Exploring the links between household chores, learning, and mathematics performance in Zambia

Tan, Mei; Li, Nan; Pirozzolo, Joseph W.; Bolden, David; Chamvu, Florence; Jere-Folotiya, Jacqueline; Kaani, Bestern; Kalima, Kalima; N’gandu, Sophie Kasonde; Serpell, Robert; Grigorenko, Elena L.; Hart, Lesley; Chart, Hilary; Jarvin, Linda; Kwiatkowski, Jonna; Newman, Tina; Stemler, Steven E.; Thuma, Philip E.; Yrigollen, Carolyn

Abstract

In Zambia, as well as many other African and non-Western cultures, the extent and kind of children’s chores may contribute to their learning, yet often also conflict with their schooling. In the moderation analysis we present in this manuscript, we aimed to explore the interactive effects of schooling and chores on children’s mathematics performance at different levels of math knowledge and computational skill, taking into account how the assessment questions were presented. The sample consisted of 1,535 children (719 girls) living in rural and peri-urban communities in Zambia who were administered the Zambia Achievement Test (ZAT). We categorized the 60 items of the ZAT by their targeted content knowledge, sizes of the numbers involved, and forms of representation. Our results showed that chores supported the development of very basic mathematics skills and knowledge in children who had less schooling, but also significantly lowered the performance of students who were in school once their school attendance rose above certain levels. Moreover, this interaction between chores and school attendance was observed predominantly in girls, with a lesser effect of chores on boys.

Citation

Tan, M., Li, N., Pirozzolo, J. W., Bolden, D., Chamvu, F., Jere-Folotiya, J., Kaani, B., Kalima, K., N’gandu, S. K., Serpell, R., Grigorenko, E. L., Hart, L., Chart, H., Jarvin, L., Kwiatkowski, J., Newman, T., Stemler, S. E., Thuma, P. E., & Yrigollen, C. (2023). Exploring the links between household chores, learning, and mathematics performance in Zambia. Current Psychology, 42, 20397–20408. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03077-z

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 31, 2022
• Online Publication Date: May 3, 2022
• Publication Date: 2023-08
• Deposit Date: Jun 30, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: May 3, 2023
• Journal: Current Psychology
• Print ISSN: 1046-1310
• Electronic ISSN: 1936-4733
• Publisher: Springer
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 42
• Pages: 20397–20408
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03077-z
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1200523