IntroductionChildren's involvement in mathematics-related activities in the home environment is associated with the development of their early numeracy over the preschool years. Intervention studies to promote parents' awareness and provision of mathematics-related home activities are however scant. In this study we developed and tested the effectiveness of a non-intensive intervention program delivered by community pediatricians to promote mathematics-related activities in the home environment. MethodsParents of 204 Italian children were invited to report on the frequency of mathematics-related home activities when children attended the first preschool year (3 years, 8 months of age on average) and, subsequently, the third preschool year (5 years, 6 months of age on average). At both waves, children were also assessed on their early numeracy. In occasion of the routine well-child visit at age 5, parents who were randomly allocated to the intervention condition (vs. a business-as-usual control condition) received guidance on age-appropriate home mathematics-related practices to sustain children's numerical development. ResultsResults revealed that parents in the intervention group improved their provision of home mathematics-related activities at the post-intervention assessment (relative to baseline) to a greater extent than parents in the control condition. No effect was observed on children's early numeracy. DiscussionOverall, results are promising in suggesting that community pediatricians may be a resource to promote home mathematics-related activities though non-intensive low-cost interventions.
With a little help from our pediatrician: An intervention to promote mathematics-related home activities through regular well-child visits
Tomasetto, Carlo
;LeFevre, Jo-Anne;Passolunghi, Maria Chiara;De Vita, Chiara;
2022-01-01
Abstract
IntroductionChildren's involvement in mathematics-related activities in the home environment is associated with the development of their early numeracy over the preschool years. Intervention studies to promote parents' awareness and provision of mathematics-related home activities are however scant. In this study we developed and tested the effectiveness of a non-intensive intervention program delivered by community pediatricians to promote mathematics-related activities in the home environment. MethodsParents of 204 Italian children were invited to report on the frequency of mathematics-related home activities when children attended the first preschool year (3 years, 8 months of age on average) and, subsequently, the third preschool year (5 years, 6 months of age on average). At both waves, children were also assessed on their early numeracy. In occasion of the routine well-child visit at age 5, parents who were randomly allocated to the intervention condition (vs. a business-as-usual control condition) received guidance on age-appropriate home mathematics-related practices to sustain children's numerical development. ResultsResults revealed that parents in the intervention group improved their provision of home mathematics-related activities at the post-intervention assessment (relative to baseline) to a greater extent than parents in the control condition. No effect was observed on children's early numeracy. DiscussionOverall, results are promising in suggesting that community pediatricians may be a resource to promote home mathematics-related activities though non-intensive low-cost interventions.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
---|---|---|---|
Frontiers_22_Tomasetto.pdf
accesso aperto
Tipologia:
Documento in Versione Editoriale
Licenza:
Creative commons
Dimensione
620.7 kB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
620.7 kB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
Data_Sheet_1_With a little help from our pediatrician_ An intervention to promote mathematics-related home activities through regular well-child visit.pdf
accesso aperto
Descrizione: Supplementary material
Tipologia:
Altro materiale allegato
Licenza:
Creative commons
Dimensione
189.2 kB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
189.2 kB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
Pubblicazioni consigliate
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.