Collaborative Research: Math Cognition In Toddlers From Latino and White Families: Contributions Of Home Experiences With Mothers and Fathers

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The proposed research, led by a team of investigators from New York University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Maryland, will address the persistent problem of low representation of particular US minorities in STEM fields. Already by school entry, children display striking individual differences in math skills that can set them on a path for high or low math performance and participation in STEM disciplines. Latino children, who are disproportionately from low-SES households, are largely vulnerable to delays in math in the school years relative to non-Latino white children, making it urgent to examine when and why this gap emerges. To this end, this project will examine the early math skills of 300 Latino and non-Latino White toddlers and their relation to the quantity and quality of math-related learning opportunities that mothers and fathers provide for their children during everyday interactions. In addition, mothers' and fathers' math abilities, attitudes toward math, and beliefs about the importance of math for children will be examined to determine which of these factors may explain variation in the provision of math-related learning opportunities in the home. Findings of this project will be communicated to educators, practitioners working with parents, staff at community agencies, and parents of young children. The project is funded by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program, which supports work that advances the fundamental research literature on STEM learning, research on workforce development, and research on broadening participation. The goals of this project are to advance science on early math cognition and aspects of the home environment that support math learning across three core systems: (1) the approximate number system (ANS), an imprecise, nonsymbolic representation of number, (2) the exact number system, a precise, symbolic representation of number, and (3) spatial math, a system that represents shapes, space, and relations among objects in space. These core systems of math are building blocks to mathematical cognition throughout the lifespan. This project will investigate core math skills in toddlers from Latino and non-Latino white backgrounds and the factors that contribute to individual differences. In a sample varying in ethnicity and SES, investigators will describe individual differences in mathematical cognition in 2- to 3-year-olds from Latino and non-Latino white backgrounds, document the roles of mothers' and fathers' math-related practices in children's math skills using new video coding tools and measure, test associations between parenting practices and toddler math skills, and identify the factors that explain variations in mothers' and fathers' math-related practices. This project will inform the design of interventions to support emerging math skills and address the participation of members of groups underrepresented in STEM related fields.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.