Abstract
Several studies have investigated the associations between the home numeracy environment (HNE) and children’s mathematical skills. Collectively, findings point in different directions. An aspect rarely considered in HNE studies is parents’ dual role as providers of the numeracy environment and children’s genetic predisposition to learn mathematics. As for the reading environment, parent’s mathematical abilities may serve as a proxy for the genetic transmission that confounds the HNE and child-relationship. In this study, we asked whether numeracy activities in the home predict the longitudinal development of children’s arithmetic fluency while accounting for parent’s arithmetic ability and children’s initial skill level.
We analyzed data from 244 Norwegian school children, 201 mothers, and 146 fathers. Children’s arithmetic fluency was assessed in Grades 1 and 3-6. When the children attended Grade 2, we collected information from their parents using a home environment questionnaire and an assessment of parents’ arithmetic fluency. Relationships between the home numeracy environment, parental arithmetic and children’s longitudinal arithmetic development were assessed using structural equation modelling (SEM).