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The study on the preservation and transmission of Lusheng knowledge in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, China, yields important findings. It begins by detailing the traditional 6-pipe Lusheng's production process, stressing its employment on numerous cultural occasions but its limited applicability for solo performances owing to its narrow tonal range. Throughout, regional differences in Lusheng scale configurations contribute to a variety of musical styles. Mr. Dong Dan Gan is a key figure in the growth of Lusheng instruments. It starts with the 8-pipe Lusheng, then moves on to the 11-pipe version, which expands tonal potential. Subsequent variations, such as the 12-pipe, 13-pipe, 14-pipe, 16-pipe, 19-pipe, and ground-breaking 18-pipe, 21-tone Lusheng, increased adaptability and melodic possibilities even more. Moreover, Lusheng has a wider tone range. These advancements accommodate varied musical traditions and help to preserve and disseminate Lusheng knowledge, strengthening the cultural legacy. And efforts have enhanced Lusheng music greatly, aiding its transmission and cultural continuation.

We examined the results of a large-scale national survey of online secondary education in China. The online survey of 33,194 high school students and 5,667 teachers has provided comprehensive and representative data regarding the quality of online education and its implementation during the pandemic. Questionnaire surveys administered to students and teachers in different grades and comparative analysis of different cohorts revealed group heterogeneity of the online learning effect. The findings have elucidated the emergency teaching situation in China during the pandemic, yielding targeted suggestions for school education following the resumption of classes.

Facilitation strategies play a critical role in helping instructors teach effectively in an online environment. However, there is a lack of research on how different facilitation strategies impact the online learning experience. To address this gap, our study surveyed 5980 college students from two universities in China and analysed the associations between facilitation strategies and student satisfaction using multivariate and logistic regression analyses. Our findings reveal that facilitation strategies aimed at managerial and technical purposes have different effects on student satisfaction with instructors compared to their satisfaction with their own achievement and engagement. Additionally, we found that student group discussion had a negative association with student satisfaction, potentially due to a preference for hierarchical learning in Confucian-heritage culture. In contrast, after-class learning materials were positively associated with student satisfaction. These findings offer important implications for pedagogical practices that aim to enhance the online learning experience for Chinese students on a large scale.

Background: The world is moving towards digitalization and intelligence. Programming has become an essential development competency. Even though many countries are currently making great efforts to expand programming education, the programming education in these countries shows an imbalance in geographical and gender dimensions. We found that few studies paid attention to rural girls' programming learning in developing countries. Objectives: This study focuses on programming learning among rural girls in a developing country (China) from an educational equity perspective. We investigated the level and the changes in these girls' self-efficacy and interest in programming. Methods: We conducted a three-month (12-week) semester of programming teaching for rural fifth-grade girls. Two rounds of data collection were conducted at the mid-semester (first-measure) and the end of the semester (second-measure), with semi-structured interviews at the end of the semester. Results and conclusions: The results showed that rural girls' programming self-efficacy was at a moderate-to-high level and remained stable, but there were no gender differences in programming self-efficacy between boys and girls in the second-measure. Girls' self-efficacy was positively correlated with interest, and programming education could help girls to increase their interest in programming, but boys and girls did not show gender differences in their programming interest in second-measure. Interestingly, we found that girls' perceived programming knowledge acquisition was significantly higher than overall programming efficacy. Takeaways: These findings provide meaningful implications for programming education in less developed areas and female early programming education.

An important question for parents and educators alike is how to promote adolescents' academic identity and school performance. This study investigated relations among parental education, parents' attitudes toward their adolescents' school, parental support for learning at home, and adolescents' academic identity and school performance over time and in different national contexts. Longitudinal data were collected from adolescents and their parents in nine countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States). When adolescents were 16 years old, their mothers (N = 1083) and fathers (N = 859) provided data. When adolescents were 17 years old, 1049 adolescents (50% girls) and their mothers (N = 1001) and fathers (N = 749) provided data. Multiple-group path analyses indicated that, across cultures, higher parent education was associated with better adolescent school performance. Parents' attitudes toward their adolescents' school and parent support for learning in the home were not associated with adolescents' school performance but were associated with academic identity. The findings suggest somewhat different pathways to school performance versus academic identity. Implications for helping parents and educators in different countries promote adolescents' academic identity and achievement are discussed.

Under the context of the in-country mobility of Hong Kong students studying at Chinese Mainland universities, this paper proposes the notion of 'transborder habitus' to understand Hong Kong students' experiences and perceptions. Through qualitative research with in-depth interviews with 51 Hong Kong students studying in major cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen, how these students move across the socio-cultural and academic fields at specific times is dissected. The process of how they perceive and adapt to their new life and identities on the mainland campuses is scrutinised. Students exhibited three types of adjustment styles: the Adjusters with pre-adapted habitus, the Strangers with cleft habitus and the Outsiders with mis-matched habitus. Their coping strategies are discussed and the salient factors shaping the students' transborder habitus are analysed.

The study examines a corpus of 306 request emails written by 32 English-speaking (ES) teachers and 121 L2 learners from distinctive L1 backgrounds (i.e., Chinese, French, Spanish) and with different levels of L2 proficiency. Pragmatic competence is analyzed through the coding of direct and indirect request strategies used in formal and informal email writing. Findings reveal the influences of communicative situation, L1 background, and L2 proficiency on pragmatic competence in email writing. First, L2 learners show a significantly lower degree of situational variability compared with ES teachers. Second, L1 backgrounds have a significant impact on L2 writing performance. Third, L2 learners with higher English proficiency tend to use more indirect request strategies, but they have not developed pragmatic competence to adjust their usage across written contexts. Findings are discussed in relation to pedagogical implications for developing writing competence of L2 learners, which should be attuned to diverse rhetorical expectations and individual needs.

The growing adoption of online platforms for educational goals has raised concerns among learners regarding online learning contexts. These platforms have been identified as productive mediums for learning English as a second language. However, learners consistently strive for enhanced platforms, and their perspectives may change when confronted with concerns about the platform's overall quality, specifically in relation to its reliability and privacy. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the impact of platform quality, including features such as reliability, design, and security, in combination with learners' familiarity with these platforms. A quantitative research approach was utilized to accomplish this goal, which entailed circulating an online survey by 410 Chinese North East public and private university graduate and postgraduate students, which were analyzed using SmartPLS 4 software. The study's findings indicate that certain elements of website quality, such as design and privacy, do not significantly impact platform satisfaction. Learners generally prefer criteria other than design and privacy considerations when assessing language learning applications. While platform design, familiarity and satisfaction significantly impact intrinsic motivation towards English learning. These characteristics contribute to the creation of a conducive learning environment for learners, which in turn promotes motivation, engagement, and, eventually, the development of language competency. By implementing these strategies, managers can cultivate a more immersive, gratifying, and stimulating English language acquisition encounter on online platforms, resulting in heightened satisfaction and competence. Based on the study's findings, the study suggested platform executives investigate these indicators using learner feedback and appropriately modify the platform's services.

In new paradigms, teachers' cognition and emotion must be considered dialectically shaped co-evolving processes. To address the issue, the study examined how language teachers' "perezhivaniya" (plural form of "perezhivanie," a concept from Sociocultural Theory that describes a unity between cognition and emotion) developed. During a semester (17 weeks), a study of 13 teachers of Japanese as a foreign language was conducted at a university in northeast China. Narrative inquiry was used to collect perezhivaniya excerpts from retrospective diaries, reflection diaries, and interviews. Q-methodology was also employed to group participants based on their cognitive and emotional changes toward technology-mediated language teaching (TMLT). In our study, teachers' negative perezhivaniya resulted from a lack of affordances for online and hybrid education in professional development. Teachers experienced many dramas (unit of analysis of perezhivaniya) as they adapted to TMLT. Conversely, teachers' positive perezhivaniya originated from teacher agency and developed through affordances offered by the sociocultural community. We also found teacher perezhivaniya changed in three staged patterns: resistance and demotivation (during large-scale offline teaching before the pandemic), obligation and adaptation (during large-scale online teaching during the pandemic), and inventiveness and motivation (during online and offline blended teaching after the pandemic). In conclusion, we identified teachers' perezhivaniya developed in a dynamic, historical, complex as well as multi-layered (with time-developmental, drama-historical, and SSD-social as indicators) pattern.

In order to facilitate the instruction and acquisition of EFL writing, this paper compares the uses of the light verb "get" in English writing by Chinese and L1 undergraduates by drawing on insights from the theory of norms and exploitations (TNE). Corpus pattern analysis (CPA) is conducted to analyze the data taken from two comparable corpora of Chinese EFL learners' and L1 undergraduates' writing, unveiling both similarities and disparities between the two groups in terms of the patterning of "get." Regarding similarities, most of the prototypical patterns identified in the two target corpora are identical, and both corpora show innovative exploitations of norms. In terms of differences, Chinese undergraduates misuses "get" in their writing in a varied but recognizable way. In addition, Chinese undergraduates are more likely than L1 undergraduates to overuse high-frequency patterns and semantic roles but underuse low-frequency ones, which may result in a lack of diversity in the range of patterns and complements. Chinese undergraduates' uncertainty of registers is another notable feature in their writing. Based on the findings, the paper further discusses the implications for the teaching and learning of writing in EFL contexts.

Numerous studies have revealed an alarming prevalence of test anxiety among Chinese junior high school students. Prevention of test anxiety in this population has become crucial. Brief meditation intervention (BMI) has shown promising results for promoting students' well-being and reducing test anxiety, but its mechanism for reducing test anxiety remains unknown. This study examined the effects of BMI and the roles mindfulness and self-efficacy play in mediating between the intervention and test anxiety. The BMI was optimized in content and form and culturally tailored for Chinese eighth graders. It includes guided meditation with relaxation music, mindful breathing and body scanning, and positive suggestions that promote self-efficacy. Six eighth grade classes at an urban junior high school in Beijing (N = 202, M[subscript age] = 14.14, 102 males) were assigned to either a BMI group (3 classes, N = 103) or a control group (3 classes, N = 99). Test anxiety, mindfulness, and self-efficacy measures were administered before, in the middle of, immediately after, and one month after the intervention. Repeated measures ANOVA and mediation analysis indicated that BMI had a significant effect on reducing test anxiety and enhancing mindfulness and self-efficacy over time. The study also found that mindfulness and self-efficacy played a chain of mediating roles in the relationship between BMI and test anxiety. The mediation effect value accounted for 68.35% of the intervention effects.

Causal reasoning is important to children's cognition and academic development. However, there have been few empirical studies on the impact of visual cues and non-verbal scaffolding on children's reasoning in continuous causal processes. Hence, the present study aims to explore how causal reasoning in continuous processes is facilitated by visual mind maps and multiple-choice questions through science experiments. By randomly selecting 136 children aged 9-13, the following results were obtained: Children provided with a mind map containing visual causal cues performed significantly better than the non-cue group on explanation tasks regardless of age differences, and children assessed using non-verbal multiple-choice questions scored significantly higher in explaining causal relationships than those using only verbal reports. This suggests that identification and explanation need to be differentiated for a more accurate evaluation of causal reasoning ability. These results have valuable implications for science curriculum and pedagogy at primary schools.

Understanding the intention of community residents to seek help from mental health professionals (MHPs) is essential in targeting interventions that promote the prevention and treatment of depression. This study aimed to investigate the current status of Chinese community populations' depression help-seeking intentions from MHPs and explore factors influencing the intentions. Data were used from a survey conducted in a city in central China (n = 919 aged 38.68 ± 17.34, 72.1% female). Help-seeking intentions, help-seeking attitude, depression stigma, family function and depressive symptoms were measured. The total mean score on the intent to seek help from MHPs was 11.01 ± 7.78 and most of respondents were unwilling to seek professional help. Multiple linear regression showed that participants who were students, held a positive help-seeking attitude and had low personal stigma were more likely to have the intention to seek help from MHPs. It is necessary to utilize effective interventions to improve community residents' intention to seek professional help. These include promoting the importance of seeking professional assistance, optimizing the quality of mental health services and altering residents' prejudice to seeking professional help.

Test anxiety contributed to lower student performance, limited students' learning opportunities, predisposed to negative emotional experiences, and affected physical and mental health. Perfectionism as one of the crucial factors influencing test anxiety has been widely confirmed in the context of individualistic cultural values. This study explores the effects of perfectionism on test anxiety among junior high school students in collectivist cultural values (e.g., China) and the role of self-efficacy and trait anxiety in this context. The results of the study indicated that adaptive perfectionism positively predicted test anxiety, and maladaptive perfectionism was not related to test-taking in a group of middle school students in a Chinese cultural context. If adaptive perfectionism caused an increasein self-efficacy, it weakened trait anxiety and reduced test anxiety, whereas when adaptive perfectionism failedto cause an increase in self-efficacy, it led to higher trait anxiety and test anxiety.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of auditory processing (AP) in preschool children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using the speech auditory brainstem response (speech-ABR), which provides insights into the AP of speech signals in the central auditory nervous system (CANS). Method: A total of 84 preschool children diagnosed with ADHD, aged 4-6 years, were matched with 84 typically developing (TD) children based on gender and age. All children underwent speech-ABR testing, cognitive assessment using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence--Fourth Edition or the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Fourth Edition, and a continuous performance test. Results: Children with ADHD exhibited significantly longer latencies of speech-ABR waveforms V, A, and D compared to TD children. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the latencies of speech-ABR waves V, A, and D were affected by the presence of ADHD, but not by the full-scale intelligence quotient. Conclusions: This study revealed that preschool children with ADHD exhibited abnormal AP of speech signals in their CANS. The findings suggest that speech-ABR can be utilized as a reliable measure to evaluate AP ability in this population, as it remains unaffected by cognitive or attentional factors. The transient response (V, A) of speech-ABR was found to be a significant predictor of ADHD in a clinical setting. Early assessment of AP abnormalities via speech-ABR is recommended in preschool-age children to develop targeted interventions for ADHD.

This study aimed to develop and test a University Students' Perceptions of Physical Education (PE) Scale. The study was conducted in three phases in a southwestern city in China from December 2021 to October 2022. In Phase 1, an item pool was constructed based on a literature review and semi-structured interviews. In Phase 2, expert evaluations and university student interviews were conducted to evaluate the content validity of the questionnaire. In Phase 3, a cross-sectional study was administered to university students. Composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE) for internal consistency and test-retest reliability analyses were calculated for the stability reliability analysis. The validity evaluations included content, construct, and discriminant validity and an invariance test. The developed scale comprises 20 items covering six domains: habituated behavior in physical activity, self-efficacy in PE, attitude and experience in PE, skills and knowledge, classroom climate, and facilities, equipment and norms. Each domain's CR and AVE values exceeded 0.7 and 0.5, respectively. The statistical indices of the final model were chi-square (X[superscript 2]) = 458.227, degrees of freedom (df) = 155, Comparative Fit Index = 0.957, Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.947, standardized root mean square residual = 0.061, and root mean square error of approximation = 0.066, supporting the reliability and viability of the scale. A scientific process was adopted in constructing the University Students' Perceptions of PE Scale. High validity and reliability scores indicate the suitability of using this scale for further research.

The relationship between decentralization and inequality remains puzzling. The primary objective of this paper is to study the effects of decentralization on regional education inequality in China where national higher education policies systematically prioritize large cities. We apply the Gini coefficient and the econometric model of regional convergence (i.e., Barro regressions) to study original provincial college admission data in China from 2005 to 2013. We discover that the provincial Gini coefficients have been declining throughout the period. The Barro regression results also suggest that the provincial-level college-going rates have been converging. We further demonstrate that the convergence is driven by provincial rather than national universities. Access to elite national universities remained unequal across provinces and still favored super cities. We conclude that decentralization helps to drive down the regional inequality of access to higher education that is due to national polices. It is not yet clear whether our conclusion is applicable to other policy domains or other countries.

This paper mainly studies the cultivation of applied talents of music majors in colleges and universities based on internet remote technology. By analyzing the definition and development of internet remote technology and discussing the present situation and challenges of cultivating applied talents of music majors in colleges and universities, this paper puts forward a scheme of applying internet remote technology to cultivating applied talents of music majors in colleges and universities. In practice, this paper designs and constructs the distance teaching mode, optimizes the curriculum and teaching mode, and makes case analysis and evaluation. The results show that internet remote technology has obvious advantages in cultivating applied talents of music majors in colleges and universities, which can improve students' learning and learning satisfaction. Finally, this paper discusses the application prospect of internet remote technology in the cultivation of applied talents of music majors in colleges and universities and puts forward prospects and suggestions.

Based on ecological systems theory and the genetic and environmental research paradigm, the current study explored the effect of school interpersonal relationship quality (peer and teacher-student) on adolescent depression and the role of perceived stress and the OXTR gene. Based on the statistical power of previous G*E interaction studies, A follow-up survey was conducted with 603 Chinese adolescents (average age = 14.76 ± 0.72 years at the time of the initial measurement; range: 13 to 15) using a questionnaire method (Short Form of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, The Chinese version of Perceived Stress Scale, short form of Friendship Quality Questionnaire and Teacher-student Relationship) and DNA typing technique. The study found that (1) school interpersonal relationship quality influenced adolescent depression; (2) perceived stress fully mediated the relationship between school interpersonal relationship quality and adolescent depression; (3) the OXTR gene rs2254298 and rs53576 polymorphisms moderated both the direct pathway and the second half of the indirect pathway. Specifically, individuals carrying the rs2254298 polymorphism A/G genotype and the rs53576 polymorphism A genotype exhibited a significantly enhanced effect of interpersonal relationship quality and perceived stress on adolescent depression, supporting the differential susceptibility model.

Self-cognition and self-acceptance are essential for mental health development and emotion in college students. The study investigated the efficacy of group drawing therapy in improving Chinese college students' positive self-cognition and self-acceptance. It is worth noting that Chinese college students in a collectivist culture have systematic and fluid conceptualizations of the self, such as "self in relation to others" and "self in background." In this study, the intervention group participated in group drawing therapy, and the control group did not participate in any mental health care. Our results demonstrated promising effects in improving the level of self-cognition and self-acceptance among college students. Group drawing therapy was beneficial to the growth-oriented development of college students. Additionally, it may provide an innovative direction for student development professionals and help mental health educators promote self-growth in psychologically disturbed college students.

The evolving nature of intercultural education necessitates a shift from static to reflective pedagogies among teachers. This case study investigates the efficacy of a collaborative lesson study (LS) approach in enhancing Chinese university instructors' proficiency in participatory, non-essentialist intercultural teaching. Six English as a Foreign Language instructors at a Chinese university engaged in three iterative LS cycles over one month, integrating new intercultural communication materials into their classes. Data were collected through lesson documents, observations, discussions, and interviews. The immersive LS process significantly expanded instructors' understanding of key intercultural communication concepts, encouraged the adoption of more student-centered methodologies, and prompted critical reflection on prior cultural assumptions. The collaborative engagement facilitated a deeper theoretical grasp and practical application of non-essentialist principles. Challenges included time constraints due to teaching workloads, discomfort in peer feedback exchange, and a broader lack of coordinated intercultural teacher training. Despite these challenges, this study underscores the potential of LS as a robust model for advancing intercultural teaching capacity through collaborative inquiry. It hints at the promise of LS in bridging the theory-practice divide in intercultural education, paving the way for more nuanced, non-essentialist instruction.

With the development of technology, people expect real-time communication with computers. Wearable devices, such as those for monitoring physiological signals, have rapidly developed and are now being applied in college and university evaluation. Due to the non-standard and unscientific practices in teaching, teachers may experience psychological obstacles when evaluating students. To ensure successful evaluation, we must motivate teachers to correctly understand and actively participate in the evaluation process, thus facilitating communication between people and computers. Emotion recognition based on multi-physiological signals, such as ECG, pulse, electromyography, electrodermal, and respiratory signals, is an effective method for achieving this. This dissertation conducts in-depth research on the methods for emotion recognition based on multi-physiological signals. It explores feature extraction methods, feature selection, and fusion to provide objective assessments of physiological and psychological activity states, which are used as a basis for accurate emotional judgments.

Recent policy changes to the regulation of international schooling for Chinese nationals in China have seen restrictions on curriculum, admissions and ownership. While there is evidence of the impact of these changes at the institutional level, it is not clear how recent regulation has impacted the actors at the phenomenological level. In order to address this gap, we situate recent regulation within the concept of cosmopolitan nationalism, which highlights the interplay of local and global forces and places lived experience at the forefront of analysis. We also draw on qualitative survey and in-depth interview data with teachers from an international school in China that explored their understandings of international schooling. By analysing the teachers' understandings of international schooling, we were able to gain an insight into the impact of regulation at the level of lived experience. Overall, we found little evidence that regulation had impacted the teachers' beliefs about international schooling, suggesting either the normalisation of regulation or a lag between its implementation and internalisation. Our findings also suggested two main configurations of cosmopolitan nationalism held by the teachers. The first, which we refer to as 'cosmopolitanism with national characteristics', positions international schools as a more diverse and care-free alternative to domestic schooling. The second configuration of cosmopolitan nationalism, which we refer to as 'nationalism with cosmopolitan characteristics', positions the nation as the foundation and cosmopolitan-related aspects as peripheral.

Background: Learning is a self-regulated loop where learning strategies and achievements are interrelated. In reading, although some studies have explored the relationship between different learning strategies (memorization, elaboration and control) and reading achievement, little is known about how they interact over time. Even though the longitudinal relationship was revealed in some studies, most of the evidence was based on the whole population, regardless of gender differences. Aims: This study was designed to examine the longitudinal relationship between memorization, elaboration, control strategies and reading achievement, as well as the gender difference in the longitudinal relationship. Sample: The sample consisted of 3878 Chinese students (2025 boys, 1853 girls) who were surveyed in Grade 4 and Grade 6. Methods: A cross-lagged model was conducted to examine the longitudinal relationship between memorization, elaboration, control strategies and reading achievement while controlling for gender, age and parents' educational levels. Multigroup cross-lagged models were conducted to examine gender differences in the longitudinal relationship between these variables. Results: Memorization and elaboration strategies were reciprocally related. Both predicted subsequent control strategies, but not vice versa. Only memorization strategies positively predicted subsequent reading achievement, while prior reading achievement positively predicted the subsequent three strategies. The effects of prior reading achievement on subsequent learning strategies were stronger for boys. Conclusions: Memorization strategies play a prominent role in promoting deeper strategies and reading achievement in Chinese primary schools, which might relate to culture and developmental stages. Higher achievement or positive feedback from learning results might be motivation for using different strategies, especially for boys.

Physical abuse is one subtype of child abuse and it has been a worldwide public health issue for its detrimental effects on child development, profiles, predictors, and its relation with behavior problems need further exploration, particularly in Chinese children. This study attempts to explore profiles and predictors of physical abuse and to examine differences in behavior problems in profiles of physical abuse. A total of 900 caregivers whose children aged 4 to 6 years were recruited in which the data were collected with caregiver-reported questionnaires, and latent profile analysis was used to perform data analysis. "Research Findings": Children were divided into three profiles: profiles of extremely low levels of physical abuse, low levels of physical abuse, and moderate levels of physical abuse; child gender and family income predicted classifications of profiles. Internalizing and externalizing problems were different based on profiles, specifically, externalizing problems in the profile of moderate levels of physical abuse were significantly higher than any other profile; internalizing problems in the profile of low levels of physical abuse were significantly higher than the profile of extremely low levels of physical abuse. "Practice or Policy": Preventions for physical abuse should take individual differences, such as children's gender, into consideration.

Speaking and communicating in English language can be a traumatic experience for many Chinese EFL university learners in class and in public. In many situations, they prefer to remain silent and passive listeners. This study aims to detect linguistic, psychological, socio-cultural hindrances and lends a sympathetic ear to Chinese university EFL learners enrolled in a public sector university in Wuhan and sheds light on their perspective that cause apprehension in communicating English as a FL/SL. Horwitz's FLA, Krashen's input hypothesis, affective filter hypothesis, Tanveer's learners' perspective, Vygotsky's and Feuerstein's social constructivism have been used as theoretical frameworks. The present study employed a qualitative method for collecting data and directed content analysis was conducted with deductive and inductive approach. Focus group discussion and semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight Chinese EFL university students within an academic and social context. The respondents were from social sciences discipline and had enrolled in fall semester for attending one course of English oral communication skills in the department of FL. The results of the directed content analysis indicated that respondents experienced communication apprehension and anxiety due to their own self-related psychological, cognitive, linguistic, academic, social and cultural aspects. They felt anxiety due to personality traits, low language proficiency, perceived academic issues, scholastic competence, poor pronunciation, and above all lack of lexical knowledge in TL.

Children develop expectations of caregivers' support-giving during early-life interactions. The present study examined whether caregivers' responsiveness would influence young children's expectations of caregivers' support-giving behavior and willingness under different situational stress levels. We manipulated the caregivers' responsiveness and situational stress levels. Children were tested to determine their expectations of caregivers' support-giving behavior and willingness. Sixty-four (33 boys, M[subscript age] = 5.34) and 68 (34 boys, M[subscript age] = 5.25) Chinese Han children from a city in Southeast China participated in Studies 1 and 2, respectively. In Study 1, we created a separation condition (i.e., a moderate level of stress) and found that children's expectations of caregivers' support-giving behavior and willingness were significantly lower in the unresponsive condition than in the responsive condition. The expectations in the unresponsive condition decreased significantly compared with the initial expectations. In Study 2, we created a danger condition (i.e., a high level of stress) and found that caregivers' responsiveness had no significant effect on children's expectations of caregivers' support-giving behavior and willingness. These results imply that both caregivers' responsiveness and situational stress levels affect children's expectations of caregivers' support-giving. They further suggest that children aged 4-6 can simultaneously assess caregivers' responsiveness and situational stress levels while forming support-giving expectations.

The changes that COVID-19 pandemic has brought upon the world are unprecedented. Its impact on students' learning is equally profound, making it critical to heed students' academic achievement effects that may derive from these alterations. Therefore, the present study explored an integrative model of mental health, self-regulated learning and academic achievement among adolescents during the pandemic. Participants were 1001 senior high school students (M[-subscript age] = 17.00, SD[subscript age] = 0.78, 48.7% female) from China. Results showed that the degree to which students were mentally healthy was not significantly related to academic achievement, whereas academic achievement and mental health were positively associated with self-regulated learning. Following structural equation modelling analysis, the effect of mental health on academic achievement was fully mediated by self-regulated learning. Taken together, the findings emphasised the necessity of developing self-regulated learning strategies during public health emergencies and have clinical and educational implications for planning psychological interventions in order to improve mental health and academic performance as well.

Background: Being easy to learn and fun, block-based programming tools are widely used to teach students introductory programming. Scratch and LEGO robots are two popular block-based programming tools. However, the objects they manipulate are completely different. Scratch manipulates graphical virtual sprites, whereas LEGO robots manipulate physical robots. Different manipulating objects may bring students varied learning experiences. Objectives: This study compared undergraduate students' learning engagement and flow experience when programming on Scratch and LEGO robots. Methods: The study was conducted in a programming course which involved 28 Chinese undergraduates. At the end of the 14-week course, all students were requested to complete the questionnaire twice, one for their perceptions of Scratch and the other for those of LEGO robotics. Three semi-structured focus-group interviews were also conducted for students' perceptions of the course. Results and Conclusions: The results showed that LEGO robots scored significantly higher on behavioural and emotional engagement, while cognitive engagement was not significantly different. As for the flow experience, Scratch provided students with a greater sense of control, while LEGO robots allowed students to experience temporal distortion. There were no significant differences in terms of clear goals and immediate feedback. Takeaways: Our study contributes to a better understanding of students' engagement and flow experience in block-based programming and helps teachers select appropriate programming tools for teaching.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the current status of cognitive development and central auditory processing development of preschool children with minimal and mild hearing loss (MMHL) in Nanjing, China. Method: We recruited 34 children with MMHL and 45 children with normal hearing (NH). They completed a series of tests, including cognitive tests (i.e., Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence and Continuous Performance Test), behavioral auditory tests (speech-in-noise [SIN] test and frequency pattern test), and objective electrophysiological audiometry (speech-evoked auditory brainstem response and cortical auditory evoked potential). In addition, teacher evaluations and demographic information and questionnaires completed by parents were collected. Results: Regarding cognitive ability, statistical differences in the verbal comprehensive index, full-scale intelligence quotient, and abnormal rate of attention test score were found between the MMHL group and the NH group. The children with MMHL performed poorer on the SIN test than the children with NH. As for the auditory electrophysiology of the two groups, the latency and amplitude of some waves of the speech-evoked auditory brainstem response and cortical auditory evoked potential were statistically different between the two groups. We attempted to explore the relationship between some key indicators of auditory processing and some key indicators of cognitive development. Conclusions: Children with MMHL are already at increased developmental risk as early as preschool. They are more likely to have problems with attention and verbal comprehension than children with NH. This condition is not compensated with increasing age during the preschool years. The results suggest a possible relationship between the risk of cognitive deficit and divergence of auditory processing.

This paper presents the reflections of one of the authors, a junior faculty member, on teaching a master's level, English-medium instruction (EMI) course. The course was titled, "International Research on Teacher Education," and it took place in a Chinese research-intensive university. It was, in part, a response to the need for internationalisation in higher education. The authors explore seven contradictions embedded in the EMI course: (1) teacher-centred vs. student-centred educational beliefs, (2) authoritarian vs. democratic classroom atmosphere, (3) traditional printed materials vs. multi-modal learning resources, (4) direct instruction vs. self-regulated learning, (5) classroom-based teaching vs. place-based learning, (6) individual learning vs. group-based work, and (7) summative assessment vs. formative assessment. The authors apply Engeström's cultural historical activity theory to extrapolate these contradictions. Using student narratives to demonstrate, the titular question of whether the course was a bane or a boon is answered. An autoethnographic or three-dimensional narrative approach was employed to analyse the data in the context of temporality, sociality, and place. Additionally, the authors discuss the dilemmatic space and implications associated with implementing the EMI course in China.

Employers believe that people with the ability to work in teams can bring success to their business. Therefore, it is very essential to start cultivating students' teamwork skills in lower-secondary school to prepare students for the future. This study took "Physics in Bicycles" as an example to explore the effect of Teaching and Learning-Scrum (TL-Scrum) on students' physics achievement and team collaboration ability. It was conducted at a lower-secondary school in Changsha, China. "Physical Knowledge of Bicycles" Test and "Team Collaboration Ability" Measurement were applied to the two groups prior to and following the experiment. The experimental group (N=61) participated in TL-Scrum teaching, whereas the control group (N=58) participated without TL-Scrum teaching. The results revealed a significant difference between the two groups, with the experimental group learners performing better than the control group in the academic achievement. In addition, the results showed better positive effects of TL-Scrum on experimental group learners in team collaboration ability. Results suggested that learners achieved better academic achievements and team collaboration with the approach of TL-Scrum, which pointed to certain implications for physics teaching research, as well as in education of future physics teachers.

Previous studies on students' conceptions of learning science (COLS) have focused primarily on formal environments. In these studies, students' COLS were positively associated with their approaches to and outcomes for science learning. However, little research has been conducted to explore students' conceptions of learning science in informal environments (COLSIE), despite its importance to students' academic achievement. To fill this research gap, this study qualitatively and quantitatively explored Chinese primary school students' COLSIE. First, in Study I, interview data gathered from a group of 80 students were analysed using the phenomenographic method, and ten hierarchical categories of COLSIE emerged (e.g., communicating and explaining). Based on these categories, a survey was developed and distributed to another group of 414 students in Study II. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to validate the survey, which revealed nine factors matching the ten categories except for the initial categories of applying and understanding. This study also revealed the commonalities and uniqueness of COLSIE in comparison with students' COLS in formal environments. The findings suggested that informal science learning experiences may strengthen students' impressions of science practices. Science educators are encouraged to provide their students with opportunities to engage with science practices in informal environments.

Poverty alleviation by education is the soul of reshaping the development of impoverished areas. In the implementation of poverty alleviation, the collaborative model of impoverished areas driven by developed regions is essential for China's poverty alleviation work. In 2016, Changxing County, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, and Zhijin County, Bijie City, Guizhou Province, established a counterpart support relationship. According to Zhijin County's education assistance needs, Changxing County has gathered its strength to implement management input, demonstration guidance, and training guidance for its weak schools. With vocational education as the starting point, Zhijin County has been "remodeled" and "implanted" education assistance and has achieved a win-win situation. This article takes the education counterpart support activities of Changxing County and Zhijin County as an example to explore the path and methods of regional education assistance in China under the vision of collaboration.

This qualitative research-in-progress investigates the bilingual ideology and identity of EMI (English-medium-instruction) teachers and students at a Chinese medical university. The study aims to enrich the understanding of bi/multilingualism in the context of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) from domestic stakeholders' perspectives. The researcher conducted a series of semi-structured interviews with Chinese medical content teachers and students throughout an academic term. Supplementary research materials include texts, such as lecturers' PowerPoint slides and institutional documents. The preliminary findings suggest that the teachers and students present diverse ideological stances towards bilingualism and that they perform an ambivalent identity: privileged, yet unable to fulfil the expected bilingual identity by self and others, due to ideological and practical constraints. The discussion and potential implications are given in the summary

Despite the importance of a thriving workforce in sustaining organizational success, prior research pays little attention to how individualized human resource (HR) practices can help individual employees to thrive at work. Drawing on the theoretical underpinnings of conservation of resources theory, we investigate whether, how, and when development idiosyncratic deals (i‐deals) can contribute to individual thriving. We contend that possessing development i‐deals will motivate individuals to engage in approach job crafting, which in turn promotes their experience of thriving at work. We further contend that high‐quality leader–member exchange will enhance the function of development i‐deals in triggering approach job crafting and subsequent thriving experiences. Results from a two‐wave survey involving 278 managers in a pharmaceutical firm in China and a three‐wave survey among 178 managers working in various organizations in the UK support our hypotheses. Our findings provide new insights for practitioners seeking to design customized HR practices to support a thriving workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients with hemorrhagic stroke have high mortality and disability rates. Nevertheless, early rehabilitation interventions can improve their outcomes. We aimed to apply capsaicin atomization as early intervention to patients with hemorrhagic stroke and explore improvements in cough and swallowing functions. Method: Patients with hemorrhagic stroke were randomly divided into the control group, which received routine care, and the intervention group, which underwent the capsaicin solution nebulization scheme in addition to routine care. Differences in the presence/absence of cough reflex and number of coughs in response to capsaicin, the presence/absence of swallowing reflex in response to water, the presence/absence of postswallow residue, substance P (SP) concentration, and pulmonary inflammation between the two groups were determined before and after the intervention. Results: A total of 53 patients with hemorrhagic stroke were included. Results showed no statistically significant difference in cough reflex in both groups after the intervention (p > 0.05). The degree of cough in the intervention group was stronger than that in the control group (p = 0.046). No statistically significant difference was observed in the number of patients with swallowing reflex in response to water between the groups (p > 0.05). The presence/absence of postswallow residue of the intervention group was stronger than that of the control group (p = 0.032). No statistically significant difference was observed between the Glasgow Coma Scale scores of the groups after the intervention (p > 0.05). SP in the intervention group was significantly increased (p = 0.031). The Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score was significantly lower in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.028). Conclusions: Capsaicin nebulization can help enhance the number of coughs in response to capsaicin, reduce postswallow residue, and increase the level of SP in patients with hemorrhagic stroke and has a positive effect on pulmonary inflammation. This study provides intervention points for cough and swallowing rehabilitation after a hemorrhagic stroke.

Teaching biomedical technology is critical for the success of research of both domestic and international postgraduate students (DPSs and IPSs). However, difference in the learning characteristics between the two cohorts as well as appropriate teaching modality remains largely unexplored. In the present work, we studied these issues by recruiting 33 IPSs and 32 DPSs who selected the course of 'Patch-Clamp Technique and Its Application in Life Science Research' at Harbin Medical University in China in 2019. Questionnaires were performed to investigate their learning obstacles and style preferences. Correspondingly, we designed a new teaching modality, i.e. lecture enriched with practicum, research proposal and post-course advice (LEPPA in brief) and tested its effect. This modality was positively evaluated by all the IPSs and 90% of the DPSs. The LEPPA can efficiently resolve the concerns of both IPSs and DPSs while promoting their transition from undergraduates to research students.

Online teacher professional development is widely regarded as a promising way to improve the quality of teachers and the effect of teaching. Micro-learning, which has the potential to fit the learner's personalized learning needs through a variety of small educational resources and flexible learning opportunities, could be an efficient way for the online teacher professional development. However, the scattered knowledge points and fragmented learning time in micro-learning may limit the learner's comprehension and the construction of knowledge. In this study, a knowledge map-based online micro-learning system was developed to solve this problem. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed system, a quasi-experiment was conducted during a three-week online course for teachers' professional development. A total of 42 in-service Mandarin teachers participated in the course, and were divided into two equal groups. An experimental group learned by using a knowledge map tool while a control group learned the same contents in the form of the conventional list type. The results indicate that the experimental group outperformed the control group in terms of learning engagement, and showed a clearer and more complete knowledge structure. Furthermore, micro-learning coupled with knowledge maps was found to improve the teachers' learning performance.

This study examined academic self-efficacy as a mediator in the relationship between family functioning and learning engagement by constructing a structural equation model. The participants were 817 students from public junior high schools in rural China. The data were collected by measuring family functioning, academic self-efficacy, and learning engagement using self-report assessments. The results indicated that family functioning was positively associated with learning engagement; academic self-efficacy significantly mediated the correlation between family functioning and learning engagement. In addition, the mediating effect of academic self-efficacy varied across dimensions of family functioning. These findings contribute to understanding the internal relationship between family functioning and learning engagement, and have implications for improving the learning engagement of disadvantaged students in rural areas.

This paper examines Chinese (n = 11) and Spanish (n = 11) student teachers' learning-to-teach experiences during the teaching practicum or placement period through the lenses of transformative learning theory and third space construct. We traced student teachers' transformative learning experiences through observation, interviews, reflective journaling, and metaphoric identity narratives. Five major themes emerged related to the participants' professional learning experiences: (1) the disorienting dilemmas, (2) reflections and explorations of assumptions, (3) gaining confidence in a new role, (4) behaviour changes, and (5) integration of new perspectives. Moreover, third space helped the participants negotiate a series of binaries undesirable in teacher education, such as episteme and phronesis, stability, and evolution of their professional identities. This paper contributes to a fine-grained account of Chinese and Spanish student teachers' professional learning experiences in different sociocultural contexts. Implications for fostering Eastern-Western dialogues on teachers' transformative learning experiences and creating third space (hybridity and boundary-crossing) in teacher education are discussed.

With the better understanding of human genome and genetic contributions to human complex diseases, more and more clinical genetic tests have been developed for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of human diseases. This has raised new challenges to classroom teaching of medical genetics (MG) in medical education of undergraduates, who are relatively naive about the theory and technology of MG. A clear understanding of genotype-phenotype relationships is critical in MG learning. In the current study, we incorporated a practical approach of classroom MG teaching by using alcohol tolerance, a phenotype that is widely experienced by students and closely related to genetic polymorphism. To verify this teaching approach, which we named as student experience-based teaching (SEBT), undergraduates of two classes were recruited, with one accepting SEBT and the other accepting conventional lecture-based teaching (LBT). Final examination of the MG course indicated that while the two classes showed similar results to multiple-choice questions, the SEBT class showed significantly better performance to short-answer questions about gene polymorphism and phenotype, suggesting that SEBT might improve understanding. Thus, using student experience-based phenotypic instances and explaining the phenotype by practical genetic tests could improve understanding of genotype-phenotype relationships in classroom MG teaching.

Concept-based language instruction (C-BLI) is a pedagogy guided by sociocultural theory, which has been shown to be effective in facilitating second language learning. Typical activities include materialization by using a schema for a complete orienting basis of an action (SCOBA) and languaging, through which learners' internalization of scientific knowledge can be observed. However, previous studies have mainly used languaging as an assessment tool to examine the outcome of the internalization of concepts. Few studies have integrated SCOBAs (visual) and languaging (oral or written) in their investigation of the internalization process. This 5-week study involved 53 Chinese English-as-a-foreign-language learners in a university who were all taught with the C-BLI approach to learn English modal verbs. Among them, there were 26 lower proficiency students and 27 higher proficiency students. Visual, oral, and written data were collected to examine the participants' internalization of the modal verb concepts. All 53 learners participated in SCOBA drawing and written-languaging tasks. Twelve students (6 per group) volunteered to participate in oral languaging. The results showed that in the SCOBA drawing activity, higher level learners produced more abstract, systematic, and imitated visualizations of the concepts, while lower level learners produced more concrete, disconnected, and emulated visualizations. With regard to oral languaging, both groups largely abandoned their previously learned "rule of thumb" after the C-BLI intervention, and there were no obvious differences in oral-languaging performance between the two groups, except that the higher group produced more languaging units. Finally, we also found that the changes between pre- and post-written-languaging tasks for lower level students were more obvious, especially in the appropriation of SCOBAs in written languaging.

The COVID-19 outbreak has created turbulence and uncertainty into multiple aspects of life in countries around the world. In China, the pandemic continues to pose a great challenge to the nature of traditional in-class education in schools. Chinese education has faced the difficult decision of whether to resume in-person teaching in an unprecedented and time-pressured manner. To ensure the quality of teaching and learning during this time, this study aims to explore the effectiveness of an "online + in-person" hybrid teaching model with a new three-part approach to the hybrid teaching lab, where students prepare for the in-person lab using virtual simulated experiments and learning modules and debrief their learning afterwards online as well. This approach not only enhances the efficiency during the in-person lab but also strongly reinforces concepts and laboratory skills by providing a "practice run" before physically attending the lab. A total of 400 medical undergraduates from Dalian Medical University in China were recruited for this study. In an undergraduate molecular biology laboratory course, we observed 200 students in a hybrid teaching model. We evaluated the learning outcomes from the "online + in-person" hybrid teaching model with a questionnaire survey and assessed the quality of experiment execution, report writing, and group collaboration. Moreover, the 200 students from the hybrid group were evaluated during an annual science competition at the university and compared to 200 students from the competition cohort who had no experience with a hybrid learning model. The comparison data were analyzed using a student's t-test statistical analysis. The students in the hybrid learning group demonstrated a strong enthusiasm for the model, high amount of time utilizing the online system, and high scores on laboratory evaluation assignments. Approximately 98% of the hybrid learning students reported that they preferred mixed teaching to the traditional teaching mode, and all students scored above 96% on the online laboratory report. Teachers of the course observed that the hybrid group had a noticeably higher level of proficiency in lab skills compared to the previous students. At the Dalian Medical University annual science competition, where we compared our hybrid group to a traditional learning group, scores for both the objective and subjective items showed that the students instructed with the hybrid lab model had superior performance (p < 0.05). In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we developed a new three-part molecular biology laboratory course that strongly improved students' laboratory skills, knowledge retention, and enthusiasm for the course using online learning to improve their learning efficiency and expedite the in-person laboratory experience. We found that these students performed at a higher level in a combined theoretical/practical science competition compared to the students in traditional in-person lab courses. Additionally, our model subjectively fostered enthusiasm and excellence in both teachers and students. Further, cultivation of the students' independent learning and creative problem solving skills were emphasized. The exploration of an effective teaching model, such as the one described here, not only provides students with a solid foundation for their future medical studies and career development but also promotes more efficient in-person laboratory time.

In response to the problem of inaccurate classification of big data information in traditional English teaching ability evaluation algorithms, this paper proposes an English teaching ability estimation algorithm based on big data fuzzy K-means clustering. Firstly, the article establishes a constraint parameter index analysis model. Secondly, quantitative recursive analysis is used to evaluate the capabilities of big data information models and achieve entropy feature extraction of capability constrained feature information. Finally, by integrating big data information fusion and K-means clustering algorithm, the article achieves clustering and integration of indicator parameters for English teaching ability, prepares corresponding teaching resource allocation plans, and evaluates English teaching ability. The experimental results show that using this method to evaluate English teaching ability has good information fusion analysis ability and improves the accuracy of teaching ability evaluation and the efficiency of teaching resource application.