Socio-economic status has major effects on math achievement,educational aspirations and future job expectations of elementary school children in Thailand

This study was designed to investigate the effects of specific variables on the math achievement of 5th-grade children. It involved a random sample of 373 families (parents and children) from a larger pool of 685 families residing in Bangkok, Thailand. We utilized Walberg's productivity model by analyzing the interconnections among a diverse set of family prcesse, family structure, and SES variables within the home environment section of the model. Campbell's differential socialization paradigm was used to analyze the gender differences. The results of the study show that certain family processes (support and intellectual resources) had positive effects on math achievement, while other processes (excessive pressure and help) had negtive effects. Another key finding is that Walberg's home environment factor was found to contain a mix of SES, family structure variables, and family processes. These variables have strong effects on children's overall academic achievement, academic self-concepts, and math achievement. The SES variables were found to be especially important in Thailand. The authors propose the establishment of parent training programs, particularly for low SES families, as a way to increase children's math achievement, aspirations, and future job expectations.     

Educated fathers and mothers have differential effects on overseas Japanese boys' and girls' math achievement

This chapter summarizes an investigation of the variables connected to the math achievement of 168, 5th- and 6th-grade Japanese students enrolled in an overseas Japanese school located in New York City. A mix of family processes and prior variables, including the language patterns in the home and the time the family had been away from Japan, were incorporated into the path models for analysis. The results of the study show that the education of the fathers and mothers played differential roles for the boys' and girls' math achievement. Educated mothers were found to positively influence their sons' achievement but to negatively influence their daughters' achievement. The authors interpret this finding as an attempt by the mothers to reinforce traditional Japanese values. Highly-educated fathers were found to have positive effects on their daughters' math achievement. This finding suggests educated fathers have a more open view of their daughters' academic potential. SES was found to be much more important to the math achievement of the girls (r=0.36). For both groups, excessive perceived parental pressure and help were found to indirectly undermine children's math achievement. Intellectual resources in the home were found to benefit boys' math achievement but to negatively effect girls' achievement. Overall, a high level of differential socialization was uncovered in this overseas Japanese community.     

Gifted Chinese girls get the best mix of family processes to bolster their math achievement

This chapter describes three studies with samples of 5th- and 6th-grade students (781 gifted and 895 nongifted) enrolled in elementary schools in Taipei, Taiwan. Two of the studies analyzed the effects of SES, family structure variables, family processes, math self-concept, and prior ability on children's math achievement; the third concerned a qualitative study of 95 gifted children and their parents. The results of these studies show tha SES variables influence family processes in a number of important ways. Better educated families administer less pressure and more support, and both processes contribute to children's achievement. Another important findings is that Chinese traditions moderate the parents use of specific family processes. Girls enrolled in typical classes perceive less parental pressure, less support, less help, and less intellectual resources. In a sense, these girls are academically neglected, but this does not hurt their math achievement because they do not perceive as much dysfunctional pressure and help from their parents. Gifted girls get the best mix of parental influences and academic opportunities.     

Searching for the golden model of education: cross-national analysis of math achievement

We utilised four waves of TIMSS data in addition to the information we have collected on countries’ educational systems to examine whether different degrees of standardisation, differentiation, proportion of students in private schools and governmental spending on education influence students’ math achievement, its variation and socioeconomic status (SES) gaps in math achievement. A higher level of standardisation of educational systems was associated with higher average math achievement. Greater expenditure on education (as a percentage of total government expenditure) was associated with a lower level of dispersion of math achievement and smaller SES gaps in math achievement. Wealthier countries exhibited higher average math achievement and a narrower variation. Higher income inequality (measured by the Gini index) was associated with a lower average math achievement and larger SES gaps. Further, we found that a higher level of standardisation alleviates the negative effects of differentiation in the systems with more rigid tracking.     

Estimating the co-development of executive functions and math achievement throughout the elementary grades using a cross-lagged panel model with fixed effects

Executive functioning (EF) is associated with children’s math skill development, both concurrently and longitudinally. However, it is not known how components of EF might be related to mathematics skills and vice versa over the course of elementary school. The present study addresses this issue by investigating relations between math achievement and two key components of EF -- working memory (WM) and cognitive flexibility (CF) -- from kindergarten to 5th grade, using the large-scale nationally representative dataset (N = 18,174) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten (ECLS-K: 2011). Results from cross-lagged panel models with fixed effects support a transactional theoretical model, demonstrating a long-term reciprocal relationship between WM and math achievement from kindergarten to 5th grade and between CF and math achievement from 2nd grade to 5th grade. However, we found that reciprocal relations decrease as children grow older, suggesting that their math achievement relies less on EF and more on prior math knowledge over time.     

Maternal psychological functioning and children's school readiness: The mediating role of home environments for African American children

Decades of educational research has documented an achievement gap in kindergarten reading and math achievement between African American children and their European American counterparts. Research has also shown that specific parenting practices (e.g., home literacy involvement) have the potential to narrow school readiness gaps by at least half. The current study examined whether and how maternal depression and parenting stress may influence specific parenting practices, as well as whether maternal warmth, home learning stimulation and cultural socialization mediated the relation between maternal depression, parenting stress, and children's kindergarten reading and math achievement. Path analyses revealed a direct negative effect of maternal depression and parenting stress on maternal warmth, home learning stimulation, and cultural socialization. Home learning stimulation emerged as an important mediator between maternal parenting stress and math achievement. Further, maternal warmth mediated the relation between maternal depression and reading achievement. Implications for early childhood research, practice and policy are discussed.     

Longitudinal Relations Among Parents' Reactions to Children's Negative Emotions,Effortful Control,and Math Achievement in Early Elementary School

Panel mediation models and fixed‐effects models were used to explore longitudinal relations among parents' reactions to children's displays of negative emotions, children's effortful control (EC), and children's math achievement (N = 291; M age in fall of kindergarten = 5.66 years, SD = .39 year) across kindergarten through second grade. Parents reported their reactions and children's EC. Math achievement was assessed with a standardized achievement test. First‐grade EC mediated the relation between parents' reactions at kindergarten and second‐grade math achievement, beyond stability in constructs across study years. Panel mediation model results suggested that socialization of EC may be one method of promoting math achievement in early school; however, when all omitted time‐invariant covariates of EC and math achievement were controlled, first‐grade EC no longer predicted second‐grade math achievement.     

Ethnic enclaves—Cul-de-sacs or conduits: Differential aspirations in Greek American,Caucasian American,Latino, and Asian American neighborhoods in New York City

This chapter describes eight studies that were conducted with culturally distinct groups living in ethnic enclaves in New York City. Four o fthe studies (involving 1, 447 students) analyzed the effects of SES, family structure variables, family processes, math self-concept, and prior ability on children's math achievement (interconnections within the Walberg productivity model). Four qualitative studies were also conducted with high achieving children and their parents (158 interviews) to secure in-depth information about how th four ethnic groups used different family processes to bolster achievement. The results of these studies show that cultural/ethnic differences had greater effects on math achievement than SES. The children's reading achievement was found to be the most important predictor for math achievement in all the ethnic/gender groups. Excessive pressure and parental help were found to have negative effects on math achievement. However, parental support and the provision of extensive intellectual resources were found to strengthen reading achievement. These processes indirectly affect math achievement. Finally, the qualitative and quantitative data from these eigth studies show that most ethnic/gender groups facilitated their children's achievement (serve as conduits). The Greek Americans, however, attempted to channel their girls into traditional family roles, and Latino families, because of their limited economic resources, were found to marginalize their boys' school experience (cul-de-sacs).     

The developmental dynamics of task-avoidant behavior and math performance in kindergarten and elementary school

Besides cognitive factors, children's learning at school may be influenced by more dynamic phenomena, such as motivation and achievement-related task-avoidant behavior. The present study examined the developmental dynamics of task-avoidant behavior and math performance from kindergarten to Grade 4. A total of 225 children were tested for their arithmetic skills in kindergarten and in Grades 1, 2, and 4 of elementary school. Children's task-avoidant behavior in learning situations was rated by their teachers. The results of latent growth curve analyses showed that math performance and task-avoidant behavior develop in tandem: an increase in task-avoidant behavior was related to less improvement in math performance. Furthermore, a high initial level of task-avoidant behavior predicted less improvement and slower improvement in math later on.     

Protective Factors for School Readiness Among Children in Poverty

The economic status of families and their children's learning outcomes are closely related. For example, children living in poverty tend to score worse on measures of reading and math performance than their more affluent peers, and this achievement gap is present by kindergarten. In this study, we identified protective factors associated with school readiness among an Arizona sample of children living at or below the federal poverty line (N = 230). Using multiple linear regression, we examined the association between assessments of school readiness, health status, childcare hours, home language, parent engagement, and parent education. We found that increased weekly childcare hours and better health were associated with higher proficiency in math, literacy, and approaches to learning, and may serve as resilience factors for children in poverty that may contribute to closing the achievement gap.     

Executive function facilitates learning from math instruction in kindergarten: Evidence from the ECLS-K

Extensive evidence has suggested mathematical skill in early childhood is a robust predictor of children's later academic skills and eventual labor market outcomes; however, there is substantial heterogeneity in the degree to which different students learn from the same instructional contexts. Using data from N = 12,082 children enrolled in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort, this paper employs a latent piecewise growth curve modeling approach to investigate the role of classroom math instruction and executive function and approaches to learning in the development of mathematical skills in kindergarten, first, and second grade. Findings suggest that overall instructional frequency relates to math development in kindergarten through second, and that this is driven by exposure to advanced content in kindergarten. Further, executive function moderates children's learning in kindergarten, such that children with higher levels of executive function benefit more from instruction than do those with lower levels.     

Cognition and classroom quality as predictors of math achievement in the kindergarten year

Using a sample of 171 children, we examined classroom quality as a potential moderator of the link between three distinct but related aspects of cognition (fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence, and executive functioning) and math achievement across the kindergarten year. Multilevel modeling analyses were conducted to account for nesting of students within classrooms. Results revealed significant aptitude by treatment interactions for fluid and crystallized intelligence, suggesting that classroom practices may affect children differently depending on their abilities. Children with higher levels of fluid intelligence and of crystallized intelligence fared better in higher quality classrooms. Results also provide some support for Cattell's investment hypothesis. Implications of the results are discussed.     

Longitudinal Associations Among Executive Function,Visuomotor Integration,and Achievement in a High‐Risk Sample

The present study examines cross‐lagged associations among executive function, visuomotor skills, and math and reading achievement from kindergarten to second grade. Both executive function and visuomotor integration tend to be delayed in socioeconomically disadvantaged children and can explain nearly half the achievement gap at kindergarten entry. Participants were 259 students enrolled in elementary schools serving predominantly low‐income communities with multiple sociodemographic risk factors. Executive function at multiple time points predicted reading and math achievement. However, visuomotor integration in kindergarten alone predicted later reading and math. Initially, math predicts later reading. Subsequently, reading predicts later math.     

The immigrant paradox and math self-concept: An SES-of-origin-country hypothesis

The immigrant paradox is the phenomenon where recent immigrants have better outcomes than individuals from native-born families. Although limited past research has shown the paradox to exist for math self-concept, neither its exact nature nor a theoretical explanation for its existence have been reported. Using Australian cohort data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003 (N = 12,551) and 2012 (N = 14,481), we first establish that immigrant students have higher math self-concepts than native students, controlling for gender and absolute parental socioeconomic status (SES), and show that it is similar to—albeit weaker than—the expectation-achievement gap. We then provide an SES-of-origin-country hypothesis as a contextual explanation for this effect; we show that the immigrant paradox for both math self-concept and educational expectations substantially reduces when accounting for parents' SES relative to their country-of-origin. Our findings suggest that the paradox for math self-concept and educational expectations may partly result from immigrant parents’ socioeconomic advantage in their home countries.     

A Multilevel Analysis of Asian Immigrant Children’s Reading Achievement in the Early Years: Evidence from the ECLS-K Data

This study investigates 1.5 generation¹ Asian immigrant children’s (n = 264) early literacy achievement patterns, treating them as a heterogeneous group. Specifically, the within-group variances in reading achievement from kindergarten to third grade are examined, drawing on four waves of data from the ECLS-K class of 1998–1999. Our analysis shows that ethnicity plays a role in shaping the children’s initial reading readiness and later growth, but the effects of languages spoken at home are not significant. Our analysis also demonstrates a persistent achievement gap between low- and high-socioeconomic status (SES) Asian groups. However, gender difference in terms of children’s reading development is not found to be significant. There is also no interaction between SES and the other factors such as gender, ethnicity and language backgrounds.     

Growing up in Taiwan: The impact of environmental influences on the math olympians

Thirty-six Math Olympians (34 males and 2 females) served as the subjects in a study that asked two questions: (1) What family and school factors contribute to the development of the math talent of the Olympians? (2) What impact did the Olympiad program have on these mathematically talented students? The data were collected by means of questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews. The major findings were as follows: (1) the Olympians were mostly the first-born child in small families and were “discovered” at an early age; (2) most Olympians ranked high in their class; (3) the SES of the Olympians' families were varied, though the majority were high; (4) the Olympians' family support and learning environment were strong and positive; (5) the Olympiad experiences were, in general, positive for the subjects, especially in learning, forming positive attitudes toward math and science, self-esteem, autonomous learning, and creative problem solving; (6) there were almost no special programs designed for the Olympians during their college years; (7) the degree of computer literacy was varied according to the subject's personal interest and the accessibility to the computer; and (8) most Olympians had not shown special achievement other than math.     

Early parenting and the reduction of educational inequality in childhood and adolescence

Socioeconomic status (SES) differences in parenting are often implicated in widening the SES-achievement gap. Using nationally representative data (N = 12,887), the author tested for variation across SES in the types and intensity of parenting behaviors utilized and then examined SES differences in the relationship between parenting and student achievement growth from kindergarten to Grade 8. Exploratory factor analysis identifies three dimensions of early parenting: Educational engagement, stimulating parent–child interaction, and discursive discipline. Regression results indicate that all three are used most heavily by high-SES families. However, only educational engagement consistently predicts achievement growth. Surprisingly, it is positively associated with achievement for lower-, but not higher-SES students in Grades 1–8. Further, educational engagement is beneficial for low-SES children because it is particularly beneficial for low-achieving students, consistent with a compensatory hypothesis.     

Effects of Class Size and Length of Day on Kindergartners' Academic Achievement: Findings from Early Childhood Longitudinal Study

The study explored the effects of two kindergarten program organization factors—length of school day and class size—on kindergartners' reading, math and general knowledge achievement at the end of the kindergarten year. Two waves of data were drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) with an analytic sample of 15,575 children. A slight positive relationship was found between small class size and children's achievement in reading and math, particularly for children from minority and lower SES backgrounds. No relationship was linked with class size and general knowledge achievement. The relationship between full-day program and the three early academic skills was positive and statistically significant: almost all children made slightly higher gains in full-day programs compared with their counterparts in part-day programs. The findings suggest that policy makers may consider reducing very large class size and making full-day programs available to young children, particularly to poor minority children, at the same time aligning class size and length of kindergarten day with a child's characteristics and school curriculum.     

Distinct Influences of Mothers and Fathers on Kindergartners’ Numeracy Performance: The Role of Math Anxiety,Home Numeracy Practices,and Numeracy Expectations

The current study analyzed maternal and paternal differential influences on numeracy performance in kindergarten children. Participants were 180 Chilean children from backgrounds of low and high socioeconomic status (SES), their mothers, and their fathers. A path analysis was used to explore the influences of both maternal and paternal numeracy practices on children’s numeracy performance and the influences of maternal and paternal expectations and anxiety on those activities. Research Findings: Results showed that mothers and fathers who endorse higher numeracy expectations for their children and who report lower levels of math anxiety also report engaging more frequently in advanced numeracy practices with their children. Mothers’—but not fathers’—engagement in numeracy practices at home predicted children’s numeracy performance. Also, low-SES mothers engaged more frequently in numeracy practices with their children, and mothers in general engaged more often in numeracy activities with girls than with boys. Practice or Policy: These findings improve understanding of how maternal and paternal processes relate differently to numeracy performance in kindergarten children. Moreover, these results highlight the need to take into account parents’ numeracy attitudes and practices, as well as their SES, when designing interventions directed at increasing family support for math achievement.     

Groupitizing reflects conceptual developments in math cognition and inequities in math achievement from childhood through adolescence

Understanding the cognitive processes central to mathematical development is crucial to addressing systemic inequities in math achievement. We investigate the “Groupitizing” ability in 1209 third to eighth graders (mean age at first timepoint = 10.48, 586 girls, 39.16% Asian, 28.88% Hispanic/Latino, 18.51% White), a process that captures the ability to use grouping cues to access the exact value of a set. Groupitizing improves each year from late childhood to early adolescence (d = 3.29), is a central predictor of math achievement (beta weight = .30), is linked to conceptual processes in mathematics (minimum d = 0.69), and helps explain the dynamic between the ongoing development of non-symbolic number concepts, systemic educational inequities in school associated with SES, and mathematics achievement (minimum beta weight = .11) in ways that explicit symbolic measures may miss.