The effect of family economy on mathematical problem-solving in fourth graders: the mediation of parental accompaniment and family book collection

Many Chinese parents experience anxiety stemming from their financial circumstances, limited time available for parental accompaniment, and insufficient cultural enrichment within the home. Fearing that these factors may adversely affect their children's academic achievements, they recognize that it is particularly crucial to investigate the influence of the family environment on a child's education. Mathematical problem-solving skills serve as a crucial indicator for assessing primary school students' academic achievement in mathematics and intellectual development. Using a questionnaire on family education from the Mathematical Problem-Solving Skills Assessment Survey as the measurement tool, the study targeted fourth-grade primary school students in a specific region of China and obtained 8,303 valid samples. Through correlation analysis and mediation effect testing, this study investigated the relationship between family economy parental accompaniment, family book collection, and pupils' mathematical problem-solving skills. Through regression analysis, the study highlights the impact of different forms of parental accompaniment on pupils' mathematical problem-solving skills. The findings revealed that: (1) Parental accompaniment, family economy, and the family book collection all predicted fourth-grade pupils' mathematical problem-solving skills. (2) Parental accompaniment and the family book collection partially mediated the influence of family economy on mathematical problem-solving skills. (3) Parental accompaniment significantly enhances pupils' mathematical problem-solving skills, with little difference in effectiveness between different forms of accompaniment. To this end, we believe that parental training programmes can help parents recognize the importance of quality time spent together and the value of a family book collection. Alternatively, providing resource support to families with limited financial means-such as book lending services or financial assistance-can optimize pupils' learning environments.