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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.