RESUMO
Based on data for N = 2,756 children (1,410 girls; Mage = 8.10 years) from 16 data sets spanning five nations, this study investigated relations between national gender disparities and children's beliefs about gender and academic subjects. One national-level gender disparity involved inequalities in socioeconomic standing favoring adult males over females (U.N. Human Development Index). The other involved national-level gaps in standardized math achievement, favoring boys over girls (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study Grade 4). Three novel findings emerged. First, girls' results from a Child Implicit Association Test showed that implicit associations linking boys with math and girls with reading were positively related to both national male advantages in socioeconomic standing and national boy advantages in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Second, these relations were obtained for implicit but not explicit measures of children's beliefs linking gender and academic subjects. Third, implicit associations linking gender to academic subjects increased significantly as a function of children's age. We propose a psychological account of why national gender disparities are likely to influence children's developing implicit associations about gender and academic subjects, especially for girls. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
RESUMO
Resumen Introducción: el estudio analizó (a) las diferencias entre madres y padres en sus actividades matemáticas en el hogar y en otros factores del ambiente matemático (actitudes, ansiedad, creencias y expectativas matemáticas) y (b) la asociación entre los factores del ambiente matemático y las actividades matemáticas en el hogar. Método: participaron 266 familias de niños y niñas chilenos de primer a tercer grado de primaria (edad promedio = 93.35 meses, DE = 11.45 meses). Ambos padres contestaron un cuestionario sobre matemáticas en el hogar. Resultados: las madres reportaron realizar actividades matemáticas con mayor frecuencia que los padres. Análisis de ecuaciones estructurales mostraron que las actividades matemáticas realizadas por los padres se relacionaron con sus creencias, actitudes y expectativas matemáticas; mientras que las de las madres se relacionaron con sus creencias, actitudes y género de los niños. Conclusiones: los hallazgos aportan a la comprensión del ambiente matemático en el hogar.
Abstract Introduction: The study analyzes (a) the differences between mothers and fathers in their home math activities and home math environment factors (math attitudes, anxiety, beliefs, and expectations) and (b) the associations among the home math environment factors and home math activities of Chilean families. Method: Participants were 266 families of boys and girls attending grades 1-3 (mean age = 93.35 months, DS = 11.45 months). Both parents of each child independently answered a home math questionnaire. Results: Mothers reported doing more math activities with their children than fathers. The structural equation model analyses showed that the frequency with which fathers engage in home math activities was related to their math beliefs, attitudes, and expectations, whereas maternal home math activities were related to their beliefs, attitudes, and the gender of the child. Conclusions: The findings contribute to the understanding of the home math environment.
RESUMO
This study examines the relations among parental beliefs and practices about mathematics, children's beliefs about mathematics, participants' gender, and family socioeconomic status (SES). The study was conducted in Chile, a country with significant gender gaps in standardized test results in mathematics, with boys receiving significantly higher scores than girls. One hundred eighty Chilean kindergarteners (Mage = 5.6 years) of low and high SES completed both implicit and explicit measures of their beliefs about mathematics. Children's mothers and fathers also completed adult versions of these tests, as well as measures of home numeracy practices. This combination of child and parental assessments (both mother and father), including both implicit and explicit measures, provided a wider range of measures than in previous studies. On implicit measures of math-gender stereotypes, boys showed the math = boy stereotype significantly more strongly than girls did. Both fathers and mothers showed this stereotype on both implicit and explicit measures. Fathers also linked me = math (math self-concept) more strongly than mothers on both implicit and explicit measures. Kindergarten girls' implicit math self-concept was explained by a combination of parents' math self-concepts and SES. Taken together, these results show that by 5 years of age children are already developing beliefs about "who does math" in their culture, and that parental beliefs and practices are significantly linked to children's stereotypes and self-concepts about mathematics before they enter formal schooling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
