Poster #7 - SES and Maternal Spatial Language use

• In Event: Poster Session 03

Abstract

Background: As the focus on preparing students for careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) increases, so does the importance of understanding what factors influence a child’s ability to succeed in these areas. One recurring finding is the relationship between spatial cognition and STEM success (Humphreys, Lubinski, & Yao, 1993). Notably women are under-represented in STEM programs and perform less well than men on spatial cognition tasks, particularly mental rotation tasks (Harris & Hirsh-Pasek, 2013; Linn & Peterson, 1985; Voyer, et al, 1995). Levine and colleagues (2005) found that these differences in spatial ability were only true for children from middle and high socioeconomic status (SES) homes. There was not a gender difference in children from low SES homes, with both boys and girls performing less well than their higher SES peers. This leads to the question of what may be contributing to the overall lower performance of these children. One factor may be differences in the amount of spatial language children are being exposed to in the home. The amount of spatial language children hear correlates with performance on mental rotation tasks (Pruden, et al, 2011) and, in higher SES samples, mothers use significantly more spatial language with boys than girls (Pruden & Levine 2017, Ralph & Maguire 2020). What spatial language use looks like in lower SES environments has not, to our knowledge, yet been investigated. The aim of this study is to identify whether children from lower SES homes, regardless of gender, hear fewer spatial words than children from higher SES environments.
Methods: This study will analyze data collected from 60 four to six-year-olds and their mothers. Data collection is complete, and we plan to have full analysis completed by conference date. Dyads were provided colorful magnetic tiles and instructed to play together. After a 10-minute recorded play session, the child completed the Children’s Mental Transformation Task (CMTT). Videos were transcribed and coded for spatial language using CLAN in CHILDES. For each participant, the proportion of mother’s unique spatial words will be calculated and used for analysis.
Analysis: To test the hypothesis SES moderates the relationship between child gender and maternal spatial language use, a hierarchical multiple regression analysis will be conducted. In the first step will include two variables: child gender and SES (using the proxy of maternal education). Next, the interaction term will be added to the regression model to determine the effect that child gender and family SES have on maternal spatial language use. We predict that for lower SES families, maternal spatial language use will be low with both boys and girls. As SES increases, we predict mothers’ spatial language with boys will also increase, however it will remain low with daughters.
Contribution: This study will contribute to our understanding of the role of gender and SES in the amount of spatial language children are hearing in the home.

Authors

• Yvonne Ralph, University of Texas at Tyler
  Presenting Author

• Tina Melamed, University of Texas at Tyler

• Mandy J Maguire, University of Texas at Dallas