The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which socioeconomic factors, demographic factors, parent and student attitudes, and parent involvement were associated with math achievement. Students in Grade 5 were selected as the population for this study. Random sampling procedures were used to select the sample. Students in the sample completed a modified version of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales. Normal Curve Equivalent Scores (NCEs) from the math scales on the TerraNova Standardized Achievement Test were obtained for all students from the individual school records. Parents of the students also participated by answering questions pertaining to their attitudes toward math, their level of involvement in the classroom, and questions that pertained to socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. The findings from this study suggested that each of the six scales used from the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales were all significantly associated with the math, computation, and composite scores of the TerraNova Standardized Achievement Test. Family annual income, parents' educational level, and parent involvement were also significantly associated with math achievement. Four of the six attitudinal scales; the Mathematics as a Male Domain, Confidence in Learning Mathematics, Parent, and Mathematics Anxiety Scales, were significantly related to parents' educational level, family's annual income, and gender. Socioeconomic and attitudinal factors were the most powerful predictors of math achievment, while gender and parent involvement were not strong predictors.

[pt] Diversos estudos apontam o efeito do nível de escolaridade parental no desenvolvimento das funções cognitivas, em especial a linguagem e as funções executivas. Evidenciam a importância da interação entre o cuidador e a criança, a qualidade da estimulação e a promoção de experiências de desenvolvimento, propiciadas a criança, como fundamentais para o desenvolvimento das funções executivas. Há poucos estudos desse efeito no desenvolvimento de crianças brasileiras. O objetivo da dissertação foi investigar o efeito do nível de escolaridade dos pais, separadamente, no desempenho em tarefas de memória de longo prazo, memória de trabalho, controle inibitório e flexibilidade cognitiva de crianças e adolescentes com baixo nível socioeconômico na cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Participaram do estudo 352 crianças entre 7 a 15 anos de escolas privadas com perfil de baixo nível socioeconômico na cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Os instrumentos utilizados foram a Figura Complexa de Rey, a Aprendizagem auditivo verbal de Rey, o paradigma de Stroop e as tarefas de Fluência Verbal fonêmica e semântica. Os resultados mostraram efeitos para a escolaridade de ambos os pais. Resultados sistemáticos aconteceram na fluência verbal, na faixa de 9-10 anos. Não foram encontrados efeitos significativos em controle inibitório e memória de trabalho. O efeito da escolaridade parental apareceu de forma sistemática em funções executivas, mas não em outras funções, em uma amostra homogênea, o que levanta a ideia de que outros fatores como a renda e a cultura, se somam ao efeito ambiental no desenvolvimento cognitivo. / [en] Several studies demonstrated the effect of parents educational level in the development of cognitive functions, especially language and executive functions. Highlight the importance of interaction between the caregiver and the child, the quality of stimulation and promotion of development experiences afforded the child, as fundamental for the development of executive functions. There are few studies of this effect in the development of Brazilian children. The objective of the study is to analyze the effect of the education level of parents, separately, in the cognitive performance of long-term memory, working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility in children and adolescents living at Rio de Janeiro with low socioeconomic status. The study included 352 children between 7-15 years of private schools with low socioeconomic profile students of city of Rio de Janeiro. The instruments used were the Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure Test, the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, the Stroop test (Victoria Version) and Verbal Fluency phonemic and semantic. The results showed effects on education of both parents. Systematic results happened in verbal fluency, in the 9-10 year group. There were no significant effects on inhibitory control and working memory. The effect of parental education appeared systematically in executive functions, but not in other functions, raises the idea that other factors such as income and culture add to the environmental effect on cognitive development.