Family Income Inequality and Primary Math Achievement in Bangladesh

Abstract

Drawing from family investment model, the authors tested parental monetary and time investment pathways underlying the relation between lower income and poorer math achievement during second grade in a sample of Bangladeshi children (N = 425, 52% boys, Mage = 5.60, SD = 1.09) and their mothers. Particularly, they collected 2-web data on family income and parental investments from the mothers during 2016 through 2017; first grade and second math scores were collected from the schools during 2017 through 2018. The results from structural equation modeling suggested that lower income and fewer monetary and time investments in children's education during their first to second grade were directly and significantly associated with children's poorer math scores during second grade. The parental time investment was stronger than the parental monetary investment in the relation between lower income and poor math achievement within the sample. Future directions for research and policy implications are discussed.