👶《Raising Kids with Data⑦》💥 “I’m Good at Math!” — How One Subject Can Spark Lifelong Confidence
🧙♂️Data Whizard🧙♂️데이터 지식 마법사
2025. 6. 29. 03:00
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🧠 Can Your Child's Favorite School Subject Strengthen Their Self-Esteem?
Happy child receiving praise from parents for getting a perfect score on a math tes
🧙♀️Hi there, I’m your friendly Data Whizard — here to turn parenting questions into powerful data stories.
One evening, my child proudly solved a tricky math problem and said with shining eyes:
“Mom, I may not be the best at everything... but I think I’m really good at math!”
That one sentence revealed so much. His face lit up. His voice was confident. I could almost feel his self-worth rising right there.
That got me thinking: What if the subjects our kids feel good at actually play a big role in building their self-esteem?
To answer that question, I looked into real data from the 2022 Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS). It's a large-scale research project following students over time to understand their growth — academically and emotionally.
I specifically focused on how children's grades in three subjects — Korean (language arts), Math, and English — relate to how confident they feel about themselves.
🔬 Method: OLS Regression — Predicting Self-Esteem Based on Subject Grades
Here’s how I ran the analysis:
Dependent Variable: Self-Esteem Score
Independent Variables: Grades in Korean, Math, and English
Tool: Stata 16.0 (Statistical Software)
"What factors influence self-esteem?
The goal was simple: See which subject had the strongest connection with a child’s sense of confidence and self-worth.
📊 Results at a Glance
Subject
Effect on Self-Esteem
p-Value
Interpretation
Language
+0.057
0.788
No meaningful link found
Math
+0.330
0.066
Almost significant — suggests a confidence boost
English
+0.016
0.943
No strong effect
💬 What It Means for Everyday Parenting
Language Arts: While test scores didn’t show a strong link to confidence, this subject still helps kids learn to express feelings and build emotional awareness. Think of it as the heart language, not just a test subject.
Math: This was the magic subject. Math success gave kids a sense of “I can do this!” — which became the foundation for stronger self-belief over time.
English: Learning a second language is a great life skill, but didn’t seem to shape short-term confidence in a meaningful way (at least not at this age).
Does math achievement affect self-esteem?
📊 Math: The Confidence Catalyst
Math was the star of the show in our data. When a child solves a tough math problem and gets it right, they don’t just earn a point — they feel powerful. 💪✨ They whisper to themselves, “I did it!” And that success becomes a stepping stone. Over time, these little victories turn into a strong inner voice:
“I’m capable. I can figure things out.” 🧠💡 Math isn’t just numbers — it’s about proving to yourself that you can do hard things. No wonder it was the only subject that showed a clear upward trend in self-esteem. 📈 Even small improvements in math can have a big emotional impact. It’s not just academic — it’s personal. ❤️🔥
✨ Summary: “The more a child feels they’ve succeeded in math, the more they begin to believe in themselves.”
🔖 Sources
Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS), 2022
Yu & Kim (2010). Effects of peer math instruction on self-esteem.
Davies & Brember (1999). Reading, math and confidence in young children.
OLS regression conducted via Stata 16.0
🧙♂️ The Data Whizard®
Turning emotions into evidence, one insight at a time.
✨ Ph.D. in Data Economics — Merging data with empathy ✨ 3× Grand Slam Award Winner — Big Data Excellence ✨ 18 consecutive KCI publications — Scholarly streak ✨ Editorial Board, Journal of IT Applications & Management ✉️ Collaborations: the.datawhizard@gmail.com
