Linking family math language policy and early math achievement: evidence from Chinese kindergarten families

Early math development is rooted in children’s family experiences, yet the influence of family math language on children’s math competence remains underexplored. This quantitative study examines three dimensions of family math language policy and their associations with young children’s early math competence. Data were gathered from 200 kindergartners from five kindergartens in a Chinese city through parent questionnaires and a child math achievement test. Structural equation modelling revealed that family math ideology and management are significant predictors of practice, and practice is a direct and significant predictor of children’s math achievement. However, the hypothesized mediating role of practice between ideology/management and math achievement was not statistically supported. These results highlight the direct importance of family math language practice while suggesting that the pathways from parental beliefs and management strategies to children’s outcomes may be more complex than initially theorized. Implications for early intervention and future research directions are discussed.