Joint developmental trajectories of home numeracy activities in China: The predictive role of parental beliefs of children's math skills

Abstract

This study investigated the joint developmental paths of parent-child numeracy activities, which encompassed number skills, number books, number games, and number application activities, in 476 Chinese households during the three preschool years of their child. It also explored the connection between these identified paths and parental beliefs regarding the importance of children's mastery of mathematical skills and the corresponding age expectations. The study's findings revealed four latent categories: 1) Low involvement - slowly rising group (38.24 %), 2) High involvement - medium rising group (11.97 %), 3) Low involvement - fast rising group (30.88 %), and 4) High involvement - decreasing group (18.91 %). Compared to the low involvement - fast rising group, parents in the low involvement - slowly rising group perceived their children's mastery of math skills to be less important, while parents in the high involvement - medium rising group and high involvement - decreasing group expected their children to acquire numeracy skills at an earlier age. Educational relevance statement: This study identified four distinct groups of the joint developmental trajectories of Chinese parents' involvement in home numeracy activities using a person-centered approach. We also found the relationship of parental beliefs and expectations toward their children's mastery of math skills with the identification of the four groups. Early intervention measures require educators to communicate the importance of young children's math skills to their parents.