Parental involvement and children’s mathematical outcomes: How values and communication relate to achievement and attitudes

Arve Fiskerstrand; Markku S. Hannula; Arne Kåre Topphol

doi:10.31129/LUMAT.12.3.2146

Authors

Arve Fiskerstrand Volda University College, Norway and University of Helsinki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3625-7866
Markku S. Hannula University of Helsinki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4979-7711
Arne Kåre Topphol Volda University College, Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2759-4403

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31129/LUMAT.12.3.2146

Keywords:

parents, parental involvement, mathematics education, elementary education, values

Abstract

Parental involvement is considered essential for children’s educational outcomes. Previous research has connected parental involvement to children’s mathematical achievement. However, it remains unclear how parental values and communication regarding education and academic achievement relate to children’s mathematical achievement and attitudes. The current study aims to fill this gap by building on an earlier project with quantitative data conducted twice, consisting of mathematical tests for children and surveys for children, parents, and teachers. Based on exploratory factor analyses and a theoretically constructed model, we conducted confirmatory factor analyses to establish a structural equation model. The results showed that children’s mathematical achievement and attitudes correlated with the parent’s educational values. In addition, the analyses revealed that the children’s mathematical outcomes were more strongly related to the parents’ values than to the parents’ communication with the children. Limitations of the study and implications for the importance of parents’ values and communication were discussed.

Updates
2024-06-17: Correction to Table 6 numerical errors in the statements of acceptable and good model fit.

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