香港六合彩中特网

The study, led by Professor Philip Parker (ACU) looked at 2,602 Australian girls and boys and the impact of their mothers鈥� behaviour on their National Assessment Program 鈥� Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) scores.

鈥淲e found that when a mother鈥檚 beliefs were overly optimistic about their child鈥檚 abilities, their child was more likely to improve their NAPLAN scores,鈥� Professor Parker said.

鈥淚ncreased maternal optimism also increased kids鈥� interest in reading and maths, and this improvement happened across both primary and high school. This study counters the view you need to be 鈥榯ough to be kind鈥� as a parent.鈥�

The researchers analysed data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children which is linked to children鈥檚 NAPLAN scores. This dataset was collected by the Australian government and was a study of children and one parent who signed up to the study 鈥� over 96 per cent of the parents were mothers.

But the research also found that a mother鈥檚 powerful psychological beliefs can go both ways.

Dr Jake Anders (IOE) co-authored the study and said: 鈥淥ur analysis also looked at gender differences and found that mums tend to be more pessimistic about girls鈥� abilities in maths, and boys鈥� abilities in English.鈥�

ACU鈥檚 Dr Taren Sanders, study co-author, added: 鈥淒ue to the power of a person鈥檚 beliefs, the influence of gender stereotypes on mums may help make those stereotypes actually come true. The study shows how these beliefs are affected by gender stereotypes in ways that could be detrimental to the child.鈥�

University of Sydney study co-author Dr Rhiannon B Parker said: 鈥淚t was notable that mothers from non-English speaking backgrounds were much more positive about their child's reading skills than mothers for whom English was their first language. But when it came to judging their children鈥檚 math abilities, there were no differences between these mothers. We suspect this could be because mothers from non-English speaking backgrounds factor in their family's unique context when thinking about their child's ability in reading.鈥�

Lead researcher Professor Parker concluded: 鈥淭he study confirms there is no problem being your child鈥檚 biggest fan. The rest of society can do the job of providing a reality check on your kid, but you don鈥檛 have to 鈥� you can be a cheerleader.鈥�

Links

• Read the paper 鈥樷��
• Read a piece by the researchers in The Conversation: 鈥樷��
• Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities
• Department of Learning and Leadership

Image

Image: Andrea Piacquadio via Pexels