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Early grade pupils’ development of Mathematics skills: Perceived challenges and culturally relevant strategies for parental involvement

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Vol. 11 (2024)

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Articles

Early grade pupils’ development of Mathematics
skills: Perceived challenges and culturally relevant
strategies for parental involvement

Datius Titus Mutangira1[0000-0002-3597-8637],

Pambas Basil Tandika1[0000-0001-8267-7493], and

Geraldina Edward2[0000-0003-3416-6423]

1
The University of Dodoma,

1 Benjamin Mkapa Rd., 41218 Iyumbu, Dodoma, Tanzania

[email-masked], [email-masked]

https://www.udom.ac.tz/staff/staff_profile?id=VG5wQk1RPT0=

https://www.udom.ac.tz/staff/staff_profile?id=VFZSUk1nPT0=

2
University of Dar es Salaam, P.O.Box 35091, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

[email-masked]

Abstract. The current study investigated challenges facing parental
involvement and culturally relevant strategies for improving parental
involvement in the development of mathematics skills among grade
two pupils. A phenomenological qualitative design was employed. A
semi-structured interview was used to gather data from 12 early-grade
teachers and ten heads of schools. Focused group discussion (FGD)
was used to collect data from 63 parents. Thematic analysis procedures
guided the data analysis procedure, which was aided by pivotal analysis.
The study findings revealed that teachers focused on parents’ negative
attitude towards the subject while parents reported lack of time and
economic hardship as factors affecting their participation in engaging
in children’s mathematics learning. However, all participants agreed
that parents’ mathematics knowledge is a factor that affects their
involvement. Regardless of the participants’ category, the provision of
interactive mathematics homework and communication through parents’
meetings (group and individuals) were regarded as the best strategies
for involving parents in learners’ development of mathematics skills.
The study concludes that the parents agree with the critical role of
their involvement despite the challenges facing parental involvement.
Therefore, the study recommends that awareness programs and the use
of interactive mathematics homework activities are critical to improved
parental involvement in their children’s learning.

Keywords: parental involvement • mathematics • early grade learners

1 Introduction and background

Mathematics skills refer to the ability to do basic arithmetic operations, understand
simple mathematical ideas and apply the knowledge and skills of mathematics in daily
life [18]. Clerkin and Gilligan [11], Harris and Petersen [22] report that
the development of early mathematics competence sets the foundation for
learning other subjects, and it is a determinant factor for later academic
achievement. Kowiyah et al. [31] adds that the ability to understand mathematical
concepts and use mathematical tools and mathematical reasoning triggers
the learning of many school subjects and further education. Therefore, the
need for early preparation of learners with appropriate mathematics skills is
inevitable.

The studies on children’s learning suggest that their readiness towards school
activities is influenced by both school and home experiences, of which parents play a
fundamental role [19]. Specifically, Brossard et al. [8], Lore et al. [33] reports that
parental involvement in children’s mathematics learning outside school positively
impacts children’s motivation and achievement in mathematics. Parental involvement
in early years may also affect the children’s inclination towards mathematics in the
later years [1, 57]. It is thus imperative to ensure parental involvement in order to
enrich the children’s mathematics learning experiences within and outside
the school. The study by Papadakis et al. [50], which investigated parental
involvement and attitudes towards young Greek children’s mobile usage,
revealed that parents’ positive attitude has a significant impact on children’s
learning, especially when the parents provide a stimulating home learning
environment. Thus, parents’ support of the children’s learning greatly impacts their
learning.

Further, a systematic review of about sixty-six studies which focused on parental
involvement in children’s learning by Henderson and Berla [23]  concluded that the
most fundamental predictor of students’ academic achievements is not solely an
income or social status but the level to which the families commit themselves to
create a home supportive learning environment and become involved in their
children’s learning at school and home. Pezdek et al. [51] examined the effect of
homework time specifically on mathematics achievement and revealed that improving
parents’ awareness of their children’s mathematics skills could be an effective step
towards enhancing children’s mathematics performance at school. Pezdek
et al. [51] emphasised that the collaboration between both parents and teachers
in helping children with homework enhances the quality of mathematics
learning. In this regard, Antony-Newman [3] argues that students whose
parents are involved in their education are more likely to perform better
in mathematics and achieve more than other students whose parents are
less involved. Thus, parental involvement contributes significantly to the

achievement of both primary and secondary school students in mathematics
[57].

Despite the importance of mathematics and parental involvement in students’
mathematics learning, several studies show that both mathematics performance and
parents’ participation in the education of their children appear to be limited and they
are in decline [3, 10]. Hugo and Masalesa [24] report that limited parental
involvement in mathematics activities results in continued unsatisfactory performance
in mathematics, mostly in developing countries. Nyabuto and Njoroge [48] found out
that parental involvement level in elementary classes is low as most of the parents
rely only on invitations from the school. Therefore, if schools do not take
adequate measures to welcome parents to school, they become less engaged in
children’s learning. Similarly, there is limited community or parent involvement in
children’s learning and school matters in most developing countries [66].
Less involvement of the parents in their children’s learning of mathematics
skills results in continued unsatisfactory academic achievement, specifically in
mathematics [24]. Therefore, understanding the substantial factors affecting parental
involvement and strategies among the teachers and parents can ensure the
enhancement of students’ development of mathematics skills. This might
provide potential information that could be used to suggest plans that could
maximise the benefits of parental involvement in the student’s learning of
mathematics.

1.1 Mathematics performance

Despite the fact that Mathematics is fundamental in the development of science and
technology [11] and learning of other subjects and executive functions [22], its
performance in different levels of education has remained a challenge in developed
countries such as News Zealand, Australia and the United States [5, 54]. Likewise, in
developing countries, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Nigeria,
the learners have a poor foundation in Mathematics in the early primary
school years (grades one to three) of learning, thus resulting in continued poor
performance in other levels [35, 43]. The factors which are associated with
poor performance in most developing countries range from the availability,
sufficiency and quality of the instructional materials provided by an institution as
well as limited parents’ involvement in children’s learning [9]. Makondo and
Makondo [35] report that most of the initiatives to address these challenges
primarily focus on an institution (school) with less attention to home (parents)
consideration.

Like other countries, Tanzania also faces unsatisfactory performance in
mathematics [37, 60]. Several government reports [58–60] and researches such as
[7, 37] show that there has been a decreasing performance of the subject, which is
contributed by poor foundation of mathematics skills from early grades to lower
secondary school. Empirically, a baseline study report by USAID through RTI
International on the assessment of learning outcomes among Tanzanian children,

which was done in 2013 by Brombacher et al. [7] using Early Grade Mathematics
Assessment (EGMA) tool shows that about 22% of the standard II pupils were unable
to answer even a single subtraction level one question. According to RTI
International, a total of 58% of standard II pupils were unable to answer subtraction
level 2 items correctly.

While the Brombacher et al. [7] reported that most grade two pupils perform
below the national benchmark, i.e. subtraction level two, Uwezo East Africa [64]
noted that six out of ten grade three pupils could not perform standard
two mathematics operations. On this note, Ubale et al. [62] acclaimed that
limited performance can be attributed to limited parental involvement in
mathematics learning as most of the initiatives at the national level have focused on
improving the school learning environment and teacher instructional strategies.
Husen and Mansor [26] propose that the academic performance of early-grade
mathematics pupils is influenced by the attitudes and aspirations reflected in their
parents. Therefore, parents’ limited involvement could be a contributing
factor to unsatisfactory pupils’ performance in mathematics. Despite the
common agreement on the role of parental involvement in early children’s
mathematics learning, such research seems to be insufficient in Tanzania. However,
some studies, such as that by Badrasawi et al. [4], depict limited parental
involvement.

1.2 Parents’ involvement in the development of mathematics skills in
Tanzania

The role of parents’ involvement in improving early-grade mathematics skills is
recognised by different Tanzanian government documents [39, 40]. For instance, the
Tanzania Education Framework recognises the need for schools and parents to
collaborate in order to enhance the pupils’ learning ability. The framework suggests
several approaches towards parental involvement, including Parental Teacher
Partnership (PTP) associations, school committees’ representation and seeking advice
[39]. Further, the curriculum for primary education regards families and community
involvement as crucial for early stimulation and children’s learning at the primary
school level [41]. Some of the identified activities include the decision-making process,
volunteering in school events and monitoring and evaluating children’s progress
both at school and at home [41]. If all the activities in question are ensured,
effective mathematics learning among early-grade learners can be enhanced
[46].

The literature analysis depicts limited studies on parental involvement in
enhancing mathematics skills, as most of them focused on reading skills.
For instance, the study by Edward et al. [14] revealed that parents have
a significant role in helping children develop pre-literacy skills, especially
through shared reading. Another study by Ngorosho [47] reports a moderate
correlation between reading scales and home environment variables. Further, an
intervention on developing reading skills, which was carried out by Kigobe

et al. [30] among grade two pupils, noted a significant impact among children
who engaged themselves in shared reading activities with their parents than
those who did not. Several programs such as EQUIP-T and the USAID –
“Tusome Pamoja”, which were carried out in Tanzania, improved the quality of
early-grade reading and mathematics skills instruction through engaging
parents and communities. The noted programmes managed to establish the
PTP which was reported to be successful in stimulating teacher-parent or
community for sustainable and effective school support [45]. However, most
of the studies that were conducted in Tanzania focused on reading, which
has resulted in unsatisfactory mathematics performance among early-grade
learners.

Despite several researches and acknowledgement by government documents,
studies [2, 30, 47, 55] report varied constraints on parental involvement in children’s
learning. For example, Shukia [55] suggests that parents are less inclined to supervise
their children’s homework or even visit their children’s schools to monitor their
academic progress. Kigobe [29] and Plante and Palmer [52] report other
compromising factors of parental involvement (i.e., poverty, lack of formal education
and poor attendance in school meetings). However, empirical studies on how parental
involvement influences the development of mathematics skills among pupils,
particularly in the context of Tanzania, remain scarce. This implies that
learning mathematics is compromised compared to reading skills. Therefore, the
current study establishes the challenges that affect parental involvement in the
development of mathematics skills and suggests the ways that schools can adopt to
involve parents in the development of mathematics skills among grade two
pupils. In this regard, two research questions guided this study as indicated
below:

i.

What are the challenges facing parental involvement in enhancing the
development of mathematics skills among grade two pupils?

ii.

What are the culturally relevant strategies for enhancing parental
involvement in the development of mathematics skills among grade two
pupils?

1.3 Theoretical context

The current study was guided by the Theory of Overlapping Spheres of Influence,
which was advanced by Joyce Epstein in 2002. The theory combines psychological,
educational and sociological perspectives in an attempt to explain and give the
description of relationships that exist between the parents, schools and local
environment [15]. The three spheres of influence in relation to this theory include
family, school and local community [68]. The theory recognises the overlapping roles

of the school (teachers), family (parents), and community in the learning of a child.
Therefore, Epstein et al. [16] argues that an active teacher-parent partnership
should be evident to result in the most productive learning experience in
mathematics skills for the pupils. Epstein posits six types of parental involvement in
children’s learning. The preferred types of parental involvement comprise
parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making and
collaborating with the community [15, 16]. Parenting focuses on parents’
acts of helping children to engage themselves in learning at home through
the provision of necessary support, while schools help students by creating
positive learning conditions. Communication reflects two-way traffic between
parents and families in order to increase understanding and cooperation
through communication media such as phone calls, emails, or conferences.
Moreover, volunteering reflects the activities organised by the school and/or
community that need parents’ support [16]. Learning at home reflects parents’
involvement in different activities, such as assisting in the children’s homework and
decision-making on school policies or management, both informally or formally [68].
Further, collaborating with the community entails explaining the way in which
schools cooperate with community agencies, organisations and other groups
to share various responsibilities for children’s education and future success
[15].

2 Methodology

The current study was guided by qualitative research inquiry. The qualitative
approach helped the researcher to gain an in-depth understanding of the
challenges facing parental involvement in children’s mathematics learning as well
as suggest strategies for improving parental involvement [13]. Qualitative
methods were primarily used to minimise misinterpretation and allow for
explaining the study’s purpose and addressing queries during discussions [17].
The approach also fostered rapport and cooperation between the researcher
and informants; hence, it becomes crucial for eliciting authentic views from
participants [13]. A phenomenological design was adopted as it is based on the
theoretical perspective that advocates for studying direct experiences from the
participants’ face value [34]. It enabled the study to provide rich and detailed
descriptions of the phenomenon under investigation. The design suited the
study since it provided an opportunity for the researcher to hear from the
participants’ (teachers, head teachers and parents) world view while remaining
impartial. In this regard, the participants’ perspectives on the challenges facing
parental involvement in enhancing the development of mathematics skills among
grade two pupils and strategies that may be used to enhance the same were
explored.

Further, the study was conducted in 10 primary schools in Ukerewe District,
Tanzania. Purposive sampling was used to select ten (10) underperforming schools in
standard two national learning assessments for three consecutive years were sampled

[60]. Therefore, a total of 12 teachers and 10 head teachers were purposefully selected.
The head teachers were selected based on their positions. They are crucial for
developing parental collaboration at the school level. Further, teachers who
taught grade two pupils were involved because they are at the core teaching
business in specified early grades and communicate with children’s parents every
day. Therefore, they were in the best position to share their views regarding
the challenges facing parental involvement in enhancing mathematics skills
among grade two pupils as well as the strategies that may influence parental
involvement in the development of mathematics skills among grade two pupils. The
parents, especially those with grade two pupils, were conveniently selected to
participate in the current study. The parents were involved in the study because
they are prime stakeholders for children learning at home. The researcher
requested the head teachers to invite twelve parents to each class based on
gender balance. Only the parents who were available and ready to share
their ideas were invited. A total of 10 FGDs were conducted and involved
10 groups from ten sampled primary schools. Therefore, 63 parents were
involved in the study, and each group had not less than six participants. The
validity of findings in qualitative studies tends to rely heavily on the adequacy
of the data collected in an attempt to answer research questions [17]. The
prepared codebook in advance helped to determine the saturation point of
data.

2.1 Data collection methods and analysis plan

The data were collected through qualitative measures. For this reason, two research
methods of data collection, namely interviews and focus group discussion (FGD),
were used. Two sources of data collection were used for triangulation and
complementation reasons. The semi-structured interviews, which were guided by an
interview guide, were used to collect the data from the teachers and head teachers
(HTs). FGD guide was used to collect the data from parents. The data collection
process involved systematic recording and documenting of the responses using digital
voice recorders and notebooks, respectively. An average of one hour was used during
the interview with teachers, while an average of one and a half hours was spent in
group discussion. The qualitative data, which were collected through semi-structured
interviews and focus group interviews, were analysed thematically based on
observing six steps as suggested by Braun and Clarke [6]. Firstly, the gathered
data through a voice recorder were listened to and re-listened to in order to
make sense of them, and then transcribed into the text. The transcription
was carried out immediately after the data collection process. All necessary
voices were taken as spoken by the participants in order to keep the original
meaning intended by participants. After that, the transcriptions, which were in
Kiswahili, were translated into English for analysis and report writing. To ensure
confidentiality, pseudonyms were provided, and any identifiable information
was stripped throughout the transcription trajectory. The analysis of the

data started with reading and rereading the transcripts so as to get familiar
with the data or immersed in the data, which involved writing down all key
ideas.

Then, the data were coded using colours in order to indicate the emerged potential
patterns. Prior to theme identification, categories of the coded data were developed.
Then, all extracted codes were exported to an Excel spreadsheet for analysis [53]. A
pivotal table was developed and used to merge the recurring codes in order to create
frequencies of responses as they were categorised. This process enabled easy creation
of themes. The development of themes went hand in hand with reviewing them.
During this process, the code extracts were regularly checked in order to ensure
that they were consistently linked with the themes. The themes that lacked
adequate data to support them were merged with themes that resembled
them. After that, clear definitions and names for each theme were generated.
Finally, the report was written based on the discussion of the findings, and the
reviewed literature and theory underpinned by the study were taken into
consideration.

2.2 Ethical consideration

The research permit was sought from the President’s Office, Regional Administration
and Local Government (PORALG), which is in charge of Tanzania’s primary and
secondary school education, while the ethical clearance form was sought from the
University of Dodoma. After reaching the study sites and explaining the purpose of
the study, the researcher secured the consent directly from the interview and focus
group participants. To ensure confidentiality, the participants’ names were kept
anonymous, and the responses were kept confidential and used for the current study
only.

2.3 Trustworthiness of the study findings

To ensure the trustworthiness of the study findings, four principles, which include
credibility, transferability, dependability and conformability, were observed [32]. To
ensure the truthfulness of the research instruments, the experts in the field and other
experienced teachers (primary teachers) checked both the content coverage and clarity
of questions. Further, a pilot study was conducted at one school which was not
involved in the actual study in an attempt to test the research instruments.
Additionally, the study warranted data triangulation through the use of multiple
methods (interviews and FGDs) from different informants (teachers, head teachers
and parents). The researcher and one of the trained enumerators were involved in the
data collection process. The data collection process covered two weeks in the
natural setting (the respective schools). To ensure dependability, the researcher
explained the purpose of the research to research participants in order to develop
trust among them. Equally important, the participants were asked to offer

their consent. In order to confirm the authenticity of the collected data, the
researcher read the transcribed and translated data to ensure the retention of
the original meaning. Experts reviewed the coded data in order to confirm
the transcribed data. Then, a code book that guided the coding process
was developed based on the collected data and relevant literature on the
field. Inter-rater reliability was calculated in an effort to confirm the coded
data.

3 Results

3.1 Challenges facing parental involvement in the development of mathematics
skills among grade two pupils

The current study explored the challenges facing parental involvement in enhancing
the development of mathematics skills among standard two pupils in Tanzania. The
study findings show that the challenges could be categorised into four categories:
subject-related challenges, parent-related challenges, teacher-related challenges, and
policy-related challenges. However, the analysis shows that most of the challenges
focus on subject- and parent-related challenges compared to other mentioned
challenges.

3.2 Subject-related challenges

The responses revealed that respondents had shared and varied responses regarding
subject-related challenges. On the one hand, all respondents shared the view that
mathematics’ negative attitude and parents’ mathematics knowledge affected their
collaboration. On the other hand, only parents reported self-efficacy as the factor that
affects their collaboration in enhancing the development of mathematics skills. In this
regard, teachers argued that parents believe that mathematics is a difficult subject.
Therefore, they are not interested in it. This resulted in more focus on other skills,
such as reading, at the expense of mathematics. While teachers directed much of their
claim to parents, this was contrary to parents and head teachers. Both teachers and
parents strike a balance by attaching a negative attitude towards Mathematics.
Thus, some of the teachers also had a negative attitude towards Mathematics
and doubted parents’ capacity to help their children learn Mathematics. For
instance, parents reported that teachers also seem to lose interest in providing
mathematics homework as compared to reading and writing activities. In
support of the teachers’ view, one parent had the following comment during
FGD:

In many instances, I always see children coming back home with
writing assignments. I have never seen a child coming back home with
mathematics homework. I don’t know why teachers don’t give the
children mathematics homework? If they would be giving the children
mathematics homework, perhaps we would have been helping them at
home.

(FGD with the parent at school D, 2023)

Likewise, one head teacher from school G had the following observation with
regard to parents’ negative attitude towards mathematics.

Other parents have a negative attitude towards mathematics. They used
to say that it is a difficult subject. Therefore, they do not take it into
consideration compared to other subjects such as reading and writing.

(Interview with the head teacher from school G, 2023)

With reference to the two verbatim quotes above, one could conclude that
teachers’ and parents’ views on Mathematics are negative. Such attitudes hamper
their collaboration in improving pupils’ learning of mathematics skills, which
subsequently affects the pupils’ ability to learn mathematics. Therefore, there is a
pressing need for both parents and teachers to develop a positive attitude towards
Mathematics in order to smoothen their collaboration and improve the pupils’
learning of Mathematics.

Further, parents’ mathematics knowledge and self-efficacy were also reported as
being the factors that affect parents’ involvement in the development of mathematics
skills among pupils. While all class and head teachers held the view that the parents
had limited knowledge of Mathematics, only parents reported mathematics
self-efficacy. Low education and old age constituted the concerns which were raised
regarding mathematics knowledge among most parents. It was reported that most of
the parents had either completed Standard VII education or did not attend the school
at all. So, it was difficult for the parents to help their children in Mathematics
sufficiently. However, parents’ views did not focus much on their mathematics
knowledge but focused on self-efficacy. In a discussion with the parents, they revealed
that they could rely on other siblings at home to help their children with
mathematics skills. However, the negative attitude towards Mathematics
affected parents’ readiness to engage themselves in students’ mathematics
learning. For example, one of the parents had the following to share during the
FGD:

Some parents are afraid of Mathematics because they think that they
cannot help their children with simple operations. Other parents are even
afraid of Mathematics teachers because they do not know a good way
to communicate with them regarding the development of their children.

(FGD with the parent school in school C, 2023)

On the other hand, the teacher from school G had the following comment:

Some of the parents lack knowledge of helping their children at home.
There are other parents who tell you that they don’t understand when
told to help their children because they are not educated. Other parents
say that Mathematics is difficult and that it could be better if it could
be reading skills.

(Interview with the teacher from school G, 2023)

The verbatim responses above by informants reveal that mathematics knowledge
is related to mathematics efficacy. If parents have positive efficacy toward
mathematics, they will easily help their children develop mathematics skills. This is
based on the fact that the mathematics operations learnt at lower grades do not
require complicated knowledge of mathematics.

3.3 Parents-related challenges

The study findings show that respondents shared various perspectives on the
challenges that affect teacher-parent collaboration. The limited parents’ awareness,
readiness and socio-economic status constitute the shared perspectives regarding the
parents-related challenges. The most frequently reported challenges, as identified by
most of the respondents, comprised limited parents’ awareness and readiness. The
interviewees ascribed that difficulty in collaborative activities, such as helping with
homework and poor attendance at school meetings, is attributed to low awareness
among parents with regard to the importance of collaboration in children’s
mathematics learning. What was most noticeable in the parents’ data constituted
their attribution to other factors, such as low education and the misguided perception
that the teaching role is handled by the teacher alone. For example, during the
FGD at school C, one of the parents noted how daunting it is for parents,
especially when they fail to respond to mathematics questions. Therefore,
the solution was to stay away from their pupil’s mathematics learning. For

instance, one of the parents at school A had the following comment during
FGD:

I think that teaching is the responsibility of the teacher. Therefore, I
cannot interfere with the teaching because they may think that I am
taking their responsibilities. After all, teachers are paid the salaries for
teaching our children and my duty is to ensure that the child has exercise
books and school uniform.

(FGD with parent at school A, 2023)

With reference to the verbatim response above, the parent related their’
socio-economic status, which involves parents’ occupation and income with
mathematics teaching. An overwhelming majority of respondents reported that
parents with high socio-economic status are more likely to be involved in their pupils’
learning of mathematics compared to parents from low economic status. In line with
this argument, teachers revealed that families with high socio-economic status can
buy mathematics books for their children and can have ample time to help their
children learn mathematics at home. While parents from well-off families could get
more time, another category was considered to be busy with searching for family
demands, thus denying them time to concentrate on mathematics learning among
their children. For instance, one teacher from school E had the following
opinion:

Parents who belong to high socio-economic families are more involved in
their pupils’ learning. They provide their children with learning materials
such as books compared to their counterparts from low socio-economic
status. I also see them coming to school and make follow-up on their
children’s progress.

(Interview with the teacher from school E, 2023)

However, there were contrasting views by parents regarding the parents’
socio-economic status and its effects on teacher-parent collaboration in mathematics
learning among the pupils. While some parents argued that they are affected by their
economic conditions, some of them were against this view. Those who supported this
view argued that they spend much time searching for family needs and, therefore,
they cannot afford to get time to help their children at home. On the contrary, other
parents were of the view that they could still offer collaboration despite the
family’s socio-economic status because helping is willingness and readiness.
For instance, one parent at school C had the following observation during
FGD:

So, we are unable to help the children since we are at work most of the
time. We lack time due to the economic situation. We are looking for
food to feed our children.

(FGD with the parents at school C, 2023)

In contrast, one parent substantiated that:

I used to sell small fish in the evening but when I arrive at home, I must
ask my children to show me what they have learnt at school. If I see any
challenge, I contact the teacher in the next day. Researcher (informed
called), “does this need to have money?”.

(FGD with the parents at school
C, 2023)

The above verbatim responses by the parents may imply that the parents’
socio-economic status may impact the effective parent’s involvement in the pupil’s
development of mathematics skills. However, the parents’ willingness, readiness and
time setting can help in developing collaboration in helping children the learning of
mathematics among pupils. Therefore, the parents need to have correct guidance on
how to balance their work time and supervision of children’s learning at
home.

3.4 Teacher-related challenges

The study findings revealed that teachers also greatly affect parents’ involvement in
pupils’ mathematics learning. The head teachers and parents reported that some
teachers are irresponsible while others are not respectful. For instance, some of the
head teachers noted that other teachers do not take any initiative to involve the
parents in children’s learning. This implies that they do not conduct the class
meetings with parents. They neither communicated with the parents nor offered the
mathematics homework. In this regard, it was difficult for parents to engage
themselves in their children’s learning.

Apart from the head teachers, parents noted that teachers do not much respect
them. This results in hesitation in participating in both school activities and
children’s learning. On a specific note, parents reported that teachers think that they
do not know anything. Therefore, they cannot assist their children at home. Others
went further by saying that the teachers looked down upon them. The teachers do not

accord them the required respect and ask them how they can cooperate with people
who do not respect them.

Nowadays, the teachers are not like those who used to teach us. They
do not do their jobs as it is required. You find out that the child is not
taught and the teacher does not accord cooperation. He tells you that
you should not teach her/him how to work. Truly, they lack discipline;
hence, another fearful parent must be afraid to ask the teacher.

(FGD
with parents at school E, 2023)

The expression above shows that some parents may be afraid of cooperating with
teachers due to disrespect for the parent. Ultimately, this affects parental involvement
in children’s learning. It is, therefore, suggested that the teachers and parents must
respect each other for effective parental engagement in children’s learning of
mathematics skills.

3.5 Policy-related challenges

Policy-related challenges were also reported as one of the challenges that affect
parental involvement in enhancing the development of mathematics skills among
standard two pupils. Specifically, the shortage of mathematics books, large
number of pupils and shortage of teachers were reported to affect the nature of
collaboration. For instance, the shortage of mathematics books denied the
parents the opportunity to borrow the books at school to help their children.
Conversely, teachers could not lend them to parents. Therefore, parents’
needs were not easily fulfilled, and teachers’ ambitions were also not easily
achieved. For instance, the head teacher from school H had the following
observation:

We really have a few books because we don’t buy books nowadays. They
are, instead, supplied by the government. Therefore, the books that they
bring are very limited and they are, sometimes, sufficient for pupils only.
Therefore, we cannot manage to lend books to parents.

(Interview with
the head teacher from school H, 2023)

Further, the shortage of teachers and many pupils in class comprises two
twin factors that affect the teacher-parent collaboration for standard two
pupils’ development of mathematics skills. The factors were considered to be
twins since they worked along with each other. The teachers reported that
they had many pupils in the class and, therefore, it could be challenging
to make individual consultations with their parents. In addition, teachers
reported difficulty in providing the homework because it could be difficult to
mark them or make close follow-ups. With this situation, one can learn that
teachers will have a manageable number of pupils in class if there are sufficient
teachers, and such teachers can provide individual assistance, including parents’
involvement.

3.6 Strategies for enhancing parental involvement in the development of
mathematics skills among grade two pupils

The study findings revealed several strategies for enhancing parental involvement in
the development of mathematics skills among standard two pupils. The findings
revealed the shared perspectives on the effective strategies for parent involvement in
enhancing mathematics learning. All respondents suggested mathematics
homework supervision as an effective strategy to foster parental involvement
in enhancing the development of mathematics skills among standard two
pupils. Moreover, educating parents, regular parent meetings and developing
positive teacher-parent relationships were minimally reported, as revealed in
table 1.

Table 1: Effective strategies for parental involvement in enhancing the
development of mathematics skills among standard two pupils (field data).

Suggested strategy

Teachers

HTs

Parents

Interactive mathematics homework supervision

26 (63.4%)

19 (61.2%)

28 (63.6%)

Educating parents

10 (24.3%)

9 (19.3%)

13 (29.5%)

Parents meetings

3 (7.3%)

3 (12.9%)

2 (4.8%)

Developing positive relationships

2 (4.8%)

1 (2.4%)

Total

41 (100%)

31 (100%)

44 (100%)

3.7 Interactive mathematics homework supervision

Respondents reported interactive mathematics homework (IMH) supervision as one of
the effective strategies for fostering parental involvement in the development of
mathematics skills among standard two pupils. IMH could also enhance pupils’
learning of mathematics skills. It was observed that parents were anxious about
children’s learning at home. For instance, some parents reported that schools should
give books to pupils and guidelines on the questions to be performed daily. Others
suggested that pupils should be given questions to do every day while at home.
Equally important, the teachers and head teachers revealed that IMH is an
effective strategy as the pupils develop more attachment to their parents.
Other reasons were substantiated as the reasons for considering IMH as an
effective strategy. Firstly, it was noted that pupils get an opportunity to make
revisions and exercises at home. Secondly, parents should become familiar
with the school curriculum and syllabus. Thirdly, parents should set time for
helping and interacting with their children as stipulated guidelines. Fourthly, it
helps to monitor pupils’ attendance and learning. One teacher from school I
had the following view with regard to the effectiveness of IMH during the
interview:

Without doing more exercise, it is, to some extent, difficult to know
mathematics effectively. Therefore, children must do more exercises at
home because we have a fixed timetable at school. Their parents can
help the pupils while at home and they should contact us in case they
face difficulties.

(Interview with the teacher from school I, 2023)

With regard to IMH, one of the parents at school H:

Our children often don’t come to school. They end up hiding in the
streets instead. However, since they know that there is homework, they
will come to school because they know that we shall ask them about the
assignment for discussion. Therefore, they know that if they miss the
classes for two consecutive days, we shall inquire from the teacher about
what is happening. If they abscond from school, you will know.

(FGD
with parents at school H, 2023)

The expressions from the teacher and parents suggest that the provision of IMH
enables pupils to get an opportunity to practice more, and parents get in touch with
their children by helping them in case of complex concepts. This implies
that IMH provides the pupils with increased opportunities to participate in
mathematics exercises at home, thus developing their mathematics skills.
Furthermore, parents get an opportunity to know whether their children
attend the school or not and be able to make follow up. Therefore, they can
make more effort to communicate with the teacher in order to know the
reality.

3.8 Educating parents

Another strategy which the respondents reported involved educating the parents on
the importance of participating in children’s learning at home. The study findings
show that most parents consider teaching to be the teacher’s duty; hence, they are
not responsible. It is worth noting that most of the teachers suggested raising parents’
awareness by educating them. Several mechanisms for educating the parents were
pointed out. One of the mechanisms is about conducting school and class meetings.
The second mechanism is about conducting workshops and training among the
parents. Some of the teachers reported that conducting the meetings with the parents
could inform them about the importance of engaging parents in children’s
learning of mathematics skills. However, some of them had different views that
parent meetings might not be an effective means as parents rarely attend
the meetings. For example, one teacher from school D had the following
comment:

Meetings are good but I doubt whether this can help or not taking into
consideration the parents’ tendency towards school meetings. Unless we
use other means, such as a workshop, the meetings won’t help. When
parents hear that there is a workshop or seminar, they know that it is
something new, and so they come in a big number.

(Interview with the
teacher from school D, 2023)

Furthermore, educating parents was considered to be an effective strategy because
it offers the parents an opportunity to develop some skills in handling children’s
learning. It was argued that some parents cannot handle children during learning.
Such parents reported that they do not have pedagogical knowledge since they are not
teachers. In support of this opinion, some parents have reported that they are harsh

when guiding their children in their learning. In such a hostile environment, the
children develop fear instead of learning, and they fail to learn effectively. In this
regard, the parents can create common knowledge if given training. Further, the
parents and teachers should establish complementary communication. In support of
the argument at hand, one of the parents had the following comment during FGD at
school G:

As parents, we don’t have methods to teach children. We don’t guide
children step by step but we treat them as adults. Some of the parents
are too strict to the extent that the child starts crying when he/she sees
his/her parent with a book.

(FGD with a parent at school G, 2023)

The expression by the parent implies that they lack sufficient skills to help their
children learn mathematics skills.

3.9 Developing positive relationship

The study findings showed that establishing positive relationships among teachers and
parents constitutes one of the effective strategies. On the contrary, teachers and
parents minimally noted the development of positive relationships. For instance, it
was reported that working with parents needs to build rapport and trust. In
this view, the teachers suggested that they need to show genuine respect
and empathy for the parents and their perspectives. On the other hand, it
was reported that the parents also need to respect the teachers, appreciate
their work, and motivate them to collaborate effectively. In support of the
argument at hand, the teacher from school C had the following to say during the
interview:

For the parents to collaborate with you, you must acknowledge their
strengths and contributions. If you ignore their contributions, don’t think
that they can give you a positive shoulder. Your language must be
welcoming and positive.

(Interview with the teacher from school C, 2023)

Another teacher added:

The parents must appreciate that we are working to ensure that their
children learn well. Therefore, they should respect us when they come
to school. They should not insult us in front of our pupils or discuss
us negatively when they are at home.

(Interview with the teacher from
school G, 2023)

Based on the suggestions of both teachers and parents, it is evident that a positive
relationship based on respect and trust between teachers and parents constitutes an
effective strategy for ensuring teacher-parent collaboration. When trust and respect
are guaranteed, each party feels free, valued, and ready to collaborate in any
engagement.

4 Discussion of the findings

The study findings revealed several challenges that affect parental collaboration in
enhancing the development of mathematics skills among grade two pupils, including
parents’ mathematics knowledge, socio-economic status, and mathematics
self-efficacy. Similar to the current study findings, Hanafin and Lynch [21] and
O’Donoghue [49] observed that parents’ education level determines whether parents
will be actively involved in children’s mathematics work or not. As it was viewed in
the current study, parents with high levels of education were regarded as more
effective and active in engaging themselves in their pupil’s mathematics learning than
their counterparts with low levels of education. The limited engagement of the
parents with low education was attributed to low self-efficacy. Papadakis
et al. [50] had similar findings in that less-educated parents seem unable to adapt
appropriately to rapid technological progress and thus cannot effectively
exploit the advantages that mobile learning technologies have to offer to
children. In supporting the arguments in question, Hamlin and Flessa [20] found
out that many parents with low education suffer from low self-esteem, and
others do not experience success in school themselves; hence, they lack the
knowledge and confidence to help their children. Further, Mwase et al. [44]
propose that parents with low self-efficacy are more likely to avoid contact with
schools.

Different from low level of education, parents’ socio-economic status was also
viewed as a detrimental factor towards successful parental involvement in the
development of mathematics skills among grade two pupils. In this regard, Ðurišić
and Bunijevac [63] report that the parents’ socio-economic status influences parental
involvement in children’s learning and school activities. Ðurišić and Bunijevac [63]
further assert that parents from lower socio-economic backgrounds face many more
barriers to involvement, including non-flexible work schedules, lack of resources,
transportation problems and stress due to residing in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

Additionally, Hunt and Hu [25] point out that the feelings of inadequacy and
preoccupation with necessities prevent parents from other forms of collaboration, such
as communicating with schools. The findings of the current study revealed
that parents with low socio-economic status spend more time seeking family
demands. Therefore, they face difficulty participating in their children’s classroom
activities, attending meetings, or providing assistance in mathematics learning
activities.

While the study findings and reviewed literature show the challenges that mainly
focus on the subject itself and parents, the issues related to policy may serve as the
means to mitigate the challenges. As viewed in the current study, there is a
likelihood of improving teacher-parent collaboration if sufficient teachers
and books are available. Martin et al. [36] and Sobayi [56] substantiate
that the parents can easily engage in their children’s learning as they can
borrow some books from a school where there are sufficient books. While the
availability of mathematics books is highly acknowledged, this has been a
challenge in developing countries as it affects parents’ involvement in children’s
teaching [37]. Therefore, if the shortage of books and teachers is not addressed
accordingly, such a situation will continuously impact teacher-parent collaboration.
However, if there are sufficient teachers, they will be able to offer individualised
pupils’ assistance and provide mathematics homework activities for children’s
learning.

Furthermore, the findings highlight the significance of IMH, thus emphasising its
importance in ensuring that children do not solely concentrate on playing during
post-school hours. Kerawalla et al. [28] report that when children are engaged in
mathematics homework activities, they develop a level of self-responsibility and
independence in mathematics activities. This implies that when children have their
homework, they learn self-management skills through balancing playing and
learning time. Further, Moore and Ronau [42] and Xu [67] reveal that when
children are provided with interactive homework, they learn how to manage
their home chores and develop self-efficacy skills and provide parents with
an opportunity to interact with their children. This implies that they will
engage in various household tasks while allocating time to complete their
homework and foster essential self-management skills in addition to academic
proficiency.

While IMH was highly capitalised on in this study, the review of the literature
presents varied perceptions regarding the effectiveness of IMH on children’s learning.
For instance, the studies on the assessment of the relationship between academic
achievement and mathematics homework focus on three main variables, which
comprise the amount of homework assigned, time spent on homework and
amount of homework actually completed [61, 69]. The general findings reveal
that the variables in question remained inconclusive because most of them
revealed a limited association between homework and academic achievement in
elementary school. However, other studies such as those by Cooper et al. [12]
and Moore and Ronau [42] found out that the most potent factor affecting
achievement was the amount of homework that the student actually completed as

opposed to the amount of homework that was assigned. Therefore, Moore and
Ronau [42] suggest that the children in elementary schools also perform
better if the homework provided is relevant in terms of amount and time
spent.

Another issue which gained attention involved the creation of mutual
relationships between teachers and parents. Similar to the findings of the current
study, a study by Wellner [65] shows that building trustful relationships
between the teacher and parent involves the school’s openness and trust in each
other, thus building connectedness and trust between parents and teachers.
Equally important, Karakuş and Savaş [27] investigated the effects of parental
involvement, teachers’ trust in parents and students and teachers’ pupil control
ideology on conflict management strategies. The study revealed that the
teachers develop trust in parents and their students as the parents are more
involved. Based on such findings, parental involvement in the development
of mathematics skills can be enhanced if there is a positive pattern among
teachers and parents. While trust was spotted in literature [38], it also presents
the fundamental aspect of raising parents’ awareness through organising
training and workshops for the families, as was also noted in the current
study. With regard to this view, parents will be able to collaborate with
teachers effectively if they are aware of their role in the children’s mathematics
learning.

5 Conclusion and recommendations

The current study identifies the predominant challenges in parental involvement in
children’s mathematics learning as being related to the mathematics subject itself and
the parents’ attitudes and knowledge. The aforementioned challenges are likely to
result in poor pupils’ learning of mathematics skills and subsequently result in poor
mathematics skills performance. This can lead to impairment in learning other
subjects and other executive functions. The study, therefore, concludes that for
effective enhancement of early-grade pupils’ mathematics skills, it is fundamental to
foster parents’ positive attitudes towards mathematics. Further, schools should
develop effective mechanisms in an attempt to raise the parents’ awareness and
readiness for involvement in pupils’ mathematics learning. Furthermore, it can be
concluded from the study findings that in order to improve parental involvement in
pupils’ development of mathematics skills, schools need to design and provide
interactive mathematics homework, educate parents through meetings and workshops,
and foster positive relationships. However, designing and providing interactive
homework facilitates the rest. It is therefore recommended that schools should design
and provide interactive homework in order to improve the teacher-parent partnership
and enhance mathematics skills among grade two pupils. Additionally, since the
current study focused on early-grade learners, especially grade two pupils, it
is recommended that other studies be done in upper grades to determine
the effectiveness of parental involvement in enhancing mathematics skills

development.

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