LAUSR

Previous studies suggest that parental involvement in children’s mathematics education is more established for parents who feel competent in mathematics. This qualitative study aimed to gain an in-depth insight into the experiences of parental involvement of two different groups of parents: those who are mathematicians and those who are not. Data were collected through narrative interviews with parents. A thematic analysis of the data revealed findings within two distinct but interrelated themes: parents’ mathematical experiences and parental involvement in their children’s mathematics education. The findings indicated that the two groups of participating parents differ in their own experiences of mathematics as well as in their parental involvement. The main difference in parental involvement was indicated in the area of children’s school mathematics, since mathematician parents, compared to non-mathematician parents, according to their narratives almost never get involved in their children’s mathematics homework. In addition, the data revealed a large gap in the coverage and content of the mathematical activities that parents in both groups provided to their children.