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Teaching is often regarded as a profession with a high probability of job burnout. Research has shown a close relationship between teachers' motivation and their burnout, but it has not been closely explored among EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers in Chinese contexts. Considering the large number of college English teachers in Chinese universities and recent changes in their role, the study explores the relationship between their motivation and burnout, as well as the factors that affect teacher burnout among Chinese college English teachers. For this purpose, a total of 261 college English teachers from ten Chinese universities participated in the survey. Among them, 68 teachers submitted their narratives on teacher burnout using the narrative frame. The results showed that high mastery and relational goals and a low level of work avoidance goals contributed to higher motivation and less teacher burnout. The demand for research, lack of autonomy, and guanxi-based practices influenced Chinese teachers' burnout. The results show that teacher burnout is highly context-dependent and affected by the organizational structure and cultural practices. An organizational support needs to be provided for teachers to maintain their mastery goal orientations and increase their autonomy as professional teachers.

As humanity reaches the 5.0 industrial revolution, education plays a critical role in boosting the quality of human resources. This paper reports bibliometric research on emerging TiP during 1993-2022 in the educational field to analyse its development on any level of education during the last three decades. This study employed a Scopus database. The findings are that the trend of TiP publication in educational fields has tended to increase every year during the past three decades and conference paper became the most published document type, the USA is the country which produces the most publications; "Students" being the most occurrences keyword and total link strength. The publication of the TiP is ranked to the Quartile 1, which implies that a publication with the cited performance is a publication with credibility because the publisher has a good reputation. Researchers can find the topics most relevant to other metadata sources such as Web of Science, Publish, and Perish.

Ostracism and school engagement have important implications for adolescents' academic perseverance and success. However, limited previous studies have investigated the mediating effects of school engagement on the association between ostracism and academic achievement in the Chinese cultural context. The present study fills in this research gap by examining the mediating effects of emotional engagement, cognitive engagement, and behavioral engagement on the association between ostracism and adolescents' academic achievement. Clustered random sampling was employed, and a total of 728 adolescents (52.6% female) were recruited as participants. The results showed that ostracism was negatively associated with academic achievement. Ostracism was negatively associated with emotional engagement and cognitive engagement, which in turn were related to worse academic achievement. Notably, within the Chinese cultural context, behavioral engagement did not exhibit a mediating effect between ostracism and academic achievement. The findings of the present research have theoretical and practical implications for curtailing ostracism and improving adolescents' academic achievement.

Multisensory environments rich in modal integration provide cues from various sensory modalities including visually, auditorily, and tactilely. Such modal integration plays a crucial role in cognitive processing, specifically in fostering creativity. Numerous studies highlight that emotional coherence through cross-modal affective integration enhances cognitive competencies such as memory, attention, and the capacity to generate original, fluent ideas. Nonetheless, current research lacks comparative studies pinpointing how different sensory modalities impact individual creativity. We addressed this research void by employing a cross-model matching paradigm, anchored on the concept of emotional coherence. Our investigation evaluated the impact of varying emotional stimuli (both positive and negative) on creativity performance, considering single sensory modalities (visual and auditory), as well as their cross. Our study participants were 119 Chinese university students who completed a creative task under varying emotional stimulation modality conditions. We observed that the bimodal audiovisual integration of positive emotional stimuli most effectively enhanced creativity as compared to solely auditory modality. The visual modality seemed the least effective, underscoring the impact of multichannel integration. Interestingly, the bimodal audiovisual integration of negative emotional stimuli significantly boosted originality, albeit with little difference in fluency relative to the auditory modality. Based on the theoretical significance of multimodal emotional integration, our interpretation of these findings suggests that audiovisual cross-modal emotional integration, with its rich emotional information, serves as a catalyst for enhancing originality. However, we observed that the facilitative effect on overall creativity and fluency is primarily observed in the context of positive emotions. It is important to note that we carefully controlled for participants' creative personality factors and conducted three types of emotional evaluations across modalities to ensure the validity of our results. Furthermore, the impact of cross-modal audiovisual emotional integration on creativity, both in terms of originality and fluency, is influenced by the distinct emotional perceptual characteristics inherent to each modality.

This study compared parenting across four non-Western cultures to test cross-cultural commonality and specificity principles in three aspects: measurement properties, parenting normativeness, and their associations with child outcomes. Both mothers and fathers (N = 1509 dyads) with preschool-aged children (M = 5.00 years; 48% girls) from urban areas of four countries (Malaysia, N = 372; China, N = 441; Turkey, N = 402; and Japan, N = 294) reported on four parenting constructs (authoritative, authoritarian, group harmony socialization, and intrusive control) and their sub-dimensions using modified culturally relevant measures. Teachers reported on children's internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial behaviors. The commonality principle was supported by two sets of findings: (1) full measurement invariance was established for most parenting constructs and sub-dimensions, except that intrusive control only reached partial scalar invariance, and (2) no variations were found in associations between parenting and any child outcomes across cultures or parent gender at the construct level for all four parenting constructs and at the sub-dimensional level for authoritarian and intrusive control sub-dimensions. The specificity principle was supported by the other two sets of findings: (1) cross-cultural differences in parenting normativeness did not follow the pattern of economic development but yielded culture-specific patterns, and (2) at the sub-dimensional level, the authoritative parenting and group harmony socialization sub-dimensions were differently associated with child outcomes across cultures and/or parent gender. The findings suggested that examining specific dimensions rather than broad parenting constructs is necessary to reflect cultural specificities and nuances. Our study provided a culturally-invariant instrument and a three-step guide for future parenting research to examine cross-cultural commonalities/specificities.

Aims: To determine the associations between COVID-19 school closures and school readiness skills for Chinese kindergarteners. Design: We utilized the natural experimental condition created by local COVID-19 outbreaks in 2022 (Study 1) to compare school readiness skills of children whose kindergartens were closed for 5 months (Group 1) with children whose kindergartens stayed open (Group 2). We further compared the school readiness skills of one pre-COVID-19 cohort (Cohort 2019) with one COVID-19 cohort (Cohort 2021) from a fifth kindergarten (Study 2). Samples: For Study 1, Group 1 included 445 children and Group 2 included 584 children aged 4-6 years. For Study 2, Cohort 2019 included 156 children and Cohort 2021 included 228 children aged 3-6 years. Measures: For both studies, survey data on four school readiness skills were collected from parents. Additionally, Study 1 collected parental locus of control data from parents. Results: Controlling for covariates, Study 1 revealed that Group 1 and Group 2 did not differ in terms of language and emergent literacy or approaches to learning. However, Group 1 scored lower than Group 2 on health and well-being and arts and imagination. Study 2 revealed that Cohort 2021 scored higher than Cohort 2019 on language and emergent literacy but lower on the other three skills. Conclusions: The associations of COVID-19 school closures with Chinese children's school readiness skills were not uniform, with a positive relation with language and emergent literacy and negative associations with health and well-being, approaches to learning, as well as arts and imagination.

It is essential for modern medical students to continuously enhance their clinical thinking abilities. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of the combined World Café discussion and case-based learning (CBL) approach within the clinical thinking training course. The clinical thinking training course incorporated the combined World Café discussion and CBL approach. The assessment of the accuracy and rationality of clinical symptoms, medical examination, pathological processes, diagnostic results, diagnostic basis, and drug use was conducted through case-related queries. Feedback from students and instructors regarding the teaching content, teaching process, and teaching effect was gathered through questionnaires. The findings indicate that the students achieved high marks in all assessed areas, including clinical symptoms, medical examination, pathological processes, diagnostic results, diagnostic basis, and drug use. The feedback from students and instructors on the teaching content, teaching process, and teaching effect was positive. Medical educators can use our findings to implement the combined World Café discussion and CBL mode to enhance student engagement.

This study contributes to the substantial body of studies on the relationships between family socioeconomic status (SES), gender inequality, and higher education selection. It does so by 1) examining the association between SES and gender inequality in higher education, and 2) comparing changes in socioeconomic and gender inequality before and after the 1999 higher education expansion using eight waves of China General Social Survey (CGSS) data (2008-2018), which comprised a total sample of 57,067. The results of this study revealed that gender inequality in higher education selection in China is driven by SES, and that higher education expansion in China has not reduced socioeconomic and gender inequality in terms of higher education selection. The established inequality persists for low SES students, especially low SES females. This study not only underscores the importance of SES and gender but also expands the conceptual validity of SES (effects of SES on gender inequality) in higher education selection.

The "campus loans" crisis has highlighted the importance of financial literacy among Chinese college students. Based on an analysis of 2,266 valid questionnaires, this study utilized survey data and logistic regression to examine the correlations between demographic and behavioral factors and financial literacy among students. The results indicated that, compared to their international counterparts, Chinese students generally possess less financial knowledge. However, they exhibit stronger financial attitudes and behaviors. A significant gender disparity was observed, with female students outperforming male students in financial literacy. Students attending more prestigious universities, particularly those majoring in economics, management, science, and engineering, and those dedicating more time to financial education, showed higher levels of financial literacy. Additionally, positive social interactions were associated with enhanced financial literacy. The study also identifies a "Surrounding People Effect," where the presence of financially knowledgeable peers, friends, and family correlates with improved financial literacy among college students. These findings offer critical insights for developing targeted policies to enhance financial literacy among Chinese college students.

While research has indicated that college students may benefit from collaboratively reading academic texts, little is known about how they co-construct comprehension through text-based discussions. This case study focused on two groups of undergraduate students with different degrees of participation in discussions -- one active group and one silent group -- in a course on English for academic purposes (EAP) at a Chinese university. Drawing upon classroom observation and semi-structured interviews, the study investigated the spontaneous use of reading strategies in 10 post-reading group discussions and probed into the key processes for comprehension building shared by the two groups. The findings suggest that the students utilized a series of reading strategies and drew on the ideational and linguistic resources shared within the group to build comprehension. Three key processes for comprehension co-construction were found: (1) paraphrasing to contribute personal understanding, (2) elaborating to clarify meanings, and (3) summarizing to build consensus. Pedagogical implications concerning the instruction and task design for collaborative academic reading are discussed.

Differentiated instruction is much demanded yet quite challenging in face of the growing student diversity in today's K-12 classrooms. One major challenge is the provision of differentiated materials to students. Automated text simplification (ATS) tools fueled by natural language processing may serve as a useful assistant for teachers. However, little is known about teachers' contextualized use of ATS over time. This case study traced two teachers' use of ATS systems over a semester. Drawing upon three semi-structured interviews and teacher-generated materials with ATS, we identified an evolving pattern of teachers' engagement with ATS systems, a progression from a blind reliance on the tool to a more critical and coordinated use of the tool over time. We further revealed that teachers' evolving understanding of DI, positioning of the role of ATS systems and human instructors, and interpretation of DI need in specific teaching situations interplayed to shape their particular ways of engagement. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of teachers' contextualized use of ATS technology for DI. By revealing the influencing factors, the findings hold significant pedagogical implications to inform the design of ATS tools and the creation of favorable conditions to maximize the potential of ATS tools for DI and language teaching and learning in general.

The ability to understand listening is an essential skill for non-native speakers of English as a foreign language (EFL). Research has shown that several factors can influence EFL students' English listening comprehension, including the listening strategy they use during listening activities. This study, therefore, used the meta-cognitive listening strategy to explore the mediation role of learning style and self-efficacy in the relationship with listening performance. In this study, 632 Chinese university students participated in a survey and completed electronic questionnaires on MALQ (Meta-cognitive Awareness of Listening Questionnaire), PLSPQ (Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire), and GSE (General Self-Efficacy Scale). The data were analyzed using AMOS software and a structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The results showed that students' listening strategy directly and positively predicted their English listening performance. Moreover, students' listening performance was fully mediated by learning style and self-efficacy. After discussing these findings, suggestions as well as limitations for future studies will be given. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to a better understanding of the factors that may affect EFL students' English listening comprehension and inform instructional practices in the EFL classroom. Specifically, the results of this study may suggest the use of teaching strategies tailored to individual learning styles and the adoption of measures to improve self-efficacy of EFL students. Ultimately, the goal of this research is to improve EFL students' English listening comprehension skills and enhance their overall language proficiency.

Blended learning is an increasingly prevalent trend in College English acquisition. This research seeks to study the influence of a blended learning environment to English acquisition, and the differences between the high-achieving learners and the low-achieving learners for Chinese minority preparation college students in English acquisition. Eighty students were selected as the research subjects, and the research instruments included questionnaire and interview questions to collect data. The study results show that a blended learning environment, to some degree, can help learners overcome anxiety and cultivate autonomous learning abilities. In addition, high-achieving language learners are willing to ask for help from others when they encounter problems; they are able to choose their learning strategies on their own, and have the strong ability of self-learning.

In recent years, inclusive education has become a major challenge for school systems in both Western and Eastern countries, and many countries have been putting considerable efforts into making their education more inclusive. The present study was undertaken to investigate Chinese and Italian teachers' understanding of inclusive education based on the medical and social model of disability. 45 semi-structured interviews were conducted with school teachers in Italy (N = 19) and China (N = 26). Our findings show that Italian teachers understand inclusive education mainly as certain values such as full access, and respect for students' differences and potential, which reflect a social model of disability, while Chinese teachers perceive inclusive education primarily from a medical model of disability, influenced by the Chinese cultural and social understanding of disability. The reasons for these different understandings of inclusive education in Italy and China are then discussed. In the end, practical implications for the further development of high-quality inclusive education in both countries are provided.

Our study examined young children's pre-academic and social skills in relation to parental locus of control and children's behaviours of ADHD. The participants were parents of 1,502 children from four Chinese kindergartens (M[subscript age] = 4.59, SD = 0.93; Girls: 51.40%). Data on six domains of children's pre-academic and social skills, parental external and internal locus of control, and children's inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity were obtained with the Early Learning and Development for Children Aged 3 to 6 years, the Parental Locus of Control scale, and the ADHD Rating Scale-IV Preschool Home Version respectively. Hierarchical regression results showed that controlling for other variables, higher scores in parental external locus of control and child inattention behaviours significantly predicted lower scores in all six domains, while higher scores in internal locus of control and child hyperactivity/impulsivity behaviours predicted higher scores in all six domains (R[superscript 2] ranged from 18.0% to 47.0%). Noticeably, parental locus of control explained a smaller amount of the variance (1.0-5.0%) than behaviours of ADHD (5.0-11.0%) in the children's outcomes.

The rapid advancement of digital technology has not only affected the world of work but also students' learning. Digital learning competence (DLC) is one of the essential skills students need for effective learning in a digital environment. Despite the significant presence of secondary vocational school students in China, constituting one-third of the high school demographic, research on their digital learning needs remains sparse. Addressing this gap, this paper attempted to propose the elements and structural model of digital learning competence for secondary vocational school students (V-DLC). A corresponding questionnaire was compiled, and an analysis was carried out with 872 valid survey data of secondary vocational school students achieved by convenient sampling. A five-factor model for the V-DLC was established through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, cross-validity, and criterion validity tests. This paper suggests that evaluating students' digital learning competence in secondary vocational schools can be achieved by considering the dimensions of cognitive processing and reading, technology use, thinking skills, activity management, and will management, combined with students' learning experiences in school and other fields. Given the global focus on digital learning competence, this framework will pave the way for empirical research on digital learning and guide the enhancement of student learning ability in vocational settings, adapting to the digital era. Furthermore, transitioning to a digitalized vocational education system is essential for preparing students for a digitally-driven workforce, aligning with modern job market demands and global trends.

A major concern in science education is how to help students form science identity to increase their aspiration for STEM careers. Given the key role of experiences in individual's science identity formation, STEM experiences related to project-based learning (PBL) have received increasing attention in recent years. The purpose of this study was to examine how high school students' science identity has been affected by the multi-dimensional STEM-PBL experiences, i.e., scientific inquiry, technological application, engineering design, and mathematics processing. Employing two independent questionnaires, we quantitatively investigated the correlation between multi-dimensional STEM-PBL experiences and science identity with 400 high school students (grades 7-12) from a range of public schools in China. Results indicated that the level of students' engineering design experiences was the lowest compared to the other three dimensions. Regression analysis revealed that three dimensions of STEM experiences, scientific inquiry, technological application, and mathematics processing, were significant and positive predictors of science identity. Engineering design experiences, however, failed to predict science identity.

Although the educational potential of social media has been widely acknowledged, it remains unclear whether social media use might present opportunities for the development of math identity. This study drew on the socialization framework of math identity to examine the relationships between social media use for math learning, bicultural identity integration, ethnic-math beliefs and math identity among ethnic minority high school students in China. Structural equation modelling results showed that (a) social media use was positively related to math identity; (b) high bicultural identity integration was positively associated with math identity, while biased ethnic-math beliefs were negatively related to math identity and (c) social media use suppressed the socialization process of math identity, weakening the maladaptive roles of low bicultural identity integration and biased ethnic-math beliefs in shaping math identity. Our findings highlight the beneficial role of social media use in student math learning. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The training of physical education and training students is an important part of the education of physical education students in my country. The talents trained are an important supporting force to improve the quality of physical education and sports training and to promote the scientific and effective development of national fitness. The quality level of physical education and training students has a decisive influence on improving the physical quality of the people, promoting the progress of sports science and developing the sports cause. Therefore, on the basis of analyzing the concept of quality, quality structure, and quality evaluation, this paper uses the fuzzy judgment method to judge the physical quality of college students and focuses on the difference between the physical quality after the two-year physical education class and when entering the school in order to improve the physical education class.

This paper addresses the perceptions and mechanisms of doctoral student job decisions regarding the pursuit of careers in the government sector in China. Through the lens of social cognitive career theory (SCCT), we analysed 30 semi-structured interviews that had been conducted with doctoral students from two prestigious Chinese universities who wish to work as civil servants. This study describes doctoral students' understanding of careers in government employment from the perspectives of work content, promotion channels and professional norms. The mechanisms influencing student career choices include personal goals, self-efficacy, outcome expectations and environment. The clear goal of political ambition and work--life balance directly drives doctoral students to choose government institutions for employment. The diploma signal of doctoral degree itself and academic training give doctoral students a high sense of self-efficacy, which is necessary for their choice of employment in the government. Occupational safety, occupational benefits and occupational value constitute the expectations of positive outcomes providing doctoral students with good feedback. In the current environment, the labour market situation and the impetus of universities combine to form a push force and the preferential recruitment policies of the state form a pull force, which jointly promote doctoral students to make decisions to work in government sector. In this paper, the fact that the Chinese government introduced the 'special selected graduates' scheme for doctoral students from prestigious universities in hope of recruiting intellectual elites to improve the quality of civil servants and the modernization level of social governance. Universities encourage PhD graduates to enter the government, hoping that this would enhance their social influence and reputation, thereby safeguarding their status as prestigious universities. From an institutional perspective, the process of doctoral students becoming civil servants can be said to be a form of cooperation between the government and universities.

Research Findings: The present study examined the relation between socioeconomic status (SES) and Chinese children's development of English as a second language in Hong Kong, and whether the home literacy environment (HLE) was an important mediator. Participants were 237 children (110 girls, M[subscript age] = 47.38 months, SD[subscript age] = 3.66) and one of their caregivers. Children were assessed on phonological awareness, receptive vocabulary, expressive vocabulary, and letter knowledge. Information on HLE (i.e. shared reading, extratextual talk, direct teaching, play and media-based activities, and literacy resources) was obtained via a caregiver questionnaire. Findings revealed significant SES differences in all aspects of HLE, as well as in children's English receptive vocabulary, expressive vocabulary, and letter knowledge. HLE was differentially related to children's English skills, suggesting the mediating effect of HLE in the relation between SES and Chinese children's English skills. Practice or Policy: Findings from this study highlight the features of HLE that can best support children's second language development. The results can also inform the design of family interventions and policies aimed at reducing educational disparities.

This study investigated how different dimensions of digital literacy (DL) competence were related to digital literacy practices in teaching and teacher identity. Survey data were collected from 910 pre-service teachers in China. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was conducted to analyse the data. Findings indicated that among the five dimensions of DL competence, three were significant positive predictors of digital practices in teaching, including information and information literacy, communication and collaboration, and security. In addition, digital literacy practices significantly and positively predicted teacher identity and mediated the effect of DL competence on teacher identity. The study suggests the significance of enhancing DL competence and integrating digital technology as pedagogical tools to help pre-service teachers bridge the gap between their personal use of technology and teacher identity in relation to digital literacy.

To explore the chain mediating effect of teacher-child conflict and sleeping disorders between work intensification on vocal fatigue of kindergarten teachers, 847 kindergarten teachers in China were investigated using the Work Intensification Scale, Teacher-Child Relationship Scale (TCRS), Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) and Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI). Data were analyzed by JASP 0.14.1 and structural equation model was built through Mplus8.3. It showed that there were significant differences in vocal fatigue of kindergarten teachers in areas, age and education level. Work intensification, teacher--child conflict and sleeping disorders were positively correlated with vocal fatigue of kindergarten teachers after controlling for demographic variables such as the nature of the kindergarten, geographic areas, gender, age and education level of the teachers. In the multiple mediation model, work intensification could directly predict vocal fatigue of kindergarten teachers significantly through the mediating role of sleeping disorders but not teacher-child conflict. Moreover, teacher-child conflict and sleeping disorders had a chain mediating effect between work intensification and vocal fatigue of kindergarten teachers. So the government and education authorities should reduce the workload of kindergarten teachers, vocal training should be included in the curriculum of preschool education in universities, and it's necessary to strengthen the pre-service and post-service kindergarten teachers' training about voice using so as to improve the health care awareness. Teachers should develop communication skills to create effective interactions between teachers and children, and good environment should be created by mindful training to improve sleeping.

University counselors have been in place in China for more than fifty years, and they serve an important (yet underappreciated) role in Chinese universities. The professional development of this profession is: (1) a realistic need for the construction of quality education development teams in colleges/universities; (2) a theoretical need for the perfection of the counselor system; and (3) an urgent need for the development and improvement of counselors. The researchers analyzed an improved counselor system, Quality Mentor (QM), implemented by Wuchang University of Technology (WUT) and the results suggest that professional development of QM can be promoted by improving the social recognition, perfecting the system, and improving the quality of QMs.

Different from the objective risk of self-financed study-abroad behavior, the perceived risk thereof is the basis for individuals to assess the educational consumption risk from their own points of view. The perceived risk in self-financed study-abroad behavior falls into seven aspects, i.e., economic risk, functional risk, completion risk, cultural risk, psychological risk, health risk and safety risk. Individuals' perception of these types of risk is influenced by variables such as gender, education, personal experiences, family environment, etc. For students at school, completion risk, health risk and safety risk are the main factors that affect their risk assessment of studying abroad. The main consequences and hidden dangers of risk perception and assessment of studying abroad are: (1) the economic risk is not paid enough attention; (2) the risk assessment is biased; and (3) studying abroad at a younger age faces grave hidden danger. These problems are caused by the difference between perceived risk and objective risk; the dislocation between perceived risk and risk assessment; and the lack of comprehensiveness throughout the process of risk assessment.

"Best behaviour" picturebooks, also known as "making good habits" or "teaching good manners" picturebooks, have explicit educational intentions that imply a culturally hegemonic voice. Despite this problematic characteristic, these picturebooks are welcomed by both parents and the market in China. Using extant picturebook theory of picture-text relationships, narratological, paratextual analyses and translation theory, this article seeks a better understanding of how this hegemonic voice is formed, resolved or consolidated via a critical reading of three best-selling "best behaviour" picturebook series available in the Chinese market. One is the original Chinese-language WaiWaiTu-ZiKongLi series (Little Bunny series). The second series is the translated United States series, Hands Are Not For Hitting, now a Chinese best behaviour publication. The third series is a translated rendition of Pete the Cat series, which did not serve any evident educational purpose in its original English-market form but has been identified to cultivate good character on the Chinese covers. These publications commonly present straightforward picture-text relationships of two-dimensional stories and characters. Most importantly, adults hold power in these best behaviour children's books. We argue that both the construction and disruption of hegemonic thinking co-exist in these picturebooks, reflecting the nature of adult power plays. At the same time, these best behaviour picturebooks serve as a good example of how hegemonic notions work within specific cultural and pedagogical contexts.

In the era of knowledge economy, how to promote knowledge sharing behavior of university students deserves close attention from academic and practical circles. As a character strength, purpose in life can predict individuals' thriving and positive development, but its predictive effect on knowledge sharing behavior has not been explored. This study investigated the association between purpose in life (meaningfulness, goal orientation, and beyond-the-self) and knowledge sharing behavior, and the potential mediating effect of gratitude. Data were collected from 493 students (mean age = 20.86, standard deviation= 1.69) from two universities in the Hunan province of China. They completed the scales of purpose in life, gratitude, and knowledge sharing behavior in June 2022. This study conducted structural equation model analysis to test the hypothetical model. The results showed that goal orientation and beyond-the-self positively predicted knowledge sharing behavior, and gratitude partially mediated the association between goal orientation and knowledge sharing behavior, and beyond-the-self and knowledge sharing behavior. The findings highlight the importance of purpose in life and gratitude in promoting knowledge sharing behavior among university students.

Background: Adolescents' psychological stress has become an important problem. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are proven to be effective in school settings in the Western world, and so expanding MBIs further is a particularly important consideration. Objective: This study addresses the effectiveness of MBI in reducing psychological stress in Chinese school settings and the mediating role of resilience between trait mindfulness and psychological stress. Methods: This study conducts a cluster randomized controlled trial. Ninety-two middle school students in the experimental group received 10 weeks of MBI, with 10 sessions of a mindfulness course, while 97 students in the control group followed their regular school program without intervention. Results: Psychological stress, trait mindfulness, and psychological resilience were measured by the Psycho-Somatic-Tension-Relaxation Inventory (PSTRI), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and Resilience Scale for Chinese Adolescents (RSCA). The results showed that (1) compared with the pretest scores of the experimental group, and the pre- and post-test scores of the control group, the post-test scores of trait mindfulness and psychological resilience in the experimental group were significantly increased, while psychological stress was significantly decreased. (2) Trait mindfulness was positively associated with psychological resilience. Trait mindfulness and psychological resilience were negatively associated with psychological stress. (3) The mediating effect of psychological resilience accounted for 43.58% of the overall effect of trait mindfulness on psychological stress. Conclusions: These findings provide encouraging evidence for MBI's effectiveness in reducing adolescents' psychological stress and the possible mediating role of psychological resilience; thus, MBI is worthy of expanding to Chinese school settings.

Learning experiences can affect students' interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers. Applying the social cognitive career theory, this study tested and compared the effect size and effect mechanism of formal learning experiences (FLE) and informal learning experiences (ILE) on 1133 tenth-grade students' interest in STEM careers (ISC) through a paper questionnaire survey. The results of structural equation model analysis showed that: 1) The total effect of ILE on students' ISC is much greater than that of FLE; 2) ILE, STEM self-efficacy (SSE) and STEM careers perceptions (SCP) can directly affect students' ISC; FLE and ILE can also indirectly affect students' ISC through the mediating role of SSE and SCP. The analyses suggest that in order to improve students' ISC, STEM education (especially informal STEM education) should be strengthened, both formal and informal education should pay attention to the cultivation of students' SSE and SCP.

In the contemporary digital age, continued online learning behaviors have become indispensable for fostering employee development. However, the learning and development literature predominantly focuses on traditional instructor‐led approaches. It remains unclear how organizations can shape employees' learning behaviors, particularly in the context of online learning. The current study clarifies this underexplored research area by investigating how organizational investment in employee developmental climate (IEDC) can promote employees' continued online learning behaviors. Drawing on social influence theory and employing a multilevel research design, we find empirical support for our research model, which specifies that IEDC positively affects employees' continued online learning behaviors through the effect of normative pressure. The findings also reveal the moderating role of online learning facilitating conditions. Specifically, in firms characterized by higher levels of online learning facilitating conditions, the positive relationship between IEDC and normative pressure becomes more pronounced when compared to organizations with lower levels of such facilitating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on self-determination theory and achievement goal theory, this study provided a serial multiple mediation model that examined how students' perceptions of teacher autonomy support (PTAS) relate to different achievement motivations (mastery and performance-approach goals), and further associate with students' intellectual risk-taking (IRT) engagement and academic performance (AP). A self-report questionnaire and a standardised science academic test were completed by 520 primary school students from China. The structural equation modelling revealed that the positive association between PTAS and students' AP was serially mediated by achievement motivations and then intellectual risk-taking engagement. Though the unexpected negative direct effects of PTAS on AP suggested the need to optimise autonomous instructional practices, the positive indirect and total effects highlighted the contributions of PTAS to students' achievement motivation and IRT engagement. The findings instantiated how autonomy support may promote students' achievement motivations and further influence their learning engagement and academic performance in science. This study would be valuable for educational researchers and practicing teachers as it extends our understanding of what factors are influential in promoting students' learning outcomes and how they correlate in science learning processes.

Much research on brainstorming has found that the power of a team can stimulate individual creativity, and that this influence is more prominent in computer-mediated online interactions. However, creativity appears to depend on the outcome of combining certain environmental factors with certain kinds of Individual characteristics. Two experiments using electronic brainstorming were conducted in this study to examine the creative performance of individuals with different cognitive styles in several creative fields and with various environmental cues. Overall, it was found that cognitive styles significantly affected the creativity of individuals. Creative performances of individuals with field-independent cognitive styles were more stable than those of individuals with field-dependent cognitive styles. However, the appearance of environmental cues reversed this particular effect. When cues were present, there were no significant differences between the creativity of field-dependent and field-independent individuals. The findings provide empirical evidence for improving the creativity of field-dependent individuals and have significant implications for education and talent cultivation.

Objective: Schools are important settings for health promotion. In schools, children and adolescents can be reached regardless of their social background, which represents a unique opportunity for promoting health. Several studies have demonstrated the importance of school leadership in initiating and sustaining health promotion; however, efforts to systematically review the influence of school leadership on school health promotion are still lacking. Hence, this paper analyses empirical studies published in scientific journals on school leadership and health promotion in schools. Design: Systematic literature review. Method: Informed by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines, a review was conducted using two main databases: Web of Science and Scopus, which retrieved 51 eligible articles. Results: The review of these articles resulted in the identification of seven main themes -- school leaders' health; attitudes, knowledge and behaviour; accountability; support from school leaders; shared leadership approaches; capacity building and parent engagement. Conclusion: This systematic literature review expands the literature by highlighting the school leadership factors that promote school health promotion in Oceania, Europe, North America, South America, Africa and Asia continents. Future systematic literature reviews could explore studies and different aspects of health promotion by teachers, especially in the Asian context.

Background: Females are underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields all over the world. To encourage more girls to choose STEM majors and careers, it is critical to increase their interest in STEM careers. Many studies have investigated the factors that influence females' entry into STEM fields, but few studies have explored the gender differences in the relationships between these factors. Therefore, based on the Social Cognitive Career Theory, this study explored the gender differences in the effects of environmental factors (school education, informal education, social support, and media) on high school students' interest in STEM careers through the mediating roles of STEM self-efficacy and STEM careers perceptions. Results: A questionnaire survey was conducted among 1240 high school students in Hunan Province, China, and the results of t-test, regression analysis, and structural equation model multi-group comparison showed that: Firstly, the scores of male students in all the dimensions except for STEM career perception were significantly higher than those of female students. Secondly, the environmental factor that had the greatest effect on male and female students' interest in STEM careers was different. Finally, there were gender differences in the mediating roles of STEM self-efficacy and STEM careers perceptions between environmental factors and interest in STEM careers. Conclusions: This study revealed the influence mechanisms and gender differences in male and female students' interest in STEM careers in the context of Chinese Confucian culture, and the conclusions are as follows: (1) Male students' interest in STEM careers was significantly higher than that of female students; (2) The environmental factors that had the greatest effect on male and female students' interest in STEM careers were social support and media, respectively; and (3) Environmental factors could affect male students' interest in STEM careers through the mediating roles of STEM self-efficacy and STEM career perception, while environmental factors could affect female students' interest in STEM careers through the mediating role of STEM self-efficacy. Finally, the mediating mechanisms of STEM self-efficacy and STEM career perception between environmental factors and interest in STEM careers, and the importance of STEM self-efficacy for female students were discussed.

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.

Research Findings: This study aims to explore the possible mediators between social support and parenting competence in Chinese mothers of preschoolers. Altogether 538 Chinese mothers were sampled and surveyed with the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), Psychological Capital Scale (PCS-24), and the Chinese versions of the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (C-PSOC). The results indicated that: (1) Chinese mothers' social support, psychological capital, and parenting competence were medium-level, and there were significant differences across different demographical profiles; (2) social support was positively correlated with maternal psychological capital (MPC) (r = 0.454, p < 0.001) and parenting competence (r = 0.288, p < 0.001); while MPC was positively correlated with parenting competence (r = 0.519, p < 0.001); (3) further regression analysis showed that social support significantly predicted MPC ([beta] = 0.456, p < 0.001) and parenting competence ([beta] = 0.280, p < 0.001), while MPC significantly predicted parenting competence ([beta] = 0.543, p < 0.001); (4) MPC significantly mediated the relationship between social support and parenting competence (95% CI =[0.2355,0.3784], F = 112.530, p < 0.001). The educational implications of these findings are also discussed. Policy and Implications: The findings indicated that sufficient support for building up maternal psychological capital should be provided to better implement social support for Chinese mothers and enhance their parenting competence.

We examined the possibilities of employing collaborative action research (CAR) to promote Mainland Chinese secondary school teachers' engagement with the recent curriculum reform. A brief background of the history of the examination culture and the curriculum reform is provided. We analysed key challenges leading to teachers' resistance to curriculum change, including test-based accountability control, lack of self-efficacy, and perceived roles as mere curriculum receivers and implementers. We then drew from CAR to offer considerations to promote teacher change where teachers can be encouraged to align their teaching with their moral purposes, build up self-efficacy, and develop ownership of curriculum change.

With the rapid advance in educational technology, electronic feedback (e-feedback) has found its way to EFL writing process. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of three e-feedback modes, that is, automated written corrective feedback (AWCF), asynchronous computer-mediated communication (ACMC), and their combination on EFL learner's writing performance and to examine learner's perceptions towards these three feedback modes. A total of 122 EFL learners from a Chinese university participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to four groups, each of which received a different type of feedback (i.e. self-feedback, AWCF, ACMC, AWCF plus ACMC) in their writing process. Findings revealed that the AWCF plus ACMC group outperformed the others in terms of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). In addition, the results of the questionnaire and interviews indicated that higher evaluations and more positive feelings went to the AWCF plus ACMC mode. These results suggest that this combination mode may meet individual needs in revising, maximize the writing effectiveness, and help the learners to become more autonomous and motivated in the writing process. Finally, implications for English writing pedagogy in the post-pandemic era are provided.

Due to China's three years of 'Zero COVID' containment policy, the vast majority of vocational and technological education (VTE) high school students could not participate in work-based learning, had to take classes online, and often were isolated from their families. Although the impact of the unprecedented disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic on students' wellbeing has been well documented, little is known about the experiences of vocational and technical high school students whose vocational identity development depends heavily on work-based learning experiences. In the following study, we applied a risk and resilience framework to examine Chinese VTE student burnout following the exposure to the 'Zero COVID' policy for their entire high school career. Specifically, we tested how variations in Chinese vocational and technical high school students' perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, career adaptability, psychological capital, academic performance, and parental career guidance were related to differences in their sense of burnout. Regression results showed that paternal education level and perceived impact of COVID-19 pandemic positively and significantly predicted burnout, while academic performance and parental career support negatively and significantly predicted burnout. Age, sex, internship participation, career adaptability and parental career interference and parental lack-of-engagement did not predict burnout. Overall, the variables accounted for 53.6% of the variance in student burnout.

Shadow education helps students become academically competitive. Currently, little is known about whether shadow education can effectively fulfill either remedial or enrichment purposes in China. Using the nationally representative data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) collected in 2013 and 2014, this paper explored the opportunity gap in shadow education and its impact on Chinese eighth-grade students' mathematics and English reading performance. This study further examined how this effect differs by students' prior performance and school ranks by hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). The results show that affluent socioeconomic resources and parental pressure predicted larger chances of students using shadow education. On average, supplementary tutoring had a positive effect on academic achievement. After re-estimating the effect by groups, this study found that students disadvantaged by prior knowledge and quality of schooling benefited more from supplementary tutoring. The findings suggest that the expansion of shadow education may contribute to social reproduction within the current education system.

Education research is increasingly paying attention to students' cross-cultural adaption in Mainland China. As a special administrative region of China, educational systems and language of instruction of Macao are different from those of Mainland China. This study analyzes the cross-cultural adaptation of Macao students in Mainland China by using qualitative semi-structured interviews. The results show that study motivation, medium of instruction, and social integration are important factors determining how Macao students adapt to university programs. Failure to adapt to the language of instruction is the most direct, prominent, and enduring problem that Macao students encounter when studying in the Mainland. The current study's findings have practical implications for faculties who provide support and training to Macao students in Mainland China. The study discovers that strengthening the Mandarin language skills of Macao students is currently a priority.

China implemented a policy to improve education equity through investing in boarding programs of public schools in rural and less-developed areas. However, this policy has not been informed by empirical research in the Chinese context. By using the nationally representative longitudinal data, this study investigates whether and to what extent boarding schools compensate for children's family disadvantages in terms of mathematics and reading achievement. The findings, drawn from multilevel logistic regression and hierarchical models, indicate that students from low-SES [socioeconomic status] families or rural areas tend to board at schools. Boarding students performed better than day students in 8th-grade mathematics tests. Among students with essential needs, those residing at school during the week significantly benefitted in their school performance in both subjects. Overall, it appears that governmental investment in boarding programs can, to some extent, compensate for some family disadvantages.

Decades of research have been conducted on the factors [i.e. family socioeconomic status (SES), urban-rural divide (household registration) and high-school type] associated with higher education selection. However, few studies have disentangled the relationship between each factor and the mechanisms of inequality among these factors in higher education selection. The present study, analysing China Family Panel Studies data (N = 3043), first examined the factors that predicted higher education selection and then ascertained the interplay of family SES, household registration and high-school type. The two major findings were: (1) family SES and high-school type (key/non-key schools) were positively associated with the predicted probability of students' access to higher education and elite universities, while household registration (the urban-rural divide, hukou) was only associated with the predicted probability of students' access to higher education; and (2) either urban or rural students and either key or non-key school students from socioeconomically advantaged families had a higher probability of access to both higher education and elite universities compared to their counterparts from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. The study also found that family SES did not drive the urban-rural attainment gaps (access to both higher education and elite universities), while the key/non-key school attainment gap in access to higher education was primarily attributable to family SES. However, the attainment gap between key and non-key high schools in admission to elite universities was not dependent on family SES. The present study contributes to the existing literature on higher education by shedding light on the determinants of educational attainment in terms of higher education selection and by enabling a greater understanding of the real possibility of confounding between family SES, household registration and high-school type in higher education selection.

School socioeconomic segregation is regarded as a threat to education equity worldwide. A policy tool randomising school admission can be utilised to adjust school socioeconomic status (SES), and it has the potential to compensate students disadvantaged by family socioeconomic status. To test this claim, this study investigated a longitudinal data. The analytic models reveal the following main findings: (1) school SES is positively associated with students' academic performance; (2) the positive effect of school SES is consistent among students from different socioeconomic backgrounds; (3) overmatching to middle-SES schools academically benefits low-SES students; (4) the frog pond effect prevents low-SES and middle-SES students from obtaining advantages through studying in high-SES schools; (5) school factors are overwhelmed by family factors in predicting low-SES students' academic achievement. This research suggests that although students generally benefit from the rise of school SES, overmatching to a school does not necessarily compensate for students' academic disadvantages. Due to the potential frog pond effect, school socioeconomic desegregation fails to mitigate education inequity as a policy tool.