Promoting children’s math motivation by changing parents’ gender stereotypes and expectations for math.

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 × 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 approac...
Source: Journal of Educational Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research