Poster #37 - Does Identifying a Numeracy Opportunity Enrich the Numeracy Conversations of Mothers and Their 3-Year-Olds?

• In Event: 1-061 - Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Section - Cognitive Processes

Integrative Statement

Introduction: Children who lack basic numeracy skills when school begins rarely, if ever, catch up (Aunola et al., 2004). Early evidence suggests parent-child conversations play a significant role in early numeracy skills (Melhuish et al., 2008), however the majority of early numeracy research has focused on children already attending formal education, at which stage significant individual differences in numeracy skills are already present. When children are exposed to complex language and meaningful interactions with their carers, materials, and surroundings, opportunities for learning are maximised (Anders et al., 2012). However, little is known about the types of conversations mothers use to engage their children in numeracy learning or how parent-child interaction factors might lead to more favourable numeracy development outcomes. The aims of the current study were to identify whether labelling an event as a numeracy activity changes the quantity and/or complexity of mothers’ numeracy conversations with their 3-year old children, and to investigate if the types and quality of these interactions is associated with children’s objective numeracy skill.

Population: Twenty mother-child dyads were recruited for this research from the Illawarra Born: Cross-Generation study. Mothers were aged 25 – 44 years (M = 34, SD = 4.57) and represented a non-homogeneous sample who were primarily white, middle to high SES, and university educated. Children (10 males, 10 females) were first-born and aged 25 -34 months (M = 41.05, SD = 3.19).

Methods: Mothers had previously completed questionnaires on maternal well-being, attitudes to numeracy and literacy, and the frequency of numeracy and literacy activities in the home. Within a larger 90-minute lab session, each dyad engaged in a series of activities including book reading, emotion recognition, and freeplay. For this study, mothers were asked to weigh and measure their child twice, using a standard set of floor scales and stadiometer. Each dyad was randomly assigned to one of two instruction groups. The control group received no further instructions. The experimental group were provided with the additional statement “This can be a fun way to discuss numeracy concepts with your child”. The researcher then left the room and the parent-child interaction was video-taped for later analysis. Each child also completed the Early Years Toolbox numeracy and expressive vocabulary assessment.

Results: A Pearson Correlation was used to identify the relationships between the frequency of numeracy interaction, age, and children’s actual numeracy and vocabulary skill. There was a positive association between children’s numeracy and expressive language skills. Child age was also positively associated with their numeracy and vocabulary skills and the frequency at which mothers engage their child in numeracy exchanges during the recorded conversations. Mothers in the experimental group engaged in significantly more numeracy-related exchanges than those in the control group. The relationship between the frequency of numeracy conversations and children’s actual numeracy skill approached significance. Initial thematic analysis reveals numeracy conversations rarely went beyond basic number recognition and naming numbers. Thus, identifying numeracy opportunities in everyday activities may serve to increase the quantity, but not necessarily the complexity, of families’ numeracy conversations.

Authors

• Meagan Baltoski, University of Wollongong
  Presenting Author

• Michelle L Townsend, University of Wollongong
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jane Herbert, University of Wollongong
  Non-Presenting Author

• Brin F.S Grenyer, University of Wollongong
  Non-Presenting Author