Abstract Title Pa#e

Not included in page count.

Title$
The Relation beteen Parental %n&ol&ement and 'ath An(iet)$ %mplications for
'athematics Achie&ement
Author*s+$
Ste&en ," Roberts
Rose -" .u/o&ic
0e 1or/ 2ni&ersit)
SREE Fall 2011 Conference !stract "e#plate
Abstract 3od)
$i#it % pages single spaced.
3ac/#round 4 Conte(t$
&escription of prior research and its intellectual conte't.
Students living in urban conte+ts" esecially students from lo)er2income families"
minority $races other than ,hite' students" and English language learners" e+erience decreased
mathematics scores across all levels of education $*lantey et al." 2009'. These students are more
likely to attend high2overty elementary schools" more likely to dro out of high school" and less
likely to earn a college degree $*lantey et al." 2009'. !oreover" these students are reeatedly
found to under erform on mathematics e+ams $:anushek 6 Rivkin" 200;' and are reeatedly
underreresented in advanced mathematics courses $(tte)ell 6 5omina" 2009'. These
e+eriences may have dire conse<uences on the everyday lives of these students" as mathematics
skills are essential not only imortant for school success" but also for career advancement and
daily functioning $Commission" 2000'. ,ith this in mind" it is essential that methods in )hich
mathematics achievement can be enhanced are thoroughly researched so that academically
stigmati=ed students )ill be better reared to meet the demands of our increasingly
technological society $Council" 2001'.
>ne romising avenue to further e+lore is the role of arental involvement" )hich has a
rofound effect on children?s mathematics achievement $@on=ale=" ,olters" 200;'. :o)ever"
the underlying mechanisms in )hich arental involvement influences children?s mathematics
achievement are still unclear $Aeynes" 200B'. !ath an+iety may be one of these mechanisms.
Research suggests that arental involvement reduces math an+iety and that math an+iety reduces
mathematics achievement $@eist" 2007'. :o)ever" no research has e+amined if math an+iety
mediates the relation bet)een arental involvement and mathematics achievement. This research
has imortant imlications for understanding factors that influence mathematics achievement in
students living in urban conte+ts.
Purpose 4 ,b5ecti&e 4 Research 6uestion 4 Focus of Stud)$
&escription of the focus of the research.
*revious research served as the latform for this study?s research <uestion- 1' 5oes math
an+iety mediate the relation bet)een arental involvement and mathematics achievementC The
rimary urose of this study )as to e+amine this mediation model in a samle of at2risk second
graders. 5ue to revious research" the investigators hyothesi=ed that math an+iety )ould
mediate the relation bet)een arental involvement and mathematics achievement. The obDective
of this study )as to achieve a greater understanding of factors that hinder or romote
mathematics achievement in at2risk students. Thus" the focus of this study )as on the
mathematics achievement of second grade students living in urban conte+ts.
Settin#$
&escription of the research location.
This study )as conducted in t)o Title 1 elementary schools located in #e) Eork City.
5ata )ere collected in ,ave 1 )hile articiants )ere in 2nd grade $2007'.
SREE Fall 2011 Conference !stract "e#plate ()1
Population 4 Participants 4 Sub5ects$
&escription of the participants in the stud*+ ,ho, ho, #an*, -e* features, or characteristics.
Seventy2eight second grade children $F1G H female' and their arents articiated in this
study. Fifty2seven ercent of these children )ere (frican (merican" 2BG :isanic" 1G ,hite"
and 1FG )ere unidentified. #inety2t)o ercent of the children received either free or reduced
lunch. T)enty2five ercent of arents )ere unemloyed. Si+ty2four ercent of mothers and F9G
of fathers reorted their education as a high school diloma or less.
%nter&ention 4 Pro#ram 4 Practice$
&escription of the inter.ention, progra#, or practice, including details of ad#inistration and duration.
For "rac- 2, this #a* include the de.elop#ent and .alidation of a #easure#ent instru#ent.
This study utili=es an e+isting data set in order to e+amine the relation bet)een arental
involvement" math an+iety" and mathematics achievement in hoes to identify factors that
imrove mathematics achievement in students. 4y e+amining this relation" findings could enable
educational interventions to emloy strategies that raise a)areness of math an+iety in arents"
and moreover" engage arents to successfully combat these hindrances. The goal of these
educational interventions should be to increase mathematics achievement in students living in
urban conte+ts.
Research 7esi#n$
&escription of the research design.
This study )as conducted )ithin the conte+t of a longitudinal correlation study. 3n this study" the
focus )as on a cross2sectional samle of second grade students.
7ata Collection and Anal)sis$
&escription of the #ethods for collecting and anal*/ing data.
For "rac- 2, this #a* include the use of e'isting datasets.
Research assistants visited classrooms in late fall to distribute consent ackets. *arents
returned comleted forms and arental involvement surveys to the rincial investigator in a
sealed enveloe. Consent ackets )ere re2distributed bi2)eekly to children )ho did not return
consent forms. 5ata collection )ith the children occurred bet)een Aanuary and !arch. Research
assistants comleted an intensive four2hour training )orksho on standardi=ed administration"
)hich included demonstrating 100G accuracy during mock administration. Research assistants
conducted the assessments in the schools. 3n addition" a school sychology doctoral student )as
resent during data collection so that <uestions and coaching occurred )hen necessary
throughout data collection.
'athematics abilit). For algebraic reasoning" the 0e* 1ath)"hird Edition $Iey!ath&J
Connolly" 200B' )as administered. For children in early elementary school" the items assess re2
algebraic concets and relations. Children have F2B minutes to ans)er number sentences $e.g."
si+ lus some number e<uals ten. *oint to the missing number'" describe atterns and functions
$e.g." Kook at ho) this attern is gro)ing" ,hich shae comes ne+t in this atternC'" and
reresent mathematical relations" $e.g." Eight e<uals si+ lus )hat numberC'. The ublisher
reorts reliability of .9& for second graders.
SREE Fall 2011 Conference !stract "e#plate ()2
,ith Story *roblems $Aordan 6 :anich" 2000" 200&' children solve 1F brief roblems
involving three story tyes- change roblems $e.g." Tanisha had F ennies. Then Tyra gave her 2
more ennies. :o) many ennies does Tanisha have no)C'J comare roblems $e.g." Chelsea
has B ennies. Sean has F ennies. :o) many more ennies does Chelsea have than SeanC'J and
e<uali=e roblems $e.g." Rachel has % ennies. Iatie has 7 ennies. :o) many more ennies
does Rachel need to have as many as IatieC'. The e+erimenter reads them aloud and students
have &0 seconds to resond. Coefficient alha on this samle )as .9%.
For rocedural skills" the Stanford &iagnostics 1athe#atics "est)Fourth Edition
$S5!T2%' )as administered in a 2F minute grou assessment. :ere" children ans)er 202multile
choice <uestions in arithmetic notation. The ublisher reorts Iuder2Richardson Formula 20
reliability of .9% for second graders.
*arental involvement )as measured by a researcher2develoed survey )hich
incororated F items based loosely on :oover25emsey and Sandler $177F" 177BJ ,alker et al."
200F' but focused secifically to)ards mathematics achievement $e.g." 3 hel my child study for
math tests at homeJ 3 believe my child is good at math'. The survey utili=ed a Kikert scale
ranging from 1 $disagree strongly' 8 ; $strongly agree'. Coefficient alha on this samle )as .9%.
( full list of items are resented in Table 1.
Seven items from a researcher develoed scale $i.e." The 1ath n'iet* in 2oung Children
Scale' assessed math an+iety through children?s negative reactions and feelings to)ards math
$e.g." 3 get nervous about making a mistake in math classJ ,hen it is time for math my head
hurts'. These items have a Cronbach?s alha of .91. ( full list of items are resented in Table 1
$lease insert Table 1 here'.
3n order to e+amine if math an+iety mediates the relation bet)een arental involvement
and mathematics achievement" a multile regression analysis )as conducted in accordance to the
four stes discussed by 4aron 6 Ienny $179;'. 3n ste 1" the effect of arental involvement on
mathematics achievement )as assessed. This ste establishes that there is an effect that may be
mediated. 3n ste 2" arental involvement served as the redictor and math an+iety served as the
deendent variable. 3n ste &" math an+iety served as the redictor variable )ith mathematics
achievement served as the deendent variable. Kastly" in ste %" the effect of arental
involvement on mathematics achievement )as measured after controlling for math an+iety.
(ccording to 4aron 6 Ienny $179;'" if all % stes are met" then math an+iety comletely
mediates the relation bet)een arental involvement and mathematics achievement.
Findin#s 4 Results$
&escription of the #ain findings ,ith specific details.
(s e+ected" arental involvement )as ositively correlated )ith mathematics
achievement" and math an+iety )as negatively correlated )ith mathematics achievement $see
Table 2'. Furthermore" arental involvement )as negatively associated )ith math an+iety $r H
21.%;" p H .02'. The relation bet)een arental involvement and mathematics achievement as
mediated by math an+iety resented itself to be more nuanced than e+ected. !ath an+iety
mediated the relationshi bet)een algebraic reasoning and story roblems. (s Table & and %
dislay" the standardi=ed regression coefficients bet)een arental involvement and both
algebraic reasoning and story roblems )as significantly reduced )hen controlling for math
an+iety. :o)ever" math an+iety did not mediate the relation bet)een arental involvement and
rocedural skills $lease insert Tables &" % and F here'.
SREE Fall 2011 Conference !stract "e#plate ()3
Conclusions$
&escription of conclusions, reco##endations, and li#itations !ased on findings.
The results of this study suggest that the role of math an+iety in understanding the
relation bet)een arental involvement and mathematics achievement deends on the tye of
mathematics. For algebraic reasoning and story roblem outcomes" arental involvement might
e+ert its influence on children?s math achievement through reducing math an+iety. :o)ever"
kno)ing a child?s level of math an+iety does not hel e+lain the relation bet)een arental
involvement and rocedural skills. These findings suggest that the relation bet)een arental
involvement and overall mathematics achievement is multi2dimensional and that math an+iety is
not the only underlying mechanism affecting this relationshi.
3ncreasing mathematics achievement is imortant for all students" but esecially for
students in urban ublic schools that are characteri=ed by lo) achievement. The findings in this
study suggest that educational interventions that make it their focus to enhance arental
involvement" may find students? mathematics achievement to no longer be hindered by the
negative effects of math an+iety. This has imortant imlications" as increased mathematics
cometence is associated )ith entry to science" technological" engineering" and mathematics
discilines in higher education $#ational !athematics (dvisory *anel" 2009'. The results of this
study and the imortance of mathematics call for further research in order to develo ractical
interventions that )ill benefit students in urban conte+ts.
The cross2sectional design of this study recludes causal claims. Therefore" future
research is needed to e+amine ho) this relation develos over time. Furthermore" since this study
suggests that arental involvement cannot hinder the deleterious effects of math an+iety on all
tyes of mathematics" future research is needed to test this model on more tyes of mathematical
outcomes.
Thank you for revie)ing this submission.
SREE Fall 2011 Conference !stract "e#plate ()%
Appendices
Not included in page count.
Appendi( A" References
References are to !e in 3 .ersion 4 for#at.
(tte)ell" *." Thurston" 5. $2009'. Raising the 4ar- Curricular 3ntensity and (cademic
*erformance. Educational E.aluation and 3olic* nal*sis, 30$1'" F12B1.
4aron" R. !." 6 Ienny" 5. (. $179;'. The moderator2mediator variable distinction in social
sychological research- Concetual" strategic and statistical considerations. 5ournal of
Social 3s*cholog*, 61, 11B&21192.
Connolly" (. A. $200B'. 0e*1ath &iagnostic ssess#ent 7 "hird Edition. !inneaolis" !#-
*earson" 3nc.
Commission @. $2000'. 4efore it?s too late- a reort to the nation from the #ational Commission
on !ath and Science Teaching for the 21
st
Century- L.S. 5eartment of Education.
Council" #.R. $2001'. dding it up+ helping children learn #ath. 3n- Iilatrick A" S)afford A"
Findell 4. $Eds.'" !ath Kearning Study Committee" Center for Education" 5ivision of
4ehavioral and Social Sciences and Education. ,ashington" 5.C- #ational (cademy
*ress.
@eist" E. $2010'. The anti2an+iety curriculum- Combating math an+iety in the classroom.
5ournal of 8nstructional 3s*cholog*, 39$1'" 2%2&1.
@on=ale=" (.K." ,olters" C.(. $200;'. The relationshi bet)een erceived arenting ractices
and achievement motivation in mathematics. 5ournal of Research in Childhood
Education, 21$2'" 20&221B.
:oover25emsey" I. M." Sandler" :. !. $177F'. *arental involvement in children?s education-
,hy does it make a differenceC "eachers College Record, :9$2'" &102&&1.
:oover25emsey" I. M." Sandler" :. !. $177B'. ,hy do arents become involved in their
children?s educationC Re.ie, of Educational Research, 49$1'" &2%2.
:anushek" E. (." 6 Rivkin" S. @. $200;'. School <uality and the black2)hite achievement ga.
#4ER ,12;F1. Cambridge" !(- #ational 4ureau of Economic Research.
Aeynes" ,.:. $200B'. The Relationshi bet)een *arental 3nvolvement and Lrban Secondary
School Student (cademic (chievement- ( !eta2(nalysis. ;r!an chie.e#ent, %2$1'"
922110.
Aordan" #. C." 6 :anich" K. 4. $2000'. !athematical thinking in second2grade children )ith
different forms of K5. 5ournal of $earning &isa!ilities, 33$F'" F;B.
Aordan" #. C." 6 :anich" K. 4. $2000'. Characteristics of children )ith moderate mathematics
deficiencies- ( longitudinal ersective. $earning &isa!ilities Research < 3ractice,
1=$%'" 21&2221.
#ational !ath (dvisory *anel. $2009'. Foundations for success- The final reort of the national
math advisory anel" L.S. 5eartment of education- ,ashington" 5C.
*lantey" !." :ussar" ,." Snyder" T." Iena" @." Ie)alRamani" (." Iem" A." 4ianco" I." 5inkes"
R. $2007'. "he Condition of Education 200: $#CES 20072091'. #ational Center for
Education Statistics" 3nstitute of Education Sciences" L.S. 5eartment of Education.
,ashington" 5C.
,alker" A. !. T." ,ilkins" (. S." 5allaire" A. R." Sandler" :. !." 6 :oover25emsey" I. M.
$200F'. *arental involvement- !odel revision through scale develoment. "he
Ele#entar* School 5ournal, 104, 9F210%.
SREE Fall 2011 Conference !stract "e#plate ()6
Appendi( 3" Tables and Fi#ures
Not included in page count.
Table 1
*arental 3nvolvement and !ath (n+iety Scales
Scale 3tems N
1. *arental 3nvolvement 1. 3 hel my child study for math tests at
home
.B&
2. 3 believe my child has trouble )ith math
&. 3 never do math activities )ith my child
%. 3 e+ect my child to get good grades in
math
F. 3 believe my child )ill erform )ell in
math in future grades
2. !ath (n+iety in
Eoung Children
1. 3 )orry about not doing )ell in math class .91
2. ,hen it is time for math my head hurts
&. 3 get nervous about making a mistake in
math class
%. 3 am scared in math class
F. !ath gives me a stomachache
;. ,hen it is time for math my heart beats fast
B. @etting out my math books makes me
nervous
SREE Fall 2011 Conference !stract "e#plate ()4
Table 2
5escritive Statistics
Mariable ! $S&' 1 2 & %
1. Conte+tual !ath $(lgebra' 2F.29 $21.=6' 22
2. *rocedural !ath $S5!T' &&.%7 $2%.::' .%9OO 22
&. *arental 3nvolvement 2&.9F $%.2%' .2BOO .29O 22
%. !ath (n+iety 12.B1 $6.64' 2.&1OO 2.22O 2.2BO 22
Note. For ease of interretation" S5!T is resented in ercentiles and the other variables are
resented in ra) scoresJ analyses )ere conducted on standard scores or factor scores.
Op P .0F. OOp P .01. OOOp P.001.
Table 8
(lgebraic Reasoning !ediation !odel $Stes 1 through %'
( (SE) >
(lgebra
3arental 8n.ol.e#ent on lge!ra F(1, 99) ? 4.03, p ? .02, R
2
? .09%
*arental 3nvolvement .;9 $.29'O .2B
3arental 8n.ol.e#ent on Reactions F(1, 99) ? 6.=6, p @ .06, R
2
? .091
*arental 3nvolvement 21.%B $.;1'O 2.2B
Reactions on lge!ra F(1, 99) ? =.0=, p @ .01, R
2
? .0:4
Reactions 21.%9 $.0F'O 2.&1
1ediation F(2, 94) ? 6.=1, p @ .06, R
2
? .13%
Reactions 2.12 $.0F'O 2.2;
*arental 3nvolvement .F1 $.29' .20&
Op P .0F. OOp P .01. OOOp P.001.
SREE Fall 2011 Conference !stract "e#plate ()9
Table 9
Story *roblems !ediation !odel $Stes 1 through %'
( (SE) >
Story *roblems
3arental 8n.ol.e#ent on Stor* 3ro!le#s F(1, 99) ? %.:=, p @ .06, R
2
? .041
*arental 3nvolvement .7B $.%%'O .2F
3arental 8n.ol.e#ent on Reactions F(1, 99) ? 6.=6, p ? .02, R
2
? .091
*arental 3nvolvement 21.%B $.;1'O 2.2B
Reactions on Stor* 3ro!le#s F(1, 99) ? 11.34, p ? .001, R
2
? .130
Reactions 2.2; $.09'OOO 2.&;
1ediation F(2, 94) ? 4.=9, p ? .002, R
2
? .166
Reactions 2.2& $.09'OO 2.&2
*arental 3nvolvement .;% $.%&' .1;
Op P .0F. OOp P .01. OOOp P.001.
Table :
*rocedural Skills !ediation !odel $Stes 1 through %'
( (SE) >
*rocedural Skills $S5!T'
3arental 8n.ol.e#ent on S&1" F(1, 99) ? 4.%4, p @ .06, R
2
? .09=
*arental 3nvolvement 12.FB $%.7%'O .29
3arental 8n.ol.e#ent on Reactions F(1, 99) ? 6.=6, p ? .02, R
2
? .091
*arental 3nvolvement 21.%B $.;1'O 2.2B
Reactions on S&1" F(1, 99) ? 3.:6, p? .061, R
2
? .102
Reactions 21.92 $.72'O 2.22
1ediation F(2, 94) ? %.2=, p @ .06, R
2
? .0%:
Reactions 21.&0 $.7&' 2.1;
*arental 3nvolvement 10.;F $F.07'O .2%
Op P .0F. OOp P .01. OOOp P.001.
SREE Fall 2011 Conference !stract "e#plate ()=