning mathematics with young children. Early Child Development and Care, 165, 41–58.
Downer-Anderson, D., & Gold, E. (2006). Home to school: Numeracy practices and mathematical identities. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 8, 261–286.
Ginsburg, H. (1982). Children’s arithmetic: How they learn it and how you teach it (2nd ed.). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
Ginsburg, H. P., Cannon, J., Eisenband, J., & Pappas, S. (2006). Mathematical thinking and learning. In Phillips. McCartney (Ed.), Blackwell handbook of early childhood development (pp. 208–229). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Hart, L. C. (2004). Beliefs and perspectives of first-year, alternative preparation, elementary teachers in urban classrooms. School Science and Mathematics, 104, 79–88.
Hill, H. C., Rowan, B., & Ball, D. L. (2005). Effects of teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching on student achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 42, 371–406.
Huntsinger, C. S., Jose, P. E., Larson, S. L., Balsink Krieg, D., & Shaligram, C. (2000). Mathematics, vocabulary, and reading development in Chinese American and European American children over the primary school years. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 745–760.
LeFevre, J. A., Clarke, T., & Stringer, A. P. (2002). Influences of language and parental involvement on the development of counting skills: Comparisons of French- and English-speaking Canadian children. Early Child Development and Care, 172, 283–300.
LeFevre, J. A., Fast, L., Sowinski, C., Osana, H., Skwarchuk, S. L., & Manay Quian, N. (2009a). Who’s counting? Numeracy and literacy practices of early learning and child care practitioners. Canadian Council on Learning Final Report.
LeFevre, J. A., Polyzoi, E., Skwarchuk, S. L., Fast, L., & Sowinski, C. (2009b). Do home numeracy and literacy practices of Greek and Canadian parents predict the numeracy skills of kindergarten children? Paper submitted to International Journal of Early Years Education.
LeFevre, J. A., Skwarchuk, S. L., Fast, L., Smith-Chant, B., Kamawar, D., & Bisanz, J. (2009c). Home numeracy experiences and children’s math performance in the early school years. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science, 41, 55–66.
Manitoba Education Citizenship and Youth. (2008). K-8 Mathematics manitoba curriculum framework of outcomes. Retrieved July 15, 2009 from: http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/math/framework_k-8/index.html.
Melhuish, E. C., Phan, M. B., Sylva, K., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I. S., & Taggart, B. (2008). Effects of the home learning environment and preschool centre experience upon literacy and numeracy development in early primary school. Journal of Social Issues, 64, 95–114.
Musun-Miller, L., & Blevins-Knabe, B. (1998). Adults’ beliefs about children and mathematics: How important is it and how do children learn about it? Early Development and Parenting, 7, 191–202.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2006). Early childhood mathematics: Promoting good beginnings. Retrieved July 15, 2009 from http://www.naeyc.org/about/positions/mathematics.asp.
National Numeracy Strategy. (2009). Progression maps for mathematics: Advice for parents, carers and mentors. Retrieved July 15, 2009 from: http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/42765.
Pan, Y., Gauvain, M., Liu, Z., & Cheng, L. (2006). American and Chinese parental involvement in young children’s mathematics learning. Cognitive Development, 21, 17–35.
Rampon, C., Jiang, C. H., Dong, H., Tang, Y. P., Lockhart, D. J., Schultz, P. G., et al. (2000). Effects of environmental enrichment on gene expression in the brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 97, 12880–12884.
Reyna, V. F., & Brainerd, C. J. (2007). The importance of mathematics in health and human judgment: Numeracy, risk communication, and medical decision making. Learning and Individual Differences, 17(2), 147–159.
Tudge, J., & Doucet, F. (2004). Everyday mathematical experiences: Observing young Black and White children’s everyday activities. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 19, 21–39.
Woodcock, R. W., & Johnson, M. B. (1989). Woodcock-Johnson psycho-educational battery—Revised. Allen, TX: DLM Teaching Resources.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by a grant from the Brandon University Research Committee. The author wishes to thank the parents, children and teacher of the preschool where this study took place. Thanks is also extended to Paul Betts and Ralph Mason for their assistance with some conceptual aspects of the paper, and to Jo-Anne LeFevre for her expertise in data analysis. Finally, thanks to Lori Mergulhao, Vanessa Rigaux, and Corinne Thuring for their assistance in data collection, data entry and/or data coding.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Skwarchuk, SL. How Do Parents Support Preschoolers’ Numeracy Learning Experiences at Home?. Early Childhood Educ J 37, 189–197 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-009-0340-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-009-0340-1