Associations among home numeracy environments, childcare numeracy environments, and preschool children’s numeracy skills

• In Event: 1-2-3! Supporting children's numeracy skills in families and schools

Abstract

Preschool-aged children’s numeracy skills positively relate to their later math learning. Importantly, these skills vary largely before entering school. Early numeracy environments are one potential reason for these variations, however the associations between early numeracy environments in both home and childcare settings and children’s numeracy skills have rarely been examined simultaneously. The purpose of the current study is to examine the associations between home numeracy environments (HNE), childcare numeracy environments (CNE), and preschool-aged children’s numeracy skills. Participants were 131 parent-child dyads and 58 teachers of these children. Children’s numeracy skills were assessed using the Preschool Early Numeracy Screener (Purpura, 2021). Parents provided demographic information (e.g., education and family income), frequency of home numeracy activities, and parents’ knowledge of the developmental trajectories of children’s math skills. Parents also recorded and uploaded two videos of interactions with their children during two activities (a self-selected home numeracy activity and a shared book reading activity with a provided book). The HNE was hypothesized to be comprised of five indicators: (1) parent education, (2) family income, (3) frequency of numeracy activities, (4) parent math knowledge, and (5) parent number talk during the recorded interactions. Teachers provided demographic information (e.g., education, math professional development), likelihood of engaging children in math activities, and teachers’ knowledge of the developmental trajectories of children’s math skills. The CNE was hypothesized to be comprised of three indicators: (1) teacher education, (2) likelihood of engaging children in math activities, and (3) teacher math knowledge. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the structure of the HNE and CNE, as well as their associations with children’s numeracy skills.

The HNE constructed by the five indicators yielded a reasonable global fit (CFI = .918, RMSEA = .077, SRMR = .062) and the component fit showed that parent education (factor loading =.70, p = .020) and family income (factor loading = .84, p = .013) were the only two significant factors. The latent variable representing the HNE was positively associated with children’s numeracy skills, r = .24, p = .018. The CNE was constructed by the three indicators, yielding a perfect global (CFI = 1.000, RMSEA = .000, SRMR = .000), however none of the indicators were significant factors. The latent variable representing CNE was not significantly associated with children’s numeracy skills, r = .42, p = .09, possibly due to a relatively small teacher sample size. Estimation of a joint model examining associations between HNE, CNE, and numeracy skills yielded reasonable global fit (CFI = .80, RMSEA = .072, SRMR = .093). HNE and CNE were negatively correlated, r = -.762, p < .000. It is possible that, in some cases, rather than offering cumulative benefits, children’s home or childcare numeracy environment may be compensating for the other.

Authors

• Keting Chen, California State University - San Bernardino
  Presenting Author

• Yao Yao, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Sarah Roberts, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Amy R Napoli, University of Nebraska - Lincoln