Search

Background: Parents' high academic expectations are positively associated with young children's mathematical abilities. However, minimal attention has been devoted to whether, and how, different ways of conveying the performance targets would result in different outcomes., Aims: The current study investigated whether and how parents' perfectionistic strivings and concerns were associated with young children's mathematical abilities through home mathematical activities, children's approach motivation to learn mathematics, and children's avoidance motivation to learn mathematics., Sample: Participants included 211 kindergarteners in Hong Kong and their parents., Methods: Data were collected through individual child tests and parent questionnaires., Results: Structural equation modelling revealed that parents' perfectionistic strivings had a direct positive link with children's mathematical abilities, an indirect link via approach motivation to learn mathematics, and an indirect link via home mathematical activities, and then approach motivation. Parents' perfectionistic concerns had a direct negative link with children's mathematical abilities, an indirect link via approach motivation to learn mathematics, and an indirect link via avoidance motivation to learn mathematics., Conclusions: Early childhood practitioners are recommended to raise parents' awareness of how to communicate high-performance targets to children in a constructive manner., (© 2024 British Psychological Society.)

Background: The debate on using concrete versus abstract materials in learning mathematics has been longstanding. For decades, research has focused on the physical characteristics of materials when defining them as concrete or abstract., Aims: This study extends the field by proposing a two-dimensional classification, which defines materials as concrete or abstract based on the two dimensions of representation, namely object (i.e., appearance) and language (i.e., label)., Sample: A total of 120 university students participated in the study., Methods: Participants were randomly assigned to learn the concept of modular arithmetic with one of four types of learning materials: concrete object labelled with concrete language, concrete object labelled with abstract language, abstract object labelled with concrete language and abstract object labelled with abstract language. They were also divided into high and low maths anxiety groups., Results: Results showed that the students who learnt with abstract objects, regardless of the level of maths anxiety, outperformed their peers who learnt with concrete objects. However, for students with low maths anxiety only, those who learnt with materials labelled with abstract language showed better far-transfer performance compared with those who learnt with materials labelled with concrete language., Conclusions: The findings offer a new direction in the conceptualization of concrete and abstract learning materials by specifying the dimensions of representation., (© 2023 The British Psychological Society.)

Background: Schools around the world are increasingly diverse in ethnicity. Given the importance of peer acceptance in children's well-being and development, it is a pressing concern for educators to promote intergroup acceptance in schools., Aims: First, to examine the developmental trends of acceptance of outgroup members in both the ethnic minority and majority students. Second, to investigate how outgroup acceptance is subject to the interplay between perceived norm of prejudice, a risk factor in the macrosystem, and teacher support, a protective factor in the microsystem., Sample: The participants were 3,723 students (ethnic majority: 61%; boys: 51.9%; mean age: 13.7) at Grade 2, 5, 8, and 11 from 24 schools in Hong Kong., Methods: The students were asked to complete a battery of questionnaires regarding their willingness to accept outgroup members in schools, perceived societal norm of prejudice against ethnic minority group, and teacher support they received in schools., Results: It was found that ethnic minority students accepted outgroup members more than ethnic majority students accepted them. The difference was primarily driven by the low outgroup acceptance of ethnic majority students in Grades 2 and 5. The results of multi-level analysis revealed that outgroup acceptance was associated negatively with perceived norm of prejudice but positively with teacher support. The negative association between outgroup acceptance and perceived norm of prejudice was attenuated in schools with supportive culture., Conclusions: The results point to the need of early intervention and the importance of cultivating school culture with strong social emotional support., (© 2020 The British Psychological Society.)