How do parental attitudes influence children's learning interests in reading and mathematics? The mediating role of home-based versus school-based parental involvement

Abstract

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.