1-081 - Moving the needle on the home numeracy environment: Low-cost, feasible interventions to enhance child outcomes

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

A growing body of evidence indicates that young children’s home numeracy environment (HNE) is related to their development of mathematics skills (LeFevre et al., 2002; Manolitsis et al., 2013). Yet, the majority of this work has been correlational in nature. Few studies focus on intervening in the HNE (Niklas et al., 2016; Starkey & Klein, 2000) or on understanding specific manipulations in materials that positively affect change in mathematics outcomes. The three experimental studies in this symposium focus on enhancing the HNE through providing actionable information to parents and/or making simple modifications in the materials they use with their children. Study 1 focuses on improving the HNE through a behavioral economics perspective by “nudging” parents to engage in more mathematics activities with their child and encouraging them to attend specific math-related events. Study 2 focuses on enhancing the HNE through a brief parent training session and daily text messages that support their knowledge, efficacy, and practices for engaging their children in mathematics. Both these studies found significant improvements on parent-child practices and child outcomes. Study 3 focuses on the materials parents use with their children by evaluating the effects of different types of counting books (visually-rich, visually-sparse, control) and found that the simple change of providing visually-rich mathematics books, as opposed to sparse/control books, results in positive changes in mathematics outcomes. Each of these studies provides critical information towards our understanding of how to support parents in improving the HNE for their children in low-cost, scalable, and meaningful ways.

Sub Unit

• Education, Schooling

Chair

• David Purpura, Purdue University

Discussant

• Michele Mazzocco, University of Minnesota

Individual Presentations

• Nudging math activities: Using insights from behavioral economics to boost parental engagement in math activities with children - Non-Presenting Author: Lisa Gennetian, Institute for Human Development and Social Change, NYU; Presenting Author: Yana Kuchirko, New York University; Non-Presenting Author: Lerzan Z Coskun, NYU; Non-Presenting Author: Maria Marti-Castaner, Columbia University; Non-Presenting Author: Helena Duch, Oak Foundation

• Does parent-child math engagement add up? A home numeracy intervention for parents of preschool children - Presenting Author: Amy R. Napoli, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Non-Presenting Author: David Purpura, Purdue University

• How numbers are presented in counting books matters for children’s learning: A parent-delivered intervention - Presenting Author: Cristina Carrazza, University of Chicago; Non-Presenting Author: Susan C. Levine, University of Chicago