Mathematics learning gap during pandemic among early adolescents: Roles of own aspiration and parental involvement

The Covid-19 Pandemic has affected school learning broadly, and particularly for students from low socioeconomic status families. The present study aimed to quantify the heterogeneous learning loss in mathematical learning due to the pandemic, and more importantly, to understand whether parents' involvement or adolescents' aspiration is more responsible for the learning gap. Using the Propensity Score Matching method, 678 adolescents aged 10–15 in China were selected from the 2016 and 2020 China Family Panel Study database (339 for each year) and controlled for demographic variables, educational aspirations, family socioeconomic status (SES) and parental involvement. The results showed that during the pandemic, (1) learning loss in mathematical reasoning skill was about 12 % among Chinese adolescents, and the loss was more significant for low SES adolescents (20 %) than high SES adolescents (8 %); and (2) adolescents' educational aspiration directly mediated the association between SES and mathematical reasoning skill, whereas parents' involvement in academics only had an indirect effect through aspiration. Findings implies that facilitating adolescents' educational aspiration can be a more effective strategy to buffer the pandemic-induced mathematics learning loss. Thus, parents, especially those from low SES families, are advised to facilitate adolescents' aspiration than simply involving in adolescents' learning.