Poster #83 - Myanmar Parents’ Awareness of Home Numeracy Environment : Video-Cued Multivocal Ethnography in Myanmar, Korea, the U.S.

• In Event: Poster Session 06

Abstract

This study investigates the similarities and differences in Myanmar mothers’ reflection on their home numeracy environment (HNE) across Myanmar, Korea, and the U.S. Despite the importance of early math skills for school readiness, the majority of studies on Myanmar immigrant parents primarily focused on the literacy learning environment (Barnes et al., 2022). Cultural factors impact the quality of parent-child interactions in HNE (Susperreguy et al., 2022). Through cross-cultural video-cued stimulated interviews, these research questions are as follows: a) What are the similarities in Myanmar parents’ views on their home numeracy environment across the three countries? b) What are the differences in Myanmar parents’ views on their home numeracy environment across the three countries?
This qualitative study used video-cued multivocal ethnography to uncover Myanmar parents’ taken-for-granted cultural boundedness and their cultural negotiations in three countries (Tobin, 2019). Two mothers and their children from Myanmar, two Myanmar immigrant mothers and their children in South Korea, and two Myanmar immigrant mothers and their children in the U.S. were recruited through purposeful sampling and participated in this study. All of the children participating in this study were aged from 3-5 years. Using culturally appropriate materials, the researchers video-recorded the participants’ three home numeracy activities with their children. Researchers edited the videos into two one-minute videos to stimulate self-reflection on their home numeracy environment and explore others’ HNE. The video clips were also used as cues to facilitate cross-cultural conversation. Individual interviews, surveys, participant observations, and local and cross-cultural focused group interviews were utilized to understand the participants’ awareness of their home numeracy environment (see Figure 1). The collected data was analyzed with a three-level qualitative analysis (Boyatzis,1998).
Myanmar mothers in three countries generally had limited knowledge of early math concepts and skills and how to support children’s numeracy at home. While the mothers in the U.S. stepped back and allowed their children to lead the activities, both mothers in Myanmar and Korea gave direct instructions to their children, revealing the different physical distances between the mother and the child in each video (see Figure 2). However, Myanmar immigrant mothers in the U.S. were aware of the importance of play-based math activities, and mothers in the U.S. allowed children’s autonomy and ownership compared to mothers in Myanmar and Korea. In contrast, mothers in Myanmar realized that they preferred formal math instruction (e.g., instruction through flashcards or workbooks) to acquire mathematics knowledge and skills. While mothers in Myanmar highly rely on schools for children’s math education, Myanmar parents in Korea and the U.S were concerned with how to overcome cultural differences and language barriers to provide home numeracy environments.
Social-cultural contexts influence the home math environment and the quality of mother-child interactions. The cross-cultural conversations on home numeracy activity revealed how home numeracy environments are influenced by their situated environmental systems. Given the importance of play-based informal numeracy activities at home (Votruba-Drzal et al., 2023), it is essential to uncover Myanmar parents’ implicit cultural beliefs in formal numeracy activity. The results showed the possibility of developing culturally responsive home numeracy parents’ intervention, particularly for Myanmar parents.

Authors

• Boo Young Lim, The University of Oklahoma
  Presenting Author

• Youn Jung Huh, Salem State University

• Haesung Im, Duksung women’s university