Latina Mothers' Math Gender Stereotypes: Relationship to Math Involvement and Children's Perceived Math Abilities

• In Event: Roundtable Session 54
  In Roundtable Session: Parent and Family Effects on Adjustment

Abstract

Studies show that parental beliefs and behaviors influence children’s math confidence and performance, but few examine these associations over the transition to middle school, or in Latino/a families. This paper describes early results from a longitudinal study of 123 mother-child dyads. The findings suggest maternal gender stereotypes and math involvement predict mothers’ behavior and child’s perceived competence, including gender differences. Maternal math gender bias declined over time, but male bias in 5th grade led to decreases in children’s perceptions of their own math ability in 6th grade, and decreases in mothers’ involvement in their daughter’s math in 6th grade. Greater maternal math involvement in 5th grade predicted increases in boys’ perceptions of their own math ability, but not girls’.

Authors

• Jill Denner, Education, Training, and Research Associates

• Brett Laursen, Florida Atlantic University

• Amy Hartl, Florida Atlantic University

• Daniel Dickson, Florida Atlantic University

• Eloy Ortiz, ETR Associates