Parents' characteristics, the home environment, and children's numeracy skills: How are they related in low- to middle-income families in the Philippines?

The home numeracy environment is often assumed to play a role in early numeracy development. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive picture of the home numeracy environment of children living in low- to middle-income communities in the Philippines. Moreover, it examined the relations among various parents' characteristics, the home numeracy environment parents created, and their young children's numeracy skills. Data were collected from 290 families through parental questionnaires, numeracy tests for children, and numeracy tests for parents. Results of structural equation modeling showed that parents' education level, calculation fluency, own reported math activities, home numeracy resources and home numeracy activities all had direct associations with children's numeracy skills. Parents' calculation fluency and own math activities also had indirect links with children's numeracy skills through home numeracy resources and home numeracy activities. These findings provide insights into the question of which children are at risk for poor numeracy development and how to support children's early numeracy learning.
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