Controlling-Supportive Homework Help Partially Explains the Relation between Parents’ Math Anxiety and Children’s Math Achievement

Fraulein Retanal,Nichole B Johnston,Erin A Maloney,Andie Storozuk,Michela Distefano,Sabrina M Di Lonardo Burr

doi:10.3390/educsci11100620

Fraulein Retanal, Nichole B Johnston + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11100620

Copy DOI

Abstract

Previous research has shown that math homework help of higher-math-anxious parents impedes children’s math learning and facilitates the development of math anxiety. In the present study, we explored a possible explanation for this phenomenon by examining the relations between parents’ math anxiety, their math homework-helping styles (i.e., autonomy- and controlling-supportive), and their child’s math achievement. Parents of children ages 11 to 14 completed an online survey. Using path analysis, we examined the relations among parental factors (i.e., math anxiety, math ability, and homework-helping styles) and child math achievement. Parents’ math anxiety was positively related to both autonomy-supportive and controlling-supportive math homework-helping styles. Notably, controlling-supportive style partially mediated the relation between parents’ math anxiety and their children’s math achievement. Thus, it is possible that the use of a controlling-supportive math homework-helping style may explain why the homework help offered by higher-math-anxious parents is detrimental to their children’s math learning. Identifying negative relations between parent factors and children’s math outcomes is crucial for developing evidence-based math learning interventions.

Highlights

Published: 11 October 2021Math anxiety, which can be defined as feelings of apprehension, tension, and/or fear about math, has a negative effect on math success
Math ability (r = 0.26, p < 0.05) and child math achievement (r = 0.33, p < 0.001), and parent gender was significantly correlated with homework-helping styles, we controlled for both parent education and parent gender in the subsequent analyses
Child’s grade in school was significantly correlated with parents’ general anxiety (r = −0.15, p < 0.05) and math anxiety (r = −0.22, p < 0.001), it was only weakly correlated with two homework-helping styles and it was not significantly correlated with child math achievement (r = 0.02, p > 0.05 ); we did not include it in the subsequent analyses

Summary

Introduction

Math anxiety, which can be defined as feelings of apprehension, tension, and/or fear about math, has a negative effect on math success (for a review see [1]). Students who are math anxious are more likely than their non-math-anxious peers to score lower on tests of math achievement and to avoid coursework, degrees, and career paths that involve math [2,3,4]. In the context of the school environment, negative relations have been found between early elementary teachers’ math anxiety and their students’ math achievement such that when teachers are higher in math anxiety, their students learn less math [5,6,7]. Parents’ attitudes towards math can have important implications for their children’s math learning and math attitudes [10]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion