Ellis, A., Cosso, J., Duncan, R. J., Susperreguy, M. I., Simms, V., & Purpura, D. J. (2023). International comparisons of the home mathematics environment and relations with children’s mathematical achievement. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 00, e12625. https://doi.org /10.1111/bjep.12625
Abstract:
Background: Home mathematics environment (HME) re-search has focused on parent–child interactions surround-ing numerical activities as measured by the frequency of engaging in such activities. However, HME survey ques-tions have been developed from limited perspectives (e.g., Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27, 2012, 231; Journal of Social Issues, 64, 2008, 95; Early childhood mathematics education research: Learning trajectories for young children, Routledge, New York, 2009), by researchers from a small subset of countries (15; Psychological Bulletin, 147, 2020, 565), which may skew our interpretations.
Aims and Sample: This study broadened international representation by leveraging secondary data from the 2019 TIMSS to examine the variation of the frequency and reli-ability of the HME scale and its relation to children’s math-ematical achievement. Across 54 countries, 231,138 parents and children (Mage= 10.22 years; 51% male) participated in the larger study.
Methods: Parents completed a retrospective home envi-ronment survey and children were assessed on mathemat-ics skills. Basic frequency descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients, and Pearson’s r correlation co-efficients were used to assess variability across countries.
Results: Findings suggested that families in certain coun-tries engaged in home mathematics activities more frequently than families in other countries; however, the HME scale demonstrated acceptable internal consistency across families in all countries (M α = .79; range = [.73, .89]). Further, the average relation between HME and mathematical achievement was r= .15 with a range between r = .02 to r = .41.
Conclusion: Our results indicate substantial variation across countries in the HME-mathematical achievement association. These findings underscore the importance of international representation in advancing research on the diversity of a child’s home environment.