Best Evidence in Chinese Education

Can a Growth Mindset Be Successfully Cultivated in Adolescents? A Three-Year Longitudinal Study of an Intervention Program in a Rural School in China

Ruxian Yu — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In response to the debates on the effectiveness of growth mindset interventions and their applicability in various cultural contexts, the study applied a localized intervention program in a rural school in China’ Yangtze River Delta region through a randomized controlled experiment and evaluates its effects longitudinally using the difference-in-differences method. Its research findings revealed that the localized growth mindset intervention program significantly strengthened the growth mindset of the subjects, that the intervention had long-term effects, that it had a greater positive effect on growth mindset development in younger students and those with lower initial levels of this mindset, and that the enhancement of the students’ growth mindset via the intervention program successfully improved their learning behavior.

Senior Secondary Education of Migrant Children in China and Impacts of High School Entrance Examination Policies

Zhijun Sun — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

To realize the goal of universalizing senior SECONDARY EDUCATION in the country across the board, China must pay special attention to the issue in underdeveloped regions and among underprivileged groups. This study aims to delineate the developments in senior secondary education for migrant children (children of migrant workers) in China, based on data from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey 2011-2018, and analyze the heterogenous impacts of migrant children-specific high school entrance examination policies in various provincial administrative regions, using the difference-in-differences method.

Meritocracy in Education: Bridging or Widening Educational Inequality

Qian Zhao — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Meritocracy emphasizes that reward for and advancement of the individuals should be based on their effort and talent. It finds a strong echo in the Chinese educational tradition, which places high value on the notion that “hard work pays off.” Nevertheless, in the context of the exacerbation of structural social inequalities, a sizable number of studies find that meritocracy, in practice, is unable to promote fairness, but instead obscures the issue of uneven distribution of education resources, further widening the disparities in educational opportunities between students with different socioeconomic status (SES). Based on data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study is an empirical analysis of the effects of the meritocratic belief on access to educational opportunities in Chinese adolescents, as well as its heterogeneous effects among students with distinct SES backgrounds.

Peer Effects of High-Achieving Students

Caiting Dong — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Peer effects have not only near-term impacts on adolescents’ cognitive and non-cognitive development but also implications for their lifelong trajectories. This study is an investigation into the effects of the proportion of high-achieving students in a class on cognitive performance, educational expectations, school adaptation, and mental health of their classmates, based on data of middle school students with random class assignment from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS).

How Do Teacher Workloads Affect Student Development?

Huiqing Liang — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Based on data from the China Education Panel Survey 2013-2015, the study examines the effects of teacher workloads on student development, with the view to providing evidence for the implementation of China’s “teacher burden reduction” policy and Double Reduction policy.

Parent-Child Interaction, Parental Academic Support, and Juvenile Deviance: An Empirical Analysis Based on Data from the China Education Panel Survey

Meng Zhang — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The home is the first social setting for a child. Recent years have seen extensive research on the relationship between family influences and child deviant behavior. Nevertheless, how the two proximal family factors, parent-child interaction and parental academic support, influence juvenile deviance remains unclear. Using panel data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) 2014–2015, this study seeks to explore the specific mechanisms by which parent-child interaction and parental academic support influence juvenile deviance.