Promoting Children's Math Motivation by Changing Parents' Gender Stereotypes and Expectations for Math

Abstract

Educational Impact and Implications Statement This research demonstrates that improving the math-related beliefs of parents can bring about positive changes in elementary school students' beliefs about and motivation in math. Parents of third and fourth graders, who received a series of letters from the child's school that emphasized the malleability of math ability, gender equality in math ability, and the importance of positive parental expectations for the child's confidence in math, reported weaker gender stereotypes and higher expectations for their child's future success in math. These changes in parental beliefs were associated with stronger beliefs in the malleability of math ability and weaker gender stereotypes in math among children, which in turn was related to the children's higher confidence and lower test anxiety in math. Directly teaching children about the malleability of and gender equality in math ability was effective only for those children who viewed math to be highly important. The effects of two interventions, one for parents (Intervention-P) and the other for students (Intervention-S), on children's math motivation were examined. Intervention-P involved the sending of six letters to parents over 3 weeks to promote their growth mindset, gender-fair beliefs, and expectations for their child's success in math. Intervention-S comprised five classroom sessions delivered over 2 months to strengthen students' growth mindset and gender-fair beliefs in math. Using a cluster-randomized design, 467 third- and fourth-graders and their parents were randomly assigned in class units to the intervention (11 classes) and control conditions (9 classes). Repeated-measures multivariate analyses of covariance were conducted and, when significant, followed by repeated-measures univariate analyses of covariance to test the direct effects of each intervention. Neither intervention produced significant direct effects on student outcomes. However, the significant Group x Time interactions after Intervention-P demonstrated that the parents in the intervention group expressed weaker gender stereotypes and higher expectations for their child, whereas those in the control group reported stronger gender stereotypes. Structural equation modeling showed that Intervention-P had indirect effects on students' fixed mindset, gender stereotypes, and self-efficacy in math via changes in their parents' gender stereotypes and expectations. A latent moderated structured approach revealed that students' perceptions of math importance moderated the effects of Intervention-S. For students who rated math to be more important, their math self-efficacy became stronger after Intervention-S, which then related to higher math achievement. The findings highlight the need to involve parents and take children's values into account for successful interventions.