Survey: Parents Say Math is Critical to Children’s Future Success

Raytheon – a major US defense contractor and an industrial corporation, released findings of a survey of parents regarding their views on which of their children’s studies and skills will help them most in the children’s future careers.

As statistics show American students lagging behind their international peers in math performance, Raytheon commissioned a survey of 1,000 parents of children between the ages of 6 and 15 aimed at further understanding their perspective on their children’s math-related study habits, attitudes and priorities.

“The United States faces a national STEM crisis that affects our country’s economic prosperity and national security. We believe capturing the interest of students in their formative years is key to engaging them in a lifetime of STEM learning and career pursuits — and parental involvement is vital to shaping their children’s attitudes,” said William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon Company. “For the past seven years Raytheon has directed significant resources toward inspiring students to make the connection between math and the wonders of the world around them.”

Key Survey Findings

Among the key survey findings:

• More than half of parents say that being good at math will help their children achieve future success – and they see a promising future for their children in science- and math-based industries.
• When asked to select an industry that would offer their children the best career opportunities, 3 out of 4 parents chose STEM-related fields.
• On the other hand, when it comes to free time, close to half (46 percent) of parents prefer to have their children playing sports than engaging in other types of activities, including math- and science-related pursuits.
• The survey found parents believe their children are on the right track: more than 8 in 10 parents (86 percent) said their children love school, and 7 in 10 (72 percent) said their children love math.
• However, parent responses show there is a drop in math interest as children move from elementary to middle school (from 77 percent to 67 percent).
• Parents were aware of opportunities to help their children with math: 4 out of 5 parents believed hands-on activities such as cooking, sewing and building projects can make math fun.

There is, however, another reason to study math, and it has nothing to do with one’s career or financial future. Math is beautiful! Math is elegant! It is the only universal scientific language, and it is the underpinnings of all pursuit of understanding the universe in which we find ourselves. It is one of the defining human activities, and does not need to translate into dollars and cents to be studied. But hey, it doesn’t hurt if it does.