Maternal Parenting Style And The Development Of Children's Number Concept

The purpose of the study is to find out: What were the mothers' beliefs on children's mathematical education in the family, how did they provide mathematical education in the family and what were the strategies they applied in their interaction with their children in a mathematical activity? Also, what were different characteristics in mothers' parenting style whose children's number concept was in different developmental levels.Twenty-one preschool children who came from two kindergartens in Shanghai were chosen as research objects. The children were assigned in two groups. The children whose development of number concept was in a high level were in Group H and the children whose development of number concept was in a low level were in Group C. A qualitative research method as well as quantitative method was used in the study. The children's mothers in both groups were interviewed. Four mother-child dyads were observed for their interaction in a joint mathematical activity. The results of the study indicated that, the mothers in the two groups had different characteristics in their educational beliefs and behavior.The study showed that in terms of the educational beliefs, mothers whose children had the higher development level in number concept, were more likely to respect children's interests in learning mathematics and to create democratic atmosphere to promote children's learning; they were more likely to help children to learn mathematics in daily life with concrete materials; they tried to grasp educational opportunities and focused on children's understanding in the learning; and they were more likely to ask questions and encouraged children more often. On the contrary, the mothers whose children had the lower development level in number concept were more likely to adopt compulsive parenting style. They were more likely to believe that mathematical education in the family was to do a lots of paper home-work. This kind of educational belief was very popular among the mothers of both groups. In terms of the mothers' educational behavior, the mothers whose children had the higherdevelopment level in number concept were more likely to take an advantage of all kinds of strategies. They asked more questions and responded to children properly and in details. Before the beginning of the joint activity, they negotiated with their children and listened to children's opinions. They used positive and negative feedback properly. On the other hand, mothers whose children had the lower development level in number concept applied few strategies. They were more likely to use commands or instructions to direct children's activities in the mother-child interaction; the questions they asked were hard to activate children's thinking and they used negative feedback more often. Recommendations for mathematical education in the family were also discussed.