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The present study aimed to examine the mediating role of parental involvement in the association between parental attitudes toward their own mathematics and reading abilities and children's learning interests in the Chinese context. Participants included 395 Chinese elementary students whose ages ranged from 6.53 to 12.82 years (mean = 9.68 years) and their caregivers. The results showed that parental attitudes toward their own mathematics and reading not only had a domain-specific effect on parent-reported children's learning interests in these subjects but also had a cross-domain effect on other subjects. Furthermore, parental home- and school-based involvement mediated the association between parental attitudes toward mathematics and reading and parent-reported children's learning interests in these subjects. At the domain-specific level, parental home-based involvement, rather than school-based involvement, mediated the relation between parental attitudes and children's learning interests in mathematics and reading. At the cross-domain level, both home- and school-based involvement mediated the association between parental attitudes toward their own reading and children's mathematics interests. The findings underline the relevance of parental attitudes toward their own mathematics and reading and parental home- and school-based involvement in the development of Chinese elementary school students' learning interests. • Parental attitudes toward math and reading had domain-specific and cross-domain effects on children's learning interests. • Parental home- and school-based involvement mediated the link between parental attitudes and children's learning interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does mathematical vocabulary predict the change in students' performance on mathematical tasks from one academic year to the next? Chilean Spanish-speaking students (N = 87) completed measures of mathematical vocabulary, mathematical skills (i.e., arithmetic fluency, calculation, and applied problems), receptive vocabulary, and working memory in Grade 2 (T1, M age = 7:11 years:months, SD = 0:5, 46% girls). One year later (T2) they completed the same mathematical measures. Concurrent relations were found between mathematical vocabulary and the three mathematical skills at both time points. Together, general and mathematical vocabulary at T1 explained significant unique variance in the change in applied problems and calculation from T1 to T2. For calculation however, only mathematical vocabulary predicted significant unique variance in the change from T1 to T2. Change in arithmetic fluency was only predicted by working memory. These results address the roles of general and mathematical vocabulary in students' mathematical development in elementary school. • We evaluated changes in mathematical vocabulary and mathematical skills. • We studied Spanish-speaking students in early elementary school. • Mathematical vocabulary predicted students' change in calculation skills. • Domain-general and domain-specific skills differentially support mathematical development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding relative quantities is crucial for many formal mathematical and everyday experiences, and its development has been examined using both probability judgment and proportion matching frameworks. The current study examines individual difference and developmental patterns that emerge within and between these frameworks, using computerized tasks administered within-subjects to a socio-demographically diverse sample of elementary school students (N = 96, 52 female, M age = 8.56-years, 5.1–12.4) between kindergarten and fifth-grade. The results indicate that performance between the two task frameworks was correlated, and that age was significantly correlated with performance on both tasks. There were also differences across tasks, and children were overall more successful in their probability judgements than proportion matching. The findings, therefore, indicate some individual difference and cognitive developmental commonality across frameworks, but also that they are differentially effective in prompting relative quantity problem-solving strategies, which has implications for developmental research and theory and suggests a more nuanced approach to when children understand relative quantities is needed. • Probability judgment and proportion matching are vital and likely related. • Children completed probability and proportion tasks as concurrent measures. • Measures were correlated but differentiable. • Findings support a common foundation but differences in relative quantity prompting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]