Let’s Spend Time Together: Text Messaging Parents to Help Math Anxious Students

Abstract

Even when parents have the time required to support their children’s education, they can increase their children’s anxiety about school when they try to help, especially if they are not confident in their own abilities. This study measures the effects of having parents complete nonacademic schoolwork with their teenage children. Half of the 422 participating parents were randomly assigned to receive weekly assignments for nonacademic activities to complete with their children, whereas the other half received information about upcoming mathematics tests. Mathematics-anxious students benefited from working on the nonacademic assignments, performing significantly better on their mathematics tests and decreasing their mathematics anxiety after treatment. These findings highlight the importance of involving parents in ways that feel nonthreatening to their children.