How do American and Japanese mothers help their preschool children learn mathematics

The purpose of this study was to examine how American and Japanese mothers help their 4-year-old children learn mathematics. The study focused on several issues: mothers' reported engagement in mathematics learning activities at home; mothers' beliefs about mathematics learning; and mothers' attempts to teach children informal and formal mathematics. Particular attention was paid to the different ways in which mothers approach informal and formal mathematics, and to possible differences between the approaches of American and Japanese mothers.; The subjects were 39 mother-child dyads from New York City (n=20) and Tokyo (n=19). All mothers were given questionnaires inquiring into daily activities involving both informal and formal mathematics and into beliefs concerning the teaching and learning of mathematics. All dyads were also observed during a series of tasks in which mothers were asked to teach their children about several mathematical tasks. The mother-child interactions were videotaped and analyzed in terms of instructional method and style, mathematical ideas and emotional support.; The questionnaire data reveal that mothers believe that informal mathematical activities are more important than formal mathematical activities, and report that they engage in more everyday activities revolving around informal than formal mathematics. American and Japanese mothers' beliefs about mathematics teaching and learning do not seem to differ a great deal except for American mothers' strong belief in the importance of ability as a contributor to success in mathematics learning.; Minimal differences were found between American and Japanese mothers' interactions with their children in the area of early mathematics. However, there were subtle differences in the mothers' instruction and in the mathematical ideas they introduced, particularly when they taught formal addition and an open-ended addition task. American mothers tend to use more directive instruction and controlling questions, while Japanese mothers use more modeling and frequently assess a child's understanding. The Japanese set a rigorous goal for the open-end teaching task and taught formal addition with written numbers. But they used developmentally appropriate "informal" instruction to achieve the goal. By contrast, when the American mothers introduce "formal" written material, they do so in a less child-centered and developmentally appropriate manner.