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Engagement plays an important role in students' success in learning. While learner engagement has been widely examined, the degree to which learners engage in online learning and the relationship between online engagement and learning outcomes, particularly in the domain of second/foreign (L2) language learning, still remain under-explored. To bridge the gap, this study examined college L2 English learners' profiles of online engagement and their learning outcomes. A total of 85 first-year college students participated in this study. The results showed that college students' online L2 English learning engagement is multidimensional, including behaviroral, cognitive, affective, and social facets. Additionally, students' actual behavioral (e.g., task engagement time and task completion rate) and self-perceived online engagement (e.g., behavioral, cognitive, and affective online engagement) are significantly correlated. Nonetheless, among the two levels of online engagement measures, only task score in the actual behavioural engagement is a positive predictor of students' learning outcomes. The study concludes with practical implications for online teaching.

Adolescence is a critical period during which youth develop and shape their behaviors. Because differences between youths are strongly connected to environmental factors, we aimed to elucidate possible pathways from home-school regulation and atmosphere to youths' prosocial and antisocial behaviors. Data were derived from the China Education Panel Survey. This study involved a total of 9291 students aged 14-15 years (4834 boys, 4457 girls). We used structural equation modeling (SEM) with LISREL 8.80 and Monte Carlo resampling with R to conduct the analysis strategy. In the home-school regulation, parental supervision on the one hand and teacher criticism on the other hand have direct positive and negative predictive effects on youths' prosocial behaviors, respectively, while their direct effects on antisocial behavior are the opposite; teachers praise does not directly affect adolescents' prosocial and antisocial behaviors. In the home-school atmosphere, family interaction and perceived good class climate directly positively affect youths' prosocial behaviors, while the direct effects of both on antisocial behavior are not significant. The SEM results reveal that academic self-efficacy and depressive symptoms may be underlying mediating mechanisms through which home-school regulation and atmosphere during adolescence affect students' prosocial and antisocial behaviors. Intervention programs targeting home-school supportive environments and prevention programs targeting positive emotion and self-awareness may yield benefits for proper social behavior in adolescents. For example, by enhancing the way and frequency of parent-child interaction, teachers and students jointly create a good class climate of care and friendship to strengthen a home-school supportive environment. Improve adolescents' positive emotions such as contentment, optimism, and hope to reduce the possibility of depression.

Given the shortage of STEM workers, it is important to examine the factors associated with students' academic career intentions. However, the mechanism through which subjective norms influence academic career intentions has not been determined. Our study empirically tests a model identifying science identity as an intervening variable in this relationship. In a longitudinal survey study of master's and doctoral students from 17 research institutes in China, we found that science identity mediated the relationship between subjective norms and academic career intentions. In addition, creative self-efficacy, valuable to academic careers, moderated the relationship between science identity and academic career intentions.

A growing body of literature shows that adherence to some aspects of Western masculinity norms, including the suppression of emotional vulnerability, avoidance of seeking support from others, and exaggerated physical toughness, is associated with poorer psychological and social outcomes. While existing research suggests that parental gender beliefs and caregiving behaviors might influence the development of children's gendered behaviors, little is known about the developmental origins of individual differences in adherence to masculinity norms. The current study aims to address this gap and presents a longitudinal investigation of how parental gender beliefs and maternal sensitivity during infancy contribute to children's adherence to masculinity norms during middle childhood. Data were drawn from a mixed-method 9-year longitudinal study of 374 urban Chinese families (48.40% with daughters). Parental gender beliefs were assessed at 24 months, maternal sensitivity was assessed with mother-child interaction observations at 14 and 24 months, and children's self-reported adherence to masculinity norms were assessed at age 10 years. Results indicate that while parental gender beliefs had no associations with children's adherence to masculinity norms, maternal sensitivity predicted children's adherence to masculinity norms ([beta] = -0.18, p = 0.008) above and beyond parental gender beliefs and parental education level; moreover, there was a significant interaction of sex on the effect of maternal sensitivity on children's adherence to masculinity ([beta] = -0.23, p = 0.025), and the association was significant only for boys.

This study investigates how video game play influences gamers' formal education through perceptions of their 'gamer' and 'learner' identities. Based on identity foundation in symbolic interactionism, we take gamer and learner identities as meaning structures with both dynamic and stable dimensions. The basis of this gamer identity perspective is identity has a crucial role in investigating learning. Applying a life history approach, we interviewed 10 participants in one-to-one interviews, with three interviews for each participant. Applying the narrative portrait, we analysed participant data. We found that gamer identity construction from video game playing, as a vital meaning structure, has four main aspects, namely in-game identification, social community expansion, restorative effect and meaning recognition, providing gamers with expansive ways to build learner and personal identity as that can benefit their formal education.

Based on institutional theory, this study explores the causal relationship between teacher professional identity, perceived institutional norms, and teachers' conformity behavior in colleges and universities in Hunan Province. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 500 teachers from two universities in Hunan Province. The reliability and validity test results and structural equation modeling analysis show that the professional identity of college teachers positively affects their conformity behavior, and that perceived institutional norms partially mediate the relationship between teacher professional identity and teacher conformity behavior. The research enriches the application of institutional theory in university organization and provides an empirical basis for universities to improve teachers' conformity behavior.

Purpose: This study introduces a non-orthodox approach to the dominant policy-based approaches to graduate employability through contextualizing international students' everyday experiences within their educational and wider structural contexts of the labour market. Design/methodology/approach: The study used narrative frames to collect data from 180 international students from China, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Nepal at a New Zealand tertiary institution. Narrative frames as a research tool in educational contexts are used to ellicit the experiences of individuals in the form of a story as participants reflect on their experience. The frames use sentence starters to draw responses from participants about their experiences (Barkhuizen and Wette, 2008). Findings: This study argues that, through a socialization process, international students develop identities that fit an ever-changing labour market. This process is catalysed by a higher education landscape that produces career-ready subjects capable of appropriating different social spaces that prepare students and graduates to enter the labour market. Further, it argues that graduate employability should be understood as a complex process through which students and graduates socialise themselves through negotiating the socioacademic spaces by (1) familiarising themselves with the dominant workspace norms, (2) positioning themselves as more career-ready individuals, and (3) imagigining employable selves capable of meeting the needs of the job market. Research limitations/implications: This study has limitations. Only one data collection source has been used. It would have been great to use narrative frames along with interviews. In addition, the data would have been stronger if the researcher could have used classroom observations, which could be a future initiative. Practical implications: This study could provide practical insights to tertiary institutions about international students' developing capabilities and identities so they could better prepare themselves for the world of work. Further, this study provides insights about some of the challenges that international students face in tertiary contexts to become career-ready. Hence, educators could employ strategies to better support these learners in their everyday learning spaces. This study also has useful benefits for future and current international students and international graduates regarding what investments they need to make so they can better socialize themselves in their tertiary and workplace practices. Social implications: This study has social implications. It helps international students better understand the social, cultural and academic expectations of their host countries. Therefore, they could better socialize themselves into those practices and contribute more effectively to their academic and workplace communities. The study also helps academic and workplace institutions strategize more effectively to address the social and cultural needs of international graduates. The study also contributes to the social and cultural understanding of the teachers that engage with international students on a daily basis by helping them devise activities that better address these students' and graduates' needs. Originality/value: The study adds theoretical and methodological value to the debates around graduate employability. It includes the voices of 180 students and unravels their day-to-day experiences of capability building and employability development from their own perspectives.

Insofar as the autistic-like phenotype presents in the general population, it consists of partially dissociable traits, such as social and sensory issues. Here, we investigate individual differences in cortical organisation related to autistic-like traits. Connectome gradient decomposition based on resting state fMRI data reliably reveals a principal gradient spanning from unimodal to transmodal regions, reflecting the transition from perception to abstract cognition. In our non-clinical sample, this gradient's expansion, indicating less integration between visual and default mode networks, correlates with subjective sensory sensitivity (measured using the Glasgow Sensory Questionnaire, GSQ), but not other autistic-like traits (measured using the Autism Spectrum Quotient, AQ). This novel brain-based correlate of the GSQ demonstrates sensory issues can be disentangled from the wider autistic-like phenotype.

This study investigated the differences between Chinese female and male university students regarding the relationship between conscientiousness, interpersonal relationships, and social loafing. By analyzing these relationships, this study interpreted how personality, mediators, and gender differences affect social loafing. In total, 827 Chinese university students were recruited from three universities in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. Students completed an online questionnaire, which included a conscientiousness scale, an interpersonal relationship scale, and a social loafing scale. Structural equation modeling was performed to test the validity of the measurement scales, mediating effects, and group differences. The findings revealed that the relationship between conscientiousness, interpersonal relationships, and social loafing differed between female and male Chinese university students. Interpersonal relationships served as a partial mediator in the relationship between conscientiousness and social loafing among female students. Interpersonal relationships did not play a mediating role in the relationship between conscientiousness and social loafing among male students. We suggest that university administrators should promote cooperation among Chinese university students.

This study examines the predictive effects of motivational beliefs and self-efficacy on multiple dimensions of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies in English as a foreign language (EFL) writing. Undergraduate students (n = 389) were recruited voluntarily from four universities in mainland China. They were invited to complete a set of questionnaires to measure their motivational beliefs (extrinsic and intrinsic goal orientation, task value, and control of learning belief), self-efficacy (linguistic self-efficacy, performance self-efficacy, and self-regulatory efficacy) and SRL strategies (cognition, metacognition, social behavior, and motivational regulation). Multiple regression analyses revealed that motivational beliefs had significant predictive effects on SRL strategies; among which task value and intrinsic goal orientation were significant predictors of nine sub-factors of SRL strategies. Self-efficacy was a strong predictor of metacognitive, cognitive, and motivational regulation strategies. While linguistic self-efficacy had a significant predictive power on text processing alone, self-regulatory efficacy generated a significant effect on a collection of SRL strategies including knowledge rehearsal, goal-oriented monitoring, idea planning, peer learning, and interest enhancement. Pedagogical implications are also discussed.

In this study, we discuss the Confucian tradition in today's multicultural China from two perspectives: that of the mandatory school curriculum, which represents 'official knowledge', and that of students from ethnic minority and/or religious backgrounds who are located on the cultural margins in China. The analysis draws on curricular narratives of the Confucian tradition for six major school subjects and semi-structured interviews with a group of university students from non-Han ethnic minority and/or religious backgrounds, whose lived experiences are rarely included in the national curriculum narrative. The analysis suggests that the interpretation of the Confucian tradition is a monopolising and dominant discourse that reinforces the cultural hierarchy between different cultural groups. However, the students appear to regard the Confucian tradition as only one culture and worldview in China, which can benefit from the critical reflexivity of other cultures.

This study explored the relationships among learning adaptation, peer attachment, and learning conformity behavior among college students in Hengyang, Hunan Province, China. A total of 704 questionnaires were collected from three universities in Hengyang through purposive sampling, and 650 valid questionnaires were obtained. Structural equation models were used to test the direct and moderating effects among the variables. The research indicated that good learning adaptation in Hengyang college students had a positive impact on learning conformity behavior and that college students' peer attachments had a positive effect on their learning conformity behavior. Compared with students with low peer attachment, students with high peer attachment were better at learning and adapting; they engaged in learning conformity behavior more frequently. College students' peer attachment positively moderated the relationship between learning adaptation and learning conformity behavior.

Purpose: During the past decades, China has seen a rapid urbanization that has (re)shaped not only its city landscape but also (re)created public space where children live, play, and learn. However, little research has focused on how urban public space influences young children's learning and development and how parents navigate children's development in the public space. Therefore, this research aims to study how public space influences parents' engagement with their young children. Design/Approach/Methods: This study is informed of Bronfenbrenner's Processes, Person, Context, and Time (PPCT) model that sees children's learning as complex and multilateral interactions among various stakeholders including schools, families, and environment. It employed ethnographic approach to study the interactions between children and their parents in a public playground in a Western Chinese city. Findings: It found that parents realized public space had been reshaped by urbanization. While they accompanied their children to play, they actively monitored children's safety and cultivated children's physical and social development. In this process, male parents tended to contribute more than they would do in other settings. Originality/Value: This study fills the gap by providing a nuanced study exploring how parents fulfill their responsibilities in an integral space of children's development, which has rarely been explored.

The Community of Inquiry model (CoI) is a guiding framework for blended learning and online learning and it has been implemented in diverse disciplines. However, the research on how EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers can promote students' engagement in online discussions through the CoI framework is very limited. This mixed-method study aims to investigate effective teaching practices that can promote students' active participation in online discussions based on the CoI in the blended EFL course. Responses to the survey of CoI and Engagement from 97 undergraduates in a Chinese university and interview transcripts of a focus group were collected as the data. The data were quantitatively analyzed by descriptive statistics and simple/multiple linear regression, and qualitatively by thematic analysis. Results indicated that students' perceptions of the teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence in the CoI had a statistically significant impact on students' engagement in online discussions. Students' perceptions of teaching presence had both direct and indirect impacts on their engagement; grading in online discussion forums, the teacher's timely responses and feedback, and the teacher's guide in the meaningful discussion were highly-rated teaching practices in promoting students' online discussion. The findings shed light on how teachers in the blended EFL courses should do in the online discussion to promote students' language use.

In this study, we explored the notions of cultural learning from non-western perspectives by focusing on the experiences of Chinese undergraduate students from the field of Public Health in the United States of America. We used Weick's (1995) Sensemaking theory to understand how Chinese undergraduate students made sense of their experiences of learning about other cultures in both personal and professional spaces. We applied a qualitative research design and used interviews, a focus group, and reflection papers for data collection. We found that Chinese undergraduate students focused on social behaviors and attitudes. They used comparison as a tool to make sense of new experiences. Their sensemaking process shifted from simple to complex concepts, and guided learning helped them understand complex social issues related to public health in the U.S. They did not consider learning related to public health knowledge, English language, or life skills as cultural learning.

Background: Teachers' instructional quality is critical to student learning and development. However, the affordance of different aspects of instructional quality remains underexplored. Aims: This study explores the relationship between teachers' personal growth initiative (PGI) and teacher engagement and instructional quality. Sample: The data were collected from 998 teachers (82.9% female, average years of teaching experience = 15.25, SD = 10.29) from China. Methods: The participants completed an anonymous online survey questionnaire that examined their PGI, work engagement and self-reported instructional quality. Structural equation modelling and bootstrapping were performed to determine the differentiated associations between PGI and each aspect of the teachers' self-reported instructional quality. Results: The results confirmed the critical role of PGI in teacher engagement and self-reported instructional quality. To varying degrees, the dimensions of teacher engagement, except for cognitive engagement, mediated the association between PGI and self-reported instructional quality. Conclusions: The teachers' self-reported data showed that their motivation for personal growth played an important role in improving their instructional quality. The teachers' emotional engagement and social engagement with colleagues were positively related to classroom management, and their social engagement with students was associated with a supportive climate.

Phubbing, the ignoring of one's companions to pay attention to one's phone, is ubiquitous. Yet far less is known about its interpersonal transmission. Based on the social learning theory and the theory of normative social behavior, this cross-sectional study tested the associations between perceived parental phubbing and teenagers' phubbing. Two hundred ninety-nine Chinese teenagers (M = 14.03, SD = 0.87) answered questions about perceived parental phubbing, descriptive norms and injunctive norms of phubbing, and phubbing of themselves. The regression analyses showed that perceived parental phubbing was positively associated with teenagers' phubbing and descriptive norms. The conditional process analyses showed that higher levels of perceived parental phubbing predicted higher levels of descriptive norms, which in turn predicted higher levels of teenagers' phubbing. Moreover, the magnitude of the association between descriptive norms and teenagers' phubbing was greater as injunctive norms became greater.

In this study, we investigate the relationship between social preferences (material preference and group preference) and indirect reciprocity and the role of empathy in 3-5-year-old children in China. The first study involved 94 children and aimed to investigate the relationship between social preferences and indirect reciprocity and the moderating effect of empathy on the aforementioned relationship. In Study 2, 128 children were selected to examine the effect of empathy induction on indirect reciprocity. Our results indicated that preschool children showed certain social preferences and paid forward both positive and negative outcomes to others. However, these social preferences would not jointly affect children's indirect reciprocity. Cognitive empathy could moderate the relationship between social preferences and children's positive indirect reciprocity. Additionally, empathy induction could promote the positive indirect reciprocity and inhibit the negative indirect reciprocity.

Motivation is key to the generation of creative ideas, intrinsic motivation is the core driving force of creativity. Researchers believe that individuals with higher intrinsic motivation will produce higher novelty and flexibility. Creativity may also be influenced by environmental cues, which are objects in the environment that individuals can use to solve problems. This study investigated the influence of intrinsic motivation and environmental cues on social creativity and whether there is an interaction effect of intrinsic motivation and environmental cues on the process of electronic brainstorming (EBS). The results showed that individuals generated more ideas (both in quantity and type) when presented with more cues. In this process, the influence of the number of cues on the fluency and flexibility of social creativity was regulated by intrinsic motivation. The more novel the cues, the higher the overall level of originality of the ideas generated by participants. In this process, the influence of the novelty of cues on the effectiveness and fluency of social creativity was regulated by intrinsic motivation. This study offers a fresh theoretical perspective on the complicated relationship between intrinsic motivation and creativity. Furthermore, it provides empirical evidence to inform training on social creativity for university students.

Cross-cultural collaborative learning has been paid more and more attention in recent years. To promote productive cross-cultural collaborative learning, idea generation and improvement, and socially shared regulation is crucial. The study aimed to identify the differences in idea generation and improvement as well as socially shared regulation between high- and low-performance groups in cross-cultural online collaborative learning. In this study, 24 culturally diverse university students composed of eight groups conducted cross-cultural online collaborative learning to solve problems collaboratively. Epistemic network analysis and lag sequential analysis methods were employed to analyze data quantitatively and qualitatively. The results revealed that different strategies shape different learning performances. High-performance groups adopted more cognitive, social, and regulation processes than low-performance groups. The results extend the existing literature by indicating that idea elaboration, refining or building on ideas, and appraisal is strongly connected to new ideas. In addition, transitions from monitoring and controlling to adapting metacognition in collaborative learning activities are the main difference in socially shared regulation between high-performance and low-performance groups. This study shed light on how to engage culturally diverse students to generate and improve ideas as well as jointly regulate collaborative learning.

To ensure the normal operation of teaching and meet the needs of teaching quality assessment in the COVID-19 situation, universities in various countries have adopted online proctoring for assessment. The epidemic has accelerated the development of online education. Online proctoring, as an integral part of future online teaching, has not yet drawn sufficient attention. To understand students' experiences and attitudes towards initial online proctoring, an extended technology acceptance model was utilised to examine the motivations and barriers that influence students' online proctoring acceptance in terms of technology perception, presence and social influence. Structural equation models were used to analyse data from a questionnaire survey of 760 university students. Results revealed that social influence, social presence and perceived usefulness are the significant predictors of online proctoring acceptance. Social influence and social presence have significant positive effects on online proctoring acceptance through perceived usefulness, and social presence has a positive effect on perceived ease of use. However, perceived ease of use has a significant negative effect, while place presence has no significant effect. Implications, limitations and future work are discussed at the end.

The educational development level of migrant children is affected by many factors, and it is practical to study it. Based on the current situation of migrant children study in China, this study explored the multiple mediating effects of educational support and moderating effect of the age on the level of educational development by policy environment. The study sample was composed of 541 Chinese migrant adolescents aged 9 to 17. They completed educational development questionnaire, educational support questionnaire and policy environment questionnaire. Mediating and moderating effects analysis were used to examine the role of educational support between policy environment and educational development. The results show that the educational development level of Chinese migrant children was relatively high. However, there were significant differences among different schools and ages. It was found that school management played most important role in the educational development of migrant children. Also, it was found that assistance support played a partial mediating role between school management and academic condition, and affective support played a partial mediating role between school management and social behavior, and age played a moderating role between school management and social behavior. School management for Chinese migrant children should be further strengthened. Assistance support and affective support for Chinese migrant children should be further improved. In addition, the management of migrant children aged from 14 to 17 should be the focus of attention. In this study, some suggestions are put forward to improve these influence factors of education development for Chinese migrant children.

The development of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has proceeded through three generations, and in all three, online discussions have been considered a critical component. Although discussions in MOOCs have the potential to promote learning, instructors have faced challenges facilitating learners' knowledge inquiry, construction, and management through social interaction. In addition, understanding various aspects of learning calls for more mixed-method studies to provide both quantitative, generalized analysis and qualitative, detailed descriptions of learning. This study fills these practice and research gaps. We designed a Chinese MOOC with the support of a pedagogical strategy, a learning analytic tool, and a social learning environment in order to foster learner engagement in discussions. Mixed methods were used to explore learners' discussion patterns, perceptions, and preferences. Results indicated that learners demonstrated varied patterns, perceptions, and preferences, which implies a complex learning process due to the interplay of multiple factors. Based on the results, this research provided theoretical, pedagogical, and analytical implications for MOOC design, practice, and research.

This article presents a computational approach to examining immigrant incorporation through shifts in the social "mainstream." Analyzing a historical corpus of American etiquette books, texts from 1922-2017 describing social norms, we identify mainstream shifts related to long-standing groups which once were and may currently still be seen as immigrant outsiders in the United States: Catholic, Chinese, Irish, Italian, Jewish, Mexican, and Muslim groups. The analysis takes a computational grounded theory approach, combining qualitative readings and computational text analyses. Using word embeddings, we operationalize the chosen groups as focal group concepts. We extract sections of text that are salient to the focal group concepts to create group-specific text corpora. Two computational approaches make it possible to examine mainstream shifts in these corpora. First, we use sentiment analysis to observe the positive sentiment in each corpus and its change over time. Second, we observe changes in each corpus's position on a semantic dimension represented by the poles of "strange" and "normal." The results indicate mainstream shifts through increases in positive sentiment and movement from strange to normal over time for most of the group-specific corpora. These research techniques can be adapted to other studies of social sentiment and symbolic inclusion.

Ethical academicians are perfectly virtuous. They always strive for greater virtue and follow strictly the moral stands of their profession. The ethical living and self-efficacy are important to them because of being fair and honest in their academics. Determinants of ethics include knowledge, values, attitude and intention. The domain-specific framework developed by Verbeke et al. (2004) has been considered as fundamental for identifying the dimensionality of work Self-efficacy and ethical challenges of academicians. A comprehensive literature review is undertaken regarding the concept of work Self-efficacy to assess workers' confidence and their ethical living in the workplace. This article examines theoretically and analytically the antecedent processes and information cues involved in the formation of work self-efficacy. Theoretical and numerical analysis of the key determinants of work self-efficacy increases the understanding of moral values, truthful fair and honest. Factors which decisively affect ethical living were identified from literature collected from the academicians who are working in the Five Regions of Asia - Central Asia (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan) East Asia (China, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau) South Asia (Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives) through Google classroom. Methods of Statistical Analysis of self-efficacy data are descriptive statistics, Pearson Correlation Coefficient and Kolmogorov-Smirvnos normality test and Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance and Principal Component Analysis. Positive, mastery experiences give academicians a sense of accomplishment when they have faced a challenge ethically. Positive Zeal during Academic interaction, vicarious experiences that occur when academician see others succeed and feel an increased sense of their own ability to succeed. Sincere & deeper self, mingling with students, Social persuasion increase a teacher's sense of confidence and ability to succeed. A proper plan of action has drawn special attention, and inferences pertaining to future research are discussed at the end of the critique.

Associations between social norms and bullying bystander behaviours have been studied extensively over the years, but the mechanisms by which subjective norms influence bystander behaviours remain unclear. This study is the first to examine whether bystander popularity moderates the association between perceived peer pressure for intervention and Chinese adolescents' bullying bystanding behaviours. The participants were 419 (51.6% male) school students (grade 8-11, age 14-17 years). The results showed positive associations between perceived peer pressure for intervention and active defending behaviours, and negative associations between perceived peer pressure for intervention and passive bystanding behaviours. Further, the results indicated that popularity moderated the association between perceived peer pressure for intervention and active defending behaviours. These findings highlight the importance of considering interactions among subjective norms and individual factors such as popularity when attempting to understand the factors that promote or hinder active defending behaviours. Moreover, the findings shed light on the importance of evidence-based bullying bystander interventions that help recognize these popular students.

This study explores how a transient community of Chinese visiting scholars in the US negotiates the language norms and identity in the transnational spaces. Transient communities, being different from diasporic stable communities in terms of flexibility and fluidity of movements, are subject to continuous negotiation of social or language norms. With an ethnographic approach, I observed, documented and interviewed Chinese visiting scholars, exploring their negotiation with various groups of interactants from both the host country and the home country. It is found Chinese visiting scholars' language choices in various interactional contexts are not a priori assignment but the results of constant negotiation within and across contexts. Their multilingual practices or strategies not only enact their identity and ethnicity, but also reflect their implicit power struggle in the transnational space. The Chinese visiting scholars' language practices and their situated and iterative positioning of themselves helps maximise the benefit of their stay in the host country, thus imposing significant implication for EIL (English as International Language) research.

Despite recent socioeconomic transformations, young adults in China construe local social norms as inhibiting their individualized selfhood. Based on a study of pedagogies of interpersonal "soft" skills, this article describes an apparatus of self-improvement where self- and social critique play a pivotal role. Through comparison with Foucault's "technologies of the self," I illustrate that self-improvement in China is largely oriented toward performative expressions that counteract the "local" rather than the habituation of virtues or skills.

Frequent social comparisons can not only influence parents' well-being but also spill over to their children's development through intergenerational influences within the family. Using data from children and their parents, the current study shows that the higher parents' social comparison orientation is, the less their children are willing to contribute to the public in a public goods game. Moreover, we find that if children interact more frequently with non-family members, the effects of parents' social comparison orientation on children's decision in public goods game become stronger. The findings of this study serve as a warning for parents and policy makers regarding the downside of excessive social comparisons and shed light on how frequent social comparisons influence human social interaction from an intergenerational perspective.

The field of citizenship education witnessed an expanding body of literature looking at the case of China. Yet citizenship with broad conceptual terrain often refers to different things in the literature. This paper foregrounds the common core of the essentially contested concept of citizenship and considers citizenship conception as discourse. By engaging with and drawing evidence from extant literature, this paper critically examines citizenship in the academic and related official and social discourses. It discloses the discursive conformity among the academic, official, and social discourses of citizenship in mainland China and discusses the politics beneath the conformity. It suggests that the fundamental values of liberty and equality constitutive of the common core of citizenship should not be lost but localized to serve as the conceptual and analytical compass in the contestation of citizenship and citizenship education discourses in contemporary China.

Students' perceptions towards entrepreneurship have been a focus for many researches in the field of Entrepreneurship: Given the role that entrepreneurship play in the economic development of a country, researchers acknowledge that students are the key population for entrepreneurial activities. Researchers want to predict and understand students' attitudes towards entrepreneurship through various studies largely based on: socio demographic characters, entrepreneurship training program, social background and motivation for the students regarding job choice. The study aims to find out the determinants of entrepreneurial intention among African students studying various disciplines in China base on the theory of planned behavior. The entrepreneurial intention model was tested and its verified hypothesis and descriptive statistics was used for empirical analysis. The study was conducted through a survey on 148 students and the results revealed the Africa economic environment, gender and fields of study are main determinants of African students' entrepreneurial intention. These results revealed the importance of African students' training in the fields of economics and engineering sciences to develop their entrepreneurial spirit and the need for African governments to create a suitable economic environment to further stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit of these students when they return to Africa.

This chapter addresses how child-, family-, and school-level characteristics are associated with Chinese children's academic skill development during their preschool years. Academic skills are defined in terms of young children's emergent competencies in academic domains including literacy, mathematics, and science. First, we review the relations of young Chinese children's cognition (language, visuospatial, and executive functioning), behavior (social behavior and behavioral regulation), and affect (interest and attitude) to their performance in these academic domains. Second, we review the roles of familial variables, including family socioeconomic status and broad and specific aspects of parenting practices and parental involvement. Third, we review school- and classroom-level factors, with a special emphasis on preschool and classroom quality that is particularly relevant to young Chinese children's academic skills. We discuss the educational implications of these study findings and identify methodological limitations that may threaten their internal and external validity. Our aim is to bring attention to the growing body of research on young Chinese children's academic skill development and to highlight several areas that need further research.

Objectives: Given the pervasiveness of emotional and behavioral deficits of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), there is a pressing need for effective interventions to address their difficulties on Facial Expression Recognition and Emotion Understanding (FER/EU). Qunatiandi, a structured, app-based intervention program that is designed for Chinese children with ASD was utilized in this study. Three young children (two girls and one boy; age M ¼ 4.94 years) completed an 8-week one-on-one intervention in a rehabilitation center setting. It was hypothesized that the three children would show greater progress in their FER/EU. Methods: In this study, a modified multiple probe across the program phases design was used; the dependent variable was the percentage of unprompted correct receptive identification responses for FER/EU tests during instruction and probes. Data were taken during baseline, the endpoint of instruction sessions, and a maintenance stage followed by intervention termination. Results: Findings of the study revealed that all participants demonstrated significant improvements in social acuity, gains were mostly achieved on emotion distinguishing and understanding (above 80% of accuracy). A similar scoring pattern was also found in the maintenance probe phase. Conclusion: The study is one of only a few early intervention projects to improve FER/EU skills for children with ASD using an app-based intervention. The results demonstrated that children with ASD can experience increases in emotion distinguishing and understanding skills. Maintenance probe results showed that the interventional effect can be maintained for a period of time after intervention.

For more than 2000 years, Confucian teaching has had tremendous influence on the history, politics, economy, and culture of East Asian countries and regions. Despite the rapid growth in gross domestic product (GDP), people's standard of living, and economic advancements, Confucian Asia continues to adhere to the Confucian cultural values that they have embraced for hundreds of years. The shared Confucian cultural values and traditions have played an important role in the formation and development of East Asian leadership practices. In this chapter, we examine the Confucian-based cultural values and East Asian leadership practices. Based on Confucian traditions and East Asian leadership practices, leadership model emerged. This model may be applicable in other cultural contexts. (Contains 1 figure.)

Motivational regulation has long been recognized as an essential but insufficiently investigated aspect of self-regulated learning (SRL), especially in relation to learning English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) writing. This study intends to fill the gap by investigating the predictive effect of motivational regulation strategies on EFL students' writing performance mediated by SRL strategies. Data were collected from undergraduate students in mainland China (N = 512) through self-report questionnaires and an English writing test. Results of structural equation modeling (SEM) confirmed a partial mediation model in which motivational regulation strategies, as a whole, not only had direct and indirect effects on students' writing performance but were also significantly correlated with their reported use of SRL strategies relating to cognition, metacognition, and social behavior. In addition, only cognitive and metacognitive strategies were found to be significant mediators in the model while social behavior strategies were not. The findings suggest that cumulative knowledge of motivational regulation is an antecedent of the reported use of other SRL strategies in affecting EFL writing performance. The inclusion of SRL strategies in the mediation model also contributes to a clear understanding of L2 writing processes within the SRL mechanism for improving writing outcomes.

The goal of this study was to examine longitudinal associations among unsociability and indices of socio-emotional functioning in a sample of young Chinese children. Participants were N = 360 children (M[subscript age] = 4.72 years, SD = 0.67) recruited from kindergarten classes in an urban area of China. Assessments of unsociability and adjustment were obtained at 2 time points (separated by 1 year) using multiple source assessments (maternal reports, child interviews, teacher ratings). Among the results, unsociability was concurrently (but not longitudinally) associated with teacher-rated anxiety-withdrawal at school. Some evidence of gender differences was also evident, with Time 1 peer preference more strongly associated with lower unsociability at Time 2 among girls than among boys. Results are discussed in terms of the meaning and implications of unsociability among young children in China.

This pilot study explored the efficacy of a social-cognitive intervention program for adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Seven adolescents with ASD (mean age = 12.57 years) attended a school-based 10-week program. Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scales, Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), and Theory of Mind Inventory were administered at baseline, immediately after the program, and post 2-months. There were significant positive gains in Theory of Mind knowledge and in individualized goals (of GAS), and there were further gains after 2 months. Qualitative evaluation was conducted by a focus group interview with parents of participants. Consistent with the quantitative findings, parents observed that their children have increased knowledge of social skills, socialize more with friends, and had increase in positive social behavior. On the other hand, they perceived an even more intensive and ongoing program could further benefit their children. This study has added to the understanding of the potential impact of social skills programs run in school.

Mental health has received increasing attention over the past few years as a common problem with serious consequences for the health and well-being of the people. But there is little attention paid to the problem for the special group of population, female teachers in China's colleges. Most of them are in a dilemma of how to perform and harmonize the social and family responsibilities well, which has been a heavy burden on them and has a bad effect on their health. Our aim is to assist people to understand and pay great attention to the female teacher's mental health in China's colleges. This article includes issues of situation and classifications of the mental health of the female teachers, i.e. psychology and behavior, body symptom, and professional burnout. The two aspects, objective factors (social factors, work pressure, traditional opinion, gender discrimination and bias) and subjective factors (high self-expectations, poor psychological well-being) of the influencing factors on the mental health of female teachers in China are discussed. With an eye to the future researches on mental health of female teachers in China, we suggest some countermeasures from social, college and individual levels to keep mental health of female teachers in colleges of China.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has led the way in constructing the East Asian region with China, Japan, and South Korea, and an inter-regional entity with the European Union (EU)--known as the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). The initial aims were security and trade. Recently, however, higher education has been brought into these regionalising processes, largely as a response to the globalising of neoliberalism. The paper argues that regions are social, economic, and political constructions shaped by both material forces and cultural factors. It emphasises the importance of the latter and explains three mechanisms at work: "harmonisation" to build intra-ASEAN higher education cooperation; "socialisation" to create the ASEAN+3 region; and "mutual learning" to engage with the EU in shaping an "ASEM Education Area". These mechanisms influence the ways in which regional actors form new conceptions of self and other, negotiate norms, and (re)construct their identities and interests, thus creating new forms of cooperation and community. Particularly, "mutual learning" generates the outcome of a deeper negotiation for an equal partnership between the "Asia" and the "Europe" in ASEM. Hence, higher education regionalism emerges as a way to reposition Southeast Asia.

Research Findings: The current study examines the relations between Chinese preschoolers' social-emotional competence and their preacademic skills, as well as the role of child gender and parental education in such relations. A total of 154 children from the northeastern region of China were involved in the study. Both parents and head teachers of the target children completed measures of children's social-emotional competence and preacademic skills. Multiple aspects of social-emotional competence were investigated. The results showed that children's withdrawn behaviors and attention problems were negatively related to their preacademic skills. Both parent- and teacher-reported positive social behaviors were positively related to children's preacademic skills. In addition, child gender and parental education together moderated the effects of children's anxious/depressed problems and parent-reported social behaviors on children's preacademic skills. Practice or Policy: Teacher training and support are needed to help preschool teachers (a) better support children who are socially withdrawn or have difficulty regulating attention and (b) understand the construct and importance of social-emotional development in relation to children's preacademic development . In addition, child characteristics such as age and gender and socioeconomic factors need to be taken into consideration in the study of young children's social-emotional and cognitive competence.

This preliminary multiple case study examined the behavioral outcomes of neurocognitive training on children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) in China, as well as parent acceptance of the treatment. The training approach targeted working memory, impulse control, and attention/relaxation (via brain electrical activity). Outcome measures included overt behavior as rated by parents and teachers, AD/HD symptom frequency, and parent opinion/feedback. Training was completed by five individuals and delivered via a themed computer game with electroencephalogram (EEG) input via a wireless, single-channel, dry-sensor, portable measurement device. The objective (i.e., training outcomes and EEG) and subjective (i.e., parent ratings/feedback and teacher ratings) data suggested that use of the neurocognitive training resulted in reduced AD/HD behaviors and improvement in socially meaningful outcomes. The parents expressed satisfaction with the training procedure and outcomes. It is concluded that the innovative neurocognitive training approach is effective for improving behavior and reducing symptoms of AD/HD for children in China.

This article examines international students' cultural adaptation at a major national university in China. A survey was designed to measure international students' adaptation to the Chinese sociocultural and educational environments in terms of five dimensions: (1) cultural empathy, (2) open-mindedness, (3) emotional stability, (4) social flexibility and (5) language proficiency. International students (n = 330) from 57 countries participated in the survey. The findings here support the existing proposition that the first year is the critical period for cultural adaptation as there are significant changes in some adaptation indicators (especially emotional stability) over the first year and thereafter changes in these indicators became less and less significant. The present study discusses the adequacy of existing theories in explaining these results and their implications for international students' adaptation as a culture-specific experience in China.

This study examined loneliness and its associations with social functioning in children across different historical times and contexts in China. We collected data from urban and rural groups of school-age children (N = 2,588; M age = 10 years) using self-reports and peer assessments. The results indicated that children in 2002 and 2005 urban groups had lower scores on loneliness than did children in 1992 and 1998 urban groups, suggesting that as urban China became a more modernized, self-oriented society, children tended to report lower levels of loneliness. Consistent with this trend, urban children reported lower levels of loneliness than did their rural counterparts in recent years. The analysis of associations between social functioning and loneliness revealed that across groups, sociability was negatively associated with loneliness, and aggression was positively associated with loneliness. The association between shyness and loneliness differed among the groups; it was negative in the 1992 urban group, positive in the 2002 and 2005 urban groups, and nonsignificant in the 1998 urban and 2007 rural groups. The different associations suggest that whether shy children feel lonely might depend on context.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted to test an integrated model of condom use with a sample of 490 sexually active Chinese college students. A number of variables in the integrated model were predictors of condom use, explaining 33.4% of the variance in use. Partner communication was the strongest predictors (beta = 0.317, SE = 0.038, p less than 0.001). Self-efficacy (beta = 0.252, SE = 0.076, p less than 0.001), positive attitudes (beta = 0.150, SE = 0.060, p less than 0.001), and social norms (beta = 0.207, SE = 0.080, p less than 0.001) were also significant predictors of condom use. Additionally, peer communication marginally significantly predicted condom use (beta = 0.089, SE = 0.039, p = 0.055). This study provides evidence of the utility of the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior as an effective underlying theoretical framework for HIV prevention and safe sex intervention programs in a non-Western culture. The study also provides evidence that communication with sexual partners about condom use should be one of the most important factors to be considered in the development of HIV prevention and safer sex education programs for Chinese youth.

Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to determine the cigarette smoking rate and smoking cessation counseling frequency in a sample of Chinese nurses. Design/methodology/approach: At the time of data collection, the hospital had 260 nurses, 255 females and five males. The 200 nurses working on the two daytime shifts were given the questionnaires; none refused to participate, reaching a response rate of 100 percent. All the participants were females as the five male nurses were working in the operation rooms at the time of data collection, are were thus not accessible. Findings: Some key findings include: only two nurses, out of 200, identified themselves as current cigarette smokers; all provided anti-smoking counseling to patients, the majority of them did not think their efforts were successful; cigarette smoking is a problem in China: the nurses estimated that 80 percent of male and 10 percent of female patients were current smokers; in the opinions of the nurses, Chinese smokers used smoking as a stress reliever and a social lubricant; two methods may help smokers to quit or reduce smoking: using aids such as patches, acupuncture and nicotine gum, and counseling by health professionals; the nurses think that cigarette smoking is well accepted in the Chinese culture. Practical implications: Findings of this research suggest that the Chinese Ministry of Health should take measures to change the cultural norms and values regarding cigarette smoking including strict rules be imposed on not passing/sharing cigarettes in the workplace. Originality/value: In a collectivistic culture such as China where opinions of authorities are respected, the part of nurses, who represent health authority to their patients, in assisting patients to quit or reduce smoking cannot be overemphasized. This study adds to the scarce research on Chinese nurses' role in helping patients' smoking cessation efforts. (Contains 5 tables.)

This study examines how the parental support and control affected school outcomes through conformity to parents, self-esteem, and self-efficacy in adolescence in Mainland China. The sample included 350 junior and senior high school students age ranging from 12 to 19 years, 48% of them were males. Using path model analysis, results showed that parental support but not reasoning predicted conformity and self-esteem which in turn predicted school motivation and grade point average. Parental control including autonomy granting and monitoring also predicted school outcomes mediated by both conformity and self-esteem. Some gender differences were found. Both parental support and control indeed have great impact on adolescents. The more salient effectiveness of parental control may be due to the Chinese cultural characteristics. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.)