Contributions of preschool behavioral self-regulation and social skills to growth in different domains of early math knowledge

The current study explored the relative contribution of individual differences in children's behavioral self-regulation and social skills (often referred to as learning-related skills) in the fall of preschool to children's rate of growth in different domains of early math knowledge through the spring of kindergarten. Participants were 684 children (Mage = 57.6 months, SD = 3.8, at Time 1 [fall of preschool]; 48% female; 43% Black, 32% White, 13% Latine, 11% multiracial, and 1% Asian). All children were from families with low incomes and lived in the midwestern United States. The math domains of informal numeracy, formal numeracy, and math language were assessed at four time points: fall and spring of preschool and fall and spring of kindergarten. Contrary to expectations, we did not find that either learning-related skill positively predicted rate of growth in math knowledge or observe differential relations by math domain. Rather, the relative contribution of behavioral self-regulation and social skills in the fall of preschool to rate of growth in math knowledge followed similar patterns across all math domains: an early advantage for children with higher initial social skills that stayed consistent over time (i.e., a nonsignificant slope effect) and an early advantage for children with higher initial behavioral self-regulation that diminished over time (i.e., a negative slope effect).

Latina Mothers' Cultural Experiences, Beliefs, and Attitudes May Influence Children's Math Learning

Drawing from a qualitative approach and through individual pláticas (processes of co-constructing knowledge through dialogue) as a linguistic and cultural framework, this work explored informal contextual factors valued by Spanish-speaking Latina mothers of children, three to five years of age and enrolled in a nonprofit California preschool. Results revealed that Latina mothers have cultural forms of knowledge which impact their children's educational experiences and engage in direct and indirect numeracy environments. While personal math experiences and home practices differed, Latina mothers experience and navigate their children's learning based on sociocultural aspects, influencing how they support their children's math learning. This study drew from sociocultural learning theories that value learning embedded within meaningful learning experiences. Patterns of family learning have several implications for educational practice, especially for Latine families whose parent participation is typically not as visible as White American English-speaking parents.

Self-regulation in toddlers and the emergence of pre-academic disparities

A growing body of research has examined how children's self-regulation during early and middle childhood mediates SES disparities in academic achievement. Evidence suggests that these self-regulation skills begin developing even earlier, during the toddler years, but more work is needed examining how different measures of self-regulation relate to key constructs such as socioeconomic status (SES) and toddlers' pre-academic skills. In this online study, we examine multiple approaches to measuring self-regulation using confirmatory factor analyses and assess the extent to which self-regulatory skills help explain SES differences in early math and language skills among a sample of 158 two- and three-year-old children. Self-regulation was assessed through a battery of parent- and examiner-ratings. Children's counting, cardinality, and vocabulary skills were measured online through direct assessments and parent surveys. Two self-regulation factors emerged representing parent-reported and observational measures, and only observational measures of self-regulation mediated associations between SES and children's math and language skills. Parent-reported self-regulation was not uniquely related to SES or children's pre-academic skills, underscoring the need for careful consideration of how self-regulation is measured among toddlers when examining its associations with pre-academic skills.

Parents' numeracy beliefs and their early numeracy support: A synthesis of the literature

Parents' academic beliefs influence the academic support they provide to their children. In this chapter, we review the published literature on empirical studies conducted with parents of preschoolers and propose a conceptual model for how different parental numeracy beliefs uniquely and differentially influence parents' early numeracy support and vary with their demographic characteristics. Parents' numeracy beliefs about their children were more consistently related to their numeracy support than their other numeracy beliefs but were inconsistently related to demographic characteristics. Parents' numeracy beliefs about themselves were significantly related to their socioeconomic status and the extent to which their numeracy support focused on advanced early numeracy skills, but were not significantly related to how often they provided numeracy support. We also discuss parents' beliefs regarding where and how children should learn numeracy. Overall, evidence to date highlights the role of parents' beliefs about their children as well as their socioeconomic status. We discuss several future directions.

Preschoolers' broad mathematics experiences with parents during play

The current study broadens our understanding of preschoolers' early math experiences with parents, recognizing that math knowledge and experiences are inclusive of numeracy as well as non-numeracy domains. Parents and preschoolers (N = 45) were observed exploring three domains of early mathematics knowledge (i.e., number, space, and pattern) during play in three activities (playing cards, building with blocks, and stringing beads, all with activity suggestions). Children were administered a broad math and numeracy measure and individual measures of spatial and patterning skills concurrently and 7 months later. Dyads explored math broadly across most activities but emphasized number more than space or patterning. In addition, there was more overall math exploration during card and bead play than during block play, with the greatest parent support during card play. Parent support was not linked to children's skills, although children's exploration of space and patterns related moderately to their concurrent spatial and pattern skills. Overall, parents and young children explored a variety of early math domains in guided play contexts, with an emphasis on numeracy. Future work should aim to increase the breadth and rigor of individual concepts that parents and preschoolers explore during play.

Early Executive Function and Mathematics Relations: Correlation Does Not Ensure Concordance

In this chapter, we address one potentially overlooked component of the relation between executive function (EF) skills and early mathematics, a relation for which there is widespread empirical support. Evidence for this relation has, thus far, been largely correlational. Here we emphasize that because positive correlations do not guarantee concordance among all members of a sample or population, a small but meaningful number of children may either fare well in mathematics despite poor EF skills, or may have strong EF skills despite weak mathematics skills. We propose that attention to different profiles of discordance for EF and mathematics may help identify individualized learning needs for students at risk for mathematics difficulties and disabilities.