Parent-Children Relationship Is Key To Development Of Good Math Skills

A U.K. study found that the relationship between a parent and a child is a contributory factor in how well the child's math skills develop. The study looked at the kind of relationship parents and children have vis-a-vis how well the child does in math.

In a study published in the Royal Society Open Science journal, researchers Danielle Evans and Andy Field from the University of Sussex, found that the relationship of children with their parents creates a huge impact on how well kids learn math in school. The academics described their data based on ongoing research that aims to learn about how children are growing up in the U.K. and what children learned as they grew older.

The researchers noted that the U.K. suffers from what they called a "maths crisis." They noted that half of its adults are not faring well when it comes to mathematics. It also claimed that many of their skills are comparable to that of a child in kindergarten.

One effect that researchers noted is that the deficiency in mathematics creates a dire effect when it comes to employment opportunities later on in life. A consequence of this is the addition of more individuals placed in the lower end of the economic spectrum, adding to the already increasing number of marginalized in society.

The researchers turned to the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), which is a long-term study of kids in the U.K. born between April 1, 1991, and December 21, 1992. Participants in the study, both children and parents, continuously provided data for the study from the time the kids were born up to present.

For the current study, researchers looked at the environmental factors at home and compared them to math test scores that the children had as they grew up. The researchers found two factors that affected children's math scores.

The first factor was the working relationship between parents and their children. The second was the educational background of the parents.

Using Etch-a-Sketch, the ALSPAC team evaluated the aforementioned relationship by making parents and children work on a house using the said app. The team rated the manner on how the parent and the child worked together, as well as their emotional state while they were engaged in the task.

The researchers determined that the parent-child pair who worked harmoniously together resulted in a child faring well in his math scores in the class. They also found that children with one or both parents who graduated from college also did better in their math subjects.