Parental engagement in a child’s education is associated with improved academic outcomes at all ages (EEF, 2018). However, with mathematics, this engagement mostly takes the form of homework support and that is often a cause of conflict and anxiety. My doctoral study explored the transmission of ‘maths anxiety’ from one generation to another and the role homework plays in this.

What causes the tears?

Interviews I conducted with 20 parents of primary-aged children across the UK included many accounts of conflict and distress around maths homework. This was the result of disagreements over methods, confusion over the task, and frustration that a parent could not explain. Parents were unsure how much help they should provide, and children were worried about taking the ‘right thing’ back to school. Mathematically anxious parents experienced these difficulties most acutely, but mathematically confident parents were not immune. Homework fraught with conflict and frustration is clearly counter-productive. It risks creating a negative atmosphere around maths and becoming a site to pass on anxiety, reduce motivation and perpetuate limiting beliefs (Maloney et al., 2015).

‘Mathematically anxious parents experienced difficulties most acutely, but mathematically confident parents were not immune.’

Benefits of a different approach

A different approach, one that draws instead on parents’ knowledge of the world, is possible. Practical activities, such as measuring, were recounted very differently by parents. When doing these practical activities, children were motivated, adults felt they had knowledge to contribute, and the experience was collaborative and enjoyable. As one parent commented:

‘It’s the interactive stuff, measuring her feet, measuring me, you know, seeing how far we could jump, all that kind of stuff was brilliant.’

Instead of focusing on abstract calculations and timed practice, maths homework could prompt families to explore applications of maths together through practical activities or conversations. This can be mathematically beneficial too; working practically allows children to develop varied mental representations of concepts and build understanding (Boaler, 2024).

To give an example, if children are learning about halves, families could be asked to half different things from their own kitchen. Children will then arrive in school primed with examples from their own homes and cultures. They will have seen a purpose for halving and have formed many different mental images of ‘half’.

Believing that maths is useful makes a difference

Parents are ideally placed to help their child see that maths is all around them and that it is useful (Harackiewicz et al., 2012). Furthermore, as Silver and colleagues (2021, p. 13) explain, parents who believe that maths is useful are less likely to transmit anxiety to their children, however high their own anxiety is:

‘In the context of high maths anxiety, parents who believed that maths was particularly important had children with above-average performance.’

As part of my study, I created and evaluated an online intervention for parents to highlight the usefulness of maths. It consisted of short videos showing how maths is used in different professions, from jewellery making to football coaching. Feedback after the intervention revealed that the content was novel to many parents. They expressed surprise at the range of jobs which used it and at the breadth of maths itself, such as this reflection from one parent:

‘I learned it’s not such a dry, uninteresting subject! It can help in jobs that are quite artistic.’

To support more effective parent engagement in mathematics and reduce the transmission of anxiety, I would urge educators to consider the following questions when sending mathematical activities home:

• What type of interaction will the parent and child engage in?
• Is the parent’s role clear?
• What does the task communicate about nature and usefulness of mathematics?
• Will the parent need any mathematical knowledge to support their child?
• How might a parent with high levels of maths anxiety respond?
• Could the task be reimagined as a practical activity or conversation?

References

Boaler, J. (2024). Math-ish: Finding creativity, diversity, and meaning in mathematics. Harper Collins.

Education Endowment Foundation [EEF]. (2021) Working with parents to support children’s learning guidance. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/supporting-parents

Harackiewicz, J. M., Rozek, C. S., Hulleman, C. S., & Hyde, J. S. (2012). Helping parents to motivate adolescents in mathematics and science: An experimental test of a utility-value intervention. Psychological Science, 23(8), 899–906. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611435530

Maloney, E. A., Ramirez, G., Gunderson, E. A., Levine, S. C., & Beilock, S. L. (2015). Intergenerational effects of parents’ math anxiety on children’s math achievement and anxiety. Psychological Science, 26(9), 1480–1488. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615592630

Silver, A. M., Elliott, L., & Libertus, M. E. (2021). When beliefs matter most: Examining children’s math achievement in the context of parental math anxiety. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 201(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104992