Social-emotional competence plays a significant role in promoting positive development among adolescents, reducing problem behaviors, and enhancing academic achievement. However, the specific mechanism through which social-emotional competence affects academic achievement remains unclear. This study analyzed data from 539 elementary school students and found that social-emotional competence could predict academic achievement, with academic emotions, learning strategies, and student-teacher relationships serving as mediating factors between social-emotional competence and academic achievement. The research findings suggest that it is important for schools to value and foster the social-emotional competence of elementary school students while integrating social-emotional learning programs to enhance their academic emotions and learning strategies. Furthermore, it is necessary for teachers to establish positive student teacher relationships and provide supportive environments for their students.

Using data from the China Education Panel Survey, this study examines the impact of homework time on academic performance among Chinese junior high school students. The findings show that seventh and ninth graders spend 2.28 and 2.67 hours daily on homework, respectively, exceeding the 90-minute limit stipulated by the “double reduction” policy. Homework time significantly varies by gender, grade, and region. The relationship between homework time and the academic performance of junior high school students follows an inverted U-shaped pattern. Ordinary Least Squares analysis indicates that the optimal homework time for maximizing academic performance is less than 0.96 hours per day. Beyond the threshold, the positive effect diminishes, and when homework time exceeds 4.07 hours, it negatively impacts academic performance. Mediating effect analysis shows that excessive homework time leads to negative emotions, such as boredom, unhappiness, frustration, and sadness while depriving students of necessary sleep for healthy growth. It is concluded that optimal daily homework time is about 1 hour, aligning with the “double reduction” policy guidelines.

By comparing the changes from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s results of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 and 2022, it is found that 15-year-old students in East Asian countries and economies maintain a commanding lead in reading, mathematics, and science. These students from regions such as Singapore, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong (China), Macao (China), and Chinese Taipei not only sustain their academic excellence but also experience improvements in learning efficiency and their sense of belonging at school. Drawing on the PISA 2022 data, this study analyzes students’ learning time investment, out-of school-hours (OSH) services, and their relationship with student academic performance. The results show that the above countries and economies have achieved encouraging results in academic burden reduction by decreasing learning time in regular school lessons, controlling homework time, and providing OSH services. These distinctive policy interventions can serve as valuable reference points for the Chinese Mainland’s ongoing implementation of the “double reduction” policy while facilitating an informed judgment of potential risks.

The “double reduction” policy has shown initial success over the past three years. However, parents and off-campus training institutions continue to influence the policy implementation significantly. Aiming to investigate the correlation between private tutoring and academic performance, as well as identify key moderating variables, this study conducted a meta-analysis on 21 primary studies, encompassing 54 independent samples, 79 effect sizes, and 242,601 participants. The findings revealed a low correlation between private tutoring and the academic performance of students. The impact of private tutoring on academic performance was insignificant after the application of the trim-and-fill method. Among the nine moderating variables analyzed, student gender, educational stage, family socioeconomic status (SES), region, tutoring subject, tutoring duration, and type of tutoring class did not significantly influence the effectiveness of private tutoring. The conclusions clarify the common one-sided perceptions people have about the role of private tutoring, offering new insights for education policymakers, researchers, teachers, parents, and students.

It is essential to ensure that teachers allocate adequate attention to homework evaluation and effectively carry it out in order to successfully implement the “double reduction” policy. From the perspective of teachers’ attention allocation, this study employed the NVivo 12 software to conduct text analysis on 39 cases of homework evaluation reform practices in primary and secondary schools in City N, China, from 2017 to 2021. The findings indicate that homework evaluation reform in these schools is a practical problem-oriented behavioral decision, and implementing the “double reduction” policy enhances teachers’ attention allocation on homework evaluation. The attention allocation of teachers encompasses multiple aspects, such as determining the purpose of evaluation, setting evaluation content, and selecting evaluation subjects and methods. Following the implementation of the “double reduction” policy, teachers allocate more attention to reducing the homework burden on students. However, certain issues persist in the practices of homework evaluation reform, including inadequate consideration of constraints, an unbalanced content structure, and a lack of process coordination. Therefore, under the “double reduction” policy, it is imperative to improve school incentive systems, enhance teachers’ evaluation capabilities, and alleviate their workload. These measures can guide teachers to allocate more attention to homework evaluation, thereby enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of attention allocation and fully realizing the educational function of homework evaluation.

This study analyzed the effect of primary and secondary school students’ on-campus out-of-school-hours (OSH) tutoring participation on private tutoring participation using the two-level Bernoulli model based on the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data in 2018. The results revealed that students’ on-campus OSH tutoring participation did not decrease the likelihood of their private tutoring participation, while low-achieving students or students from disadvantaged family socioeconomic status (SES) were more likely to continue to participate in private tutoring after receiving OSH tutoring. This may be due to the following: Firstly, on-campus OSH tutoring was less targeted and personalized before the implementation of the “double reduction” policy; secondly, private tutoring institutions conducted misleading marketing and offered private tutoring in the time for on-campus OSH tutoring; and thirdly, students with disadvantaged family SES had fewer opportunities to receive high-quality OSH tutoring. Therefore, it is suggested that concerted efforts be made to provide more targeted and personalized on-campus OSH tutoring and prohibit academic private tutoring institutions from entering campuses. Additionally, it is necessary to enrich the supply of OSH service resources for interest and quality development, optimize the allocation of on-campus OSH tutoring resources, and facilitate the balanced, quality-oriented development of OSH tutoring among different schools and regions.

Although the measurement and evaluation of students’ mathematics achievement emotions have attracted global attention, the relationship between junior secondary students’ mathematics achievement emotions and their impact on mathematics performance remains to be explored. This study examined the characteristics of junior secondary students’ mathematics achievement emotions and their impacts on mathematics performance by investigating 1,423 junior secondary students. By using SPSS and AMOS softwares for data analysis, the findings revealed that, firstly, boys, students in Grade 7, public school students, and key school students had more positive mathematics achievement emotions than girls, students in Grade 8 and Grade 9, private school students, and ordinary school students, respectively. Secondly, students’ mathematics performance was positively correlated with positive achievement emotions and negatively correlated with negative achievement emotions. Thirdly, positive mathematics achievement emotions significantly enhanced students’ affective mathematics learning outcomes, while negative mathematics achievement emotions had a pronounced inhibitory effect on mathematics performance. Therefore, special attention is required to be paid to the “Grade 8 phenomenon,” “girl anxiety,” policy support for high-quality and balanced development of mathematics education, and to facilitate students to achieve success and avoid failure in mathematics performance.

Educational expectations, which reflect the anticipations of individuals, parents, or teachers regarding the future educational achievements of learners, play a pivotal role in both academic achievement and personal development. The prevalent discrepancies in educational expectations between parents and children have been overlooked in numerous studies despite their potential to result in suboptimal individual behavior. This study investigated the impact and operational mechanisms of parent-child discrepancies in educational expectations on adolescent academic achievement, utilizing data from the China Education Panel Survey of the 2014-2015 academic year. Additionally, ordinary least squares regression, propensity score matching, and Bootstrap test for mediation analysis were employed. The research underscored that parent-child discrepancies in educational expectations had a significant negative impact on the academic achievement of adolescents. Specifically, the upward-biased parent-child discrepancies in educational expectations, characterized by extremely high aspirations for children to become talented individuals, were unreasonable and had a significant negative impact on academic achievement. Meanwhile, no significant relationship was observed between downward biased parent-child discrepancies in educational expectations and academic achievement. Psychological stress, academic burdens, and negative emotions mediated the relationship between upward-biased parent-child discrepancies in educational expectations and academic achievement to some extent. Furthermore, male students were more susceptible to the adverse effects of upward-biased parent-child discrepancies in educational expectations on academic achievement than female students. Based on these findings, several countermeasures and suggestions were proposed, including establishing reasonable educational expectations and enhancing parent-child communication.

Teachers are essential in China’s national strategy of carrying out the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education. This study examined the impact of teachers’ behaviors in family-school-community partnerships on children’s academic achievement. Utilizing county-based survey data and employing an ordered probit model with interaction effects for dependent variables, this study discovered a trend: Children associated with improved school conditions and teachers with higher professional titles tended to attain higher academic achievement. Moreover, teachers’ behaviors in family-school-community partnerships that extend beyond classroom instruction indicated both direct and indirect positive effects on children’s academic achievement, narrowing the gap in academic achievement between students in rural schools with teachers of lower professional titles and those in more advantaged schools with high professional titles. In the context of developing a high-quality education system and achieving quality compulsory education in a balanced manner, it is essential to consider children’s academic achievement within a broader educational framework that extends beyond conventional classroom instruction. It is recommended that teachers’ professional competence in family-school-community partnerships be integrated into the guidelines for teacher professional development. For educational policies aimed at fostering a high-quality education system, it is beneficial to extend the investment both for “hard assets” in funds and “soft assets” in teachers’expertise. Such strategies could lead to an overall improvement in children's academic achievement.

Promoting the online flow of high-quality teacher resources has emerged as an important way to pursue coordinated progress in burden reduction and quality improvement under the “double reduction” policy. Based on the Open Online Tutoring Program of Secondary School Teachers (hereinafter referred to as “the open tutoring program”) in City A, China, this study examined the factors influencing teachers’ continuance intention to participate in the open tutoring program and their structural relationships, using a structural equation modeling analysis based on 1,159 sample data. The results show that: Firstly, teachers’reputation enhancement, perceived playfulness, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use have a positive effect on teachers’continuance intention to participate in online after-school teaching services. Secondly, online teaching efficacy has no direct effect on teachers’ continuance intention, but rather impacts their reputation enhancement and beliefs about the value of the open tutoring program. Thirdly, social influence has a positive effect on teachers’ reputation. Fourthly, perceived ease of use has a positive effect on teachers’ perception of the value of the open tutoring program. In light of the above, relevant suggestions are proposed to encourage teachers to continue participating in online after-school teaching services.

In light of the “double reduction” policy, the question of whether increased parental involvement in education is beneficial or detrimental constitutes a scientific issue that needs to be urgently addressed within the framework of evidence-based education. This longitudinal study investigated how various dimensions of parental involvement in education correlates to school-age children’s academic achievement while examining the moderating effect of family socioeconomic status (SES). As observed, three dimensions of parental involvement in education had respective predictive effects on school-age children’s academic achievement: (1) Personal involvement positively predicted academic achievement, with stronger involvement leading to improved outcomes; (2) cognitive involvement demonstrated an inverted U-shaped correlation with academic achievement, indicating diminishing returns when the involvement was excessive; (3) behavioral involvement exhibited an insignificant predictive effect on academic achievement. Moreover, the personal involvement of lower SES parents showed a strong predictive effect, proving the specificity of the moderating effect of family SES. The findings shed light on policy making, enhancing effective parental involvement in education, and promoting high-quality family education development.

As a pivotal intermediary stage between compulsory education and higher education, high school education plays a key role in the Chinese education system. The capability of high school students to cultivate motivational beliefs exerts a substantial impact on their subsequent academic development. This study employed a cross-lagged analysis to examine the longitudinal interrelation among self-concept, interest value, and effort cost of 694 Chinese high school students over three semesters from grade 11 to grade 12, and the impact on their academic achievement. In mathematics, there was a negative predictive correlation between self-concept and effort cost. Additionally, the negative prediction of perceived effort cost in the second semester of grade 11 on interest value in the first semester of grade 12 appeared to be significant. In English, the developmental trajectory was relatively independent, and only self-concept in the first semester of grade 11 negatively predicted effort cost in the second semester of grade 11. In both subjects, self-concept positively predicted academic achievement, whereas effort cost negatively predicted academic achievement. Latent interaction analysis further revealed a significant interaction effect between self-concept and effort cost on academic achievement in mathematics. The findings clarified the significance of students’ learning motivation influencing their academic achievement. In the meantime, the developmental trajectories of high school students’ learning motivation were dynamic and demonstrated a clear domain-specificity pattern.

Teachers are essential in China’s national strategy of carrying out the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education. This study examined the impact of teachers’ behaviors in family-school-community partnerships on children’s academic achievement. Utilizing county-based survey data and employing an ordered probit model with interaction effects for dependent variables, this study discovered a trend: Children associated with improved school conditions and teachers with higher professional titles tended to attain higher academic achievement. Moreover, teachers’ behaviors in family-school-community partnerships that extend beyond classroom instruction indicated both direct and indirect positive effects on children’s academic achievement, narrowing the gap in academic achievement between students in rural schools with teachers of lower professional titles and those in more advantaged schools with high professional titles. In the context of developing a high-quality education system and achieving quality compulsory education in a balanced manner, it is essential to consider children’s academic achievement within a broader educational framework that extends beyond conventional classroom instruction. It is recommended that teachers’ professional competence in family-school-community partnerships be integrated into the guidelines for teacher professional development. For educational policies aimed at fostering a high-quality education system, it is beneficial to extend the investment both for “hard assets” in funds and “soft assets” in teachers’expertise. Such strategies could lead to an overall improvement in children’s academic achievement.

Since reform and opening up, China has established itself as a major country in basic education through unwavering efforts and achieved historic milestones. Throughout the process, China has accumulated invaluable experience. The Communist Party of China and the Chinese government have attached paramount importance to the educational course, actively mobilizing public engagement in basic education and strengthening law based governance. Additionally, China has consistently attached importance to the role of teachers, implemented a teaching researcher system, and persevered in reform and innovation. Furthermore, the accelerated efforts in building a leading country in education have created new historic opportunities for basic education while presenting questions of the times. Transitioning from a major country to a leading country in basic education necessitates shifting the core strategy from expanding scale, improving structure, and building systems to providing foundational support for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Through high-quality basic education, China strives to cultivate top talents capable of engaging in global competition, adapting to or leading scientific and technological transformations, and undertaking the mission of realizing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. This constitutes the core strategy for basic education in China’s pursuit of becoming a leading country in education.

Based on survey data from 2,531 undergraduates and interview materials from 15 undergraduates, this study explored the mechanism of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) on college students’ creativity. The results showed that GenAI is a double-edged sword, which promotes self-regulated learning among college students while exacerbating academic misconduct such as plagiarism. GenAI does not directly shape college students’creativity. Instead, its impact on students’ creativity depends on their self-regulated learning and their awareness of ethical boundaries in the use of GenAI. The key factors leading to GenAI plagiarism and stifling college students’ creativity include the tension between the convenience of technology, the utilitarian learning approach fostered by meritocracy, and the contradiction between weak awareness of academic ethics and inadequate supervision. Self-regulated learning can reduce GenAI plagiarism by college students while lessening the negative impact of such GenAI plagiarism on their creativity. It is essential to enhance the self-regulated learning of college students, enable them to deal rationally with intelligent technology, and reduce the inappropriate use of GenAI for leveraging this technology to enhance their creativity.

Self-control is an important cornerstone for the academic achievement and long term successful development of college students. This study developed a localized system of observation indicators for self-control based on a systematic review of the multidimensional theoretical concepts of self-control and the behavioral manifestations of self-control deficiency among Chinese college students. Using China’s longitudinal data of college students, it explored the driving effects and mechanisms through which self-control influences academic achievement. The findings indicated that self-control deficiency among Chinese college students manifests in characteristics such as failure in controlling efforts, failure in delaying gratification, unhealthy sleep habits, and symptoms of digital distraction across academic, daily life, and online domains. Through the mediating role of academic engagement, self-control significantly drives both concurrent and long-term academic achievement of students. This study offers scientific support for higher education institutions to enhance self-control among students and safeguard the caliber of talent cultivation.

To investigate the moderating role of grit between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intentions and explore the psychological mechanism underlying these moderating effects, this study conducted a questionnaire survey of 1,002 college students. The results showed that the consistency of interest dimension of grit plays a moderating role between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intentions. The positive predictive effect of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intentions only exists in the college students with higher consistency of interest dimension of grit. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy serves as a mediator in the moderating effect of the consistency of interest dimension of grit. The moderating effect of the perseverance of effort dimension of grit is insignificant, while it can positively predict entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. The above findings indicated that entrepreneurship education can generate different effects depending on the grit level of students. Therefore, entrepreneurship education programs are suggested to be tailor made and cultivate grit to improve the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education.

This study empirically explored how the five key input factors in higher education affectthe value added in college students’ core competencies in the era of artificial intelligence (AI), utilizing data from a 2019 graduate employment sample survey focusing on value added contributions. The findings were summarized as follows: (1) A convergence phenomenon was observed in developing core competencies within Chinese higher education, where students from regular undergraduate universities, despite having moderate academic advantages, exhibited weaker value-added growth across multiple core competencies. (2) Higher education institutions (HEIs) continued to serve as the primary platform for cultivating students’ core competencies, with curriculum delivery being the most significant practical factor in shaping these competencies. Interdisciplinary courses strongly contributed to higher-order core competencies such as innovation and creativity. (3) The contribution of input factors to different core competencies varied significantly across HEIs. Although institutions under the Double First-Class Initiative appeared to have lower net contributions compared to higher vocational colleges, this gap was offset by their students’ more advantageous individual endowments and family backgrounds. This study suggests reforms in classified management and evaluation systems, curriculum design, and faculty and teaching to ensure students acquire the higher-order thinking skills and competencies necessary to adapt to emerging technologies and effectively respond to continuous changes.

With the increasingly prominent phenomenon of employment difficulty, it is of great practical significance to cultivate college students’ career adaptability and support their smooth transition from the campus to the workplace. This study focused on college students and explored the operational mechanisms of self-leadership on career adaptability based on career construction theory, verifying the mediating effect of professional commitment and the moderating effect of social support. The research findings demonstrate that self-leadership exerts a positive impact on career adaptability. Additionally, professional commitment plays a partial mediating role between self leadership and career adaptability, while social support functions as a moderating factor in the correlation between self-leadership and career adaptability. Notably, self-leadership exhibits a stronger positive predictive effect on the career adaptability of individuals with low social support. To enhance the career adaptability of students, it is necessary for higher education institutions (HEIs) to respect their subjectivity, emphasize self management, and cultivate self-leadership. Furthermore, it is suggested that HEIs focus on the professional intention and learning interest of students, improving professional commitment through methods such as increasing the proportion of independent enrollment in the National College Entrance Exam (Gaokao) and expanding opportunities for changing majors during their undergraduate studies. Lastly, it is conducive to implementing categorized management and providing social support in a personalized fashion during career guidance to promote college students’ career development, considering both intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

Based on personality trait theory and experiential learning theory, lots of studies have revealed a reverse causal relationship between volunteering and the non-cognitiveabilities of college students. Using data from a longitudinal survey of college students in Hunan Province, China, this study employed the difference-in-differences method to examine the causal relationship between volunteering and non-cognitive abilities, aiming to determine whether volunteering screens or cultivates the non-cognitive abilities of college students. The findings confirmed the screening effect of volunteering on extraversion and conscientiousness and the cultivating effect on agreeableness. However, there was neither a screening effect nor a cultivating effect on emotional stability and openness. It is indicated that volunteering during college primarily screens the non-cognitive abilities of students through personality trait mechanisms, with a limited cultivating effect on non-cognitive abilities. This highlights the necessity to prompt a re-evaluation of how volunteering fulfills its educational function.