Predictors of Early Numeracy and the Home Context as a Place for Leaning

• In Event: Closing the School Readiness Gap for Black and Latino Children: Start Early and at Home

Abstract

Objective
Home visitation interventions effectively improve children’s school readiness skills.1 However, early math skills are not well-examined as outcomes of home visiting intervention models. Additionally, other important family demographics and child-level variables predicting school-entry math skills are only minimally explored.
Theoretical Framework
In order to understand developmental processes, one must evaluate the context development occurs in.2 For example, children acquire knowledge and skills that contribute to his or her development though the process of communicating with and engaging in activities with parents, other adults, and peers.3
Home-based involvement is associated with children’s academic outcomes4 and parent-child interactions that focus on children’s emergent skills prior to school entry, lead to school-entry success.5 However, early childhood research indicates that minority children enter kindergarten with limited school readiness skills.6,7
Early numeracy is an important school readiness outcome, as the predictive power of early mathematics skills has been established when considering overall later academic achievement.8 Yet, achievement gaps in mathematics skills are present prior to formal school entry9 and low-income children underperform when compared to their middle-income counterparts.7 Although all young children, regardless of SES status, show basic mathematical competencies,10 these children’s trajectories and “rate of growth” does not close the achievement gap.7 These considerations highlight the importance of questioning what predicts early numeracy skills prior to formal school-entry?
Methods and Data Sources
The study is part of a larger RCT home-visitation intervention (Table 1). The outcome data were collected at follow-up using the Test of Early Numeracy (TEN), measuring early numeracy as a composite from results on an oral counting, number identification, and quantity discrimination task (see Table 9).
Results
Regression analysis indicates that family demographic and child-level variables are significant predictors of early numeracy (Table 10). There were no significant differences between the control condition and the treatment conditions.
Scholarly Significance
The findings highlight the importance of identifying significant predictors of early numeracy for low-income, diverse children, living in urban communities. Findings suggest that children’s language skills, immigrant status, and parent education level, are positive significant predictors of the outcome.
Noting the predictive power of early math skills in recent empirical studies, it is especially important to highlight mathematics skills for at risk, low-income families. Home experiences prior to formal school entry are an opportunity for early intervention during the early years.11 Resources in the home can effectively address the achievement gap.12 Adopting mathematical goals and incorporating them in early intervention programs is critical to improving young children’s school readiness skills and provide them with a foundation for later learning.
The home context can be fertile ground for the development of numeracy or “mathematical language.” Early numeracy skills are best promoted by continuous mathematical language support from ongoing and intentional interactions.10 Suggestions for home-based models include (1) introduce mathematical relevant language and tasks and (2) apply numeracy concepts to relevant materials (e.g., books/toys) and activities already included in program protocols.

Authors

• Kalina Gjicali, The Graduate Center, CUNY

• Jennifer Astuto, New York University