A study of parent-child numeracy interaction in families of English language learners

Current research has focused on early numeracy in the preschool setting, but few studies have addressed the relationship between elementary school children's understanding of mathematical concepts and parent-child interactions during math play or work. As a result, the researcher sought to understand the extent to which math concepts were discussed between parents and their children ages 5 to 7 during math interactions in 5 families of English language learners. The researcher employed a case study methodology that included visiting the participating families; observing their behaviors while they were engaged in math activities with their children; and obtaining parent-authored journals that described the participants' daily, weekly, and monthly math activities. This qualitative study linked studies of early numeracy acquisition to the observation of parent-child communication during mathematics interactions in the families of students receiving English as a second language services in their school. The results indicated that counting was the strategy chosen the most often during play with blocks or cards and when completing a math worksheet. The patterns of communication observed during the home visits indicated that most of the families engaged in parent-initiated conversations. The parents in Families 1, 2, and 4 initiated conversations 95% of the time. The parents in Family 5 initiated conversations 80% of the time. The parents in Family 3 initiated conversations 70% of the time. All of the families reported spending time on mathematical activities with their children, including math-related video or computer games, followed by Legos, puzzles, and cooking activities. In the course of an average week, Family 1 spent an average of 10.5 hours, Family 2 spent 15 hours, Family 3 spent 21.25 hours, Family 4 spent 7.75 hours, and Family 5 spent 15.25 hours in these activities. The overarching finding was that the families who spent a significant amount of time doing math-related activities with their children had children who were more confident in approaching math problems. Future research might include a longitudinal study involving family math communication as well an exploration of effective strategies that families and schools can employ to communicate with children about math.