Parents’ views and experiences of the informal and formal Home Numeracy Environment

At school entry, it is evident that children vary in their literacy and numeracy skills, suggesting that the home environment in which children live and grow may influence a child’s learning and development. Semi-structured interviews with parents (N=8), of children aged between 37 months and 59 months (M= 47.5 months), were used to investigate child interactions and specific parental views and experiences in relation to mathematical practices at home. Thematic analysis was used to explore behaviour relevant to the home numeracy environment. Six recurrent themes from the interview responses were identified: numeracy environment structure, frequency of number-related experiences, levels of number knowledge, technology attitudes, parent-child interactions and social interaction. The diversity of the themes developed in this study illustrate how the home numeracy environment could be influenced by parents’ views and experiences of numeracy-related activities, reported behaviours of their child and children’s interactions with others.