High-quality caregiver-child relationships are critical to healthy development, including the acquisition of language and literacy skills. However, their potential benefits to early mathematical development and its underlying mechanisms have been minimally explored. In view that language and literacy development play prominent roles in mathematical development, this study investigated whether very young children's relationship quality with parents and teachers were linked with their mathematical ability through language and literacy abilities. One hundred and thirty two-year-olds from pre-nursery classes in Hong Kong were tested on their early academic abilities. Furthermore, their parents and teachers evaluated on questionnaires the quality of their relationships with the children. Results of path analyses indicated that after controlling for children's age, parent-child closeness was associated with children's mathematical ability via language ability. Teacher-child closeness had a direct link to children's mathematical ability, as well as indirect links through language and literacy abilities. Parent-child conflict and teacher-child conflict had neither direct nor indirect relations with children's mathematical ability. These results suggest that mathematical development is interwoven with language and literacy development beginning in the early years. Also, parents and teachers should be reminded the importance of building close and affectionate relationships with very young children when nurturing the foundation for academic development. Copyright © 2023 Springer.

High-quality caregiver-child relationships are critical to healthy development, including the acquisition of language and literacy skills. However, their potential benefits to early mathematical development and its underlying mechanisms have been minimally explored. In view that language and literacy development play prominent roles in mathematical development, this study investigated whether very young children’s relationship quality with parents and teachers were linked with their mathematical ability through language and literacy abilities. One hundred and thirty two-year-olds from pre-nursery classes in Hong Kong were tested on their early academic abilities. Furthermore, their parents and teachers evaluated on questionnaires the quality of their relationships with the children. Results of path analyses indicated that after controlling for children’s age, parent–child closeness was associated with children’s mathematical ability via language ability. Teacher–child closeness had a direct link to children’s mathematical ability, as well as indirect links through language and literacy abilities. Parent–child conflict and teacher–child conflict had neither direct nor indirect relations with children’s mathematical ability. These results suggest that mathematical development is interwoven with language and literacy development beginning in the early years. Also, parents and teachers should be reminded the importance of building close and affectionate relationships with very young children when nurturing the foundation for academic development. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.

Emergency online education has been adopted worldwide due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Prior research regarding online learning predominantly focused on the perception of parents, teachers, and students in tertiary education, while younger children’s perspectives have rarely been examined. This study investigated how family, school, and individual factors would be associated with primary school students’ satisfaction, perceived effectiveness, and preference in online learning during COVID-19. A convenient sample of 781 Hong Kong students completed an anonymous online survey from June to October 2020. Logistic regression was conducted for 13 potential factors. Results indicated that only 57% of students were satisfied with their schools’ online learning arrangement and 49.6% regarded the online learning as an effective learning mode. Only 12.8% of students preferred online learning, while 67.2% of students preferred in-person schooling. Multiple analyses suggested that teacher–student interaction during online classes was positively associated with students’ satisfaction, perceived effectiveness, and preferences in online learning. Compared to grades 1–2 students, grades 3–6 students perceived more effectiveness and would prefer online learning. Happier schools were more likely to deliver satisfying and effective online education. Students who reported less happiness at school would prefer online learning, and students who reported less happiness at home would be less satisfied with online learning and reflected lower effectiveness. Teachers are encouraged to deliver more meaningful interactions to students and offer extra support to younger children during online classes. Primary schools and parents are encouraged to create a healthy and pleasant learning environment for children. The government may consider building up happy schools in the long run. The study findings are instrumental for policymakers, institutions, educators, and researchers in