Parent-Child Fraction Talk in Home Numeracy Environment: The Role of Parental Perceptions in Predicting Parental Scaffolding Practices

The home numeracy environment (HNE) is critical to understanding why some children start school more prepared to learn math than others. The current study investigated parent-child interactions which featured discussion of fractions, contextualized in a broader study design conducted via online, at-home data collection. Specifically, this study addressed a gap in existing HNE literature by examining the unique role of parental enjoyment and parental math self-efficacy (PMSE) on scaffolding behaviors in conversation with their children. Key results showed that parental enjoyment positively predicted positive emotional scaffolding, with a gender moderation effect such that the relationship was stronger for parents of girls than boys. Additionally, child pretest performance negatively predicted explanatory cognitive scaffolding, and none of the PMSE items were correlated with any particular type of conversational scaffolding behaviors. This combination of results will inform the design of parent-focused math interventions by emphasizing the role of parental enjoyment in promoting emotionally supportive math talk, particularly for daughters.