Abstract
Parental assessment of childrens mathematical ability plays an important role, either directly or indirectly, in a childs mathematical development. In China, mothers look after children much more than fathers do. The present study explored (1) the characteristics of Chinese mothers assessment of their childrens mathematical development, (2) the factors that influence the accuracy of Chinese mothers assessment, and (3) the relationship between maternal assessment and childrens mathematical development.
Fifty-one children (28 boys and 23 girls) aged 4 ~ 5 years from 9 different Kindergartens completed a child mathematics assessment (CMA, Klein, 1999; Cronbachα = 0.92) in the first and second attempts; however, only 48 children completed the assessment in the third attempt. Children who passed in 1 item earned 1 point. Fifty-one mothers (25 with above high school education and 26 with high school and below high school education) were asked to predict their childrens total points in the CMA presented in the questionnaire only at the second attempt.
An ANOVA revealed significant difference between mothers assessments of boys and girls (F(1, 47) = 8.98, p < 0.05), no significant difference in assessments of mothers with different educational levels (F(1, 47) = 1.22, p > 0.05), and no significant interaction between gender and mothers educational level (F(1, 47) = 0.14, p > 0.05). Maternal assessments and childrens scores (the second test) did not correlate significantly (r = 0.23, p > 0.05). Further, 94% mothers gave inconsistent scores ranging from 1 ~ 18 points. An ANOVA with 2 (gender) 2 (education) 3 (childrens performance level in the first test) revealed that only the main effect of childrens performance level was significant (F(2, 40) = 4.67, p < 0.05). The maternal assessment accuracy and childrens scores (the second test) correlated significantly (r = 0.79, p < 0.001). When the childrens scores in the first and second tests were controlled, an ANCOVA revealed that the maternal assessment accuracy significantly predicted the development of childrens mathematical abilities (the third test) (F(2, 42) = 6.71, p < 0.01).
In summary, mothers tend to overestimate their childrens mathematical ability. Different from maternal educational level and childrens gender, the maternal assessment accuracy varied with the childrens previous mathematical performance, and mothers more accurately assessed children with high mathematical ability. The maternal assessment accuracy was positively related to the childrens performance; moreover, overestimation by mothers to some extent could be propitious to promote their childrens mathematical development later. All these results suggest that the educators should be aware of the importance of scientific assessments of childrens mathematical abilities and adjust their thoughts and behaviors; thus, the development of childrens mathematical abilities was facilitated.
Keywords: | children; maternal assessment; mathematical ability assessment; mathematical cognitive development |
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