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In response to the COVID-19 epidemic, many education systems have relied on distance learning and educational technologies to an unprecedented degree. However, rigorous empirical research on the impacts on learning under these conditions is still scarce. We present the first large-scale, quantitative evidence detailing how school closures affected education in China. The data set includes households and teachers of 4,360 rural and urban primary school students. We find that although the majority of students engaged in distance education, many households encountered difficulties including barriers to learning (such as access to appropriate digital devices and study spaces), curricular delays, and costs to parents equivalent to between 3.5 and 6 months of income. We also find significant disparities across rural and urban households.

Author(s): Guirong Li [sup.1] [sup.2], Chenyou Shen [sup.1], Dong Wei [sup.3], Xusheng Yang [sup.1], Cheng Jiang [sup.1], Xiucheng Yang [sup.3], Wenjun Mao [sup.4], Jian Zou [sup.2], Jianxin Tan [sup.1], Jingyu [...], Purpose Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive interstitial lung disease characterized by excessive extracellular matrix deposition. No effective treatments are currently available for IPF. High-temperature requirement A3 (HtrA3) suppresses tumor development by antagonizing transforming growth factor [beta] (TGF-[beta]) signaling; however, little is known about the role of HtrA3 in IPF. This study investigated the role of HtrA3 in IPF and underlying mechanisms. Methods Lung tissues were collected from patients with IPF and mice with bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis, and HtrA3 expression was measured in tissue samples. Then, HtrA3 gene knockout mice were treated with BLM to induce pulmonary fibrosis and explore the effects and underlying mechanism of HtrA3 on pulmonary fibrosis. Results HtrA3 was up-regulated in the lung tissues of patients with IPF and the pulmonary fibrotic mouse model compared to corresponding control groups. HtrA3 knockout decreased pulmonary fibrosis-related protein expression, alleviated the symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis, and inhibited epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in BLM-induced lung tissue compared with BLM-induced wild-type mice. The TGF-[beta]1/Smad signaling pathway was activated in fibrotic lung tissue, whereas HtrA3 knockout inhibited this pathway. Conclusion The expression level of HtrA3 is increased in fibrotic lungs. HtrA3 knockout alleviates the symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis probably via the TGF-[beta]1/Smad signaling pathway. Therefore, HtrA3 inhibition is a potential therapeutic target for pulmonary fibrosis.

Whether faculty research affects college student learning has long been the subject of debate. Previous studies use subjective measures of student learning; focus on correlation rather than causation; and typically focus on one college, thus lacking generalizability. Using unique, large-scale survey and assessment data that we collected from nationally representative samples of STEM undergraduates in China, India, and Russia, as well as a causal identification strategy that accounts for differential sorting of students to faculty, we present generalizable estimates of the effect of faculty research on objective, standardized measures of student learning. Results show that faculty research has a negative effect on student learning, suggesting direct trade-offs between the university's dual mission of producing research and learning.

We examine the effects of computer-based versus paper-based assessment of critical thinking skills, adapted from English (in the U.S.) to Chinese. Using data collected based on a random assignment between the two modes in multiple Chinese colleges, we investigate mode effects from multiple perspectives: mean scores, measurement precision, item functioning (i.e. item difficulty and discrimination), response behavior (i.e. test completion and item omission), and user perceptions. Our findings shed light on assessment and item properties that could be the sources of mode effects. At the test level, we find that the computer-based test is more difficult and more speeded than the paper-based test. We speculate that these differences are attributable to the test's structure, its high demands on reading, and test-taking flexibility afforded under the paper testing mode. Item-level evaluation allows us to identify item characteristics that are prone to mode effects, including targeted cognitive skill, response type, and the amount of adaptation between modes. Implications for test design are discussed, and actionable design suggestions are offered with the goal of minimizing mode effect.

The demand for large-scale assessments in higher education, especially at an international scale, is growing. A major challenge of conducting these assessments, however, is that they require understanding and balancing the interests of multiple stakeholders (government officials, university administrators, and students) and also overcoming potential unwillingness of these stakeholders to participate. In this paper, we take the experience of the Study of Undergraduate Performance (SUPER) in conducting a large-scale international assessment as a case study. We discuss ways in which we mitigated perceived risks, built trust, and provided incentives to ensure the successful engagement of stakeholders during the study's implementation.

Critical thinking has been identified as a crucial general skill contributing to academic and career success in the twenty-first century. With the increasing demands of the modern workplace and a global trend of accountability in higher education, educators and employers pay great attention to the development of students' critical thinking skills throughout their training. Therefore, there is an urgent need worldwide for an updated and comprehensive assessment tool of college-level critical thinking. This paper reports on the preliminary validation for the Russian version of the "HEIghten"® Critical Thinking assessment developed by Educational Testing Service (ETS). Based on a large Russian college student sample (N = 1060), we evaluated the psychometric quality of the items, individual and institution-level reliability, external validity, and student perceptions. Overall, the results suggested good psychometric quality, except that a few items showed low discriminating power and should be further examined with a second wave of data collection. IRT analyses revealed testlet effects and supported the essentially unidimensional structure of the measure. Appropriate correlations with external criteria provided support for the measure's convergent validity. Implications of the preliminary validation study results and the future research agenda, especially the need to collect longitudinal data, are discussed.

This paper reviewed studies on construction and application of nursing studio from the perspectives of concept, origins, development, research status, pros and cons, in order to provide reference for the development of nursing studio in China. (本文总结护理工作室的应用及研究进展, 从护理工作室的概念、起源、发展、国外内护理工作室的研究现状、优势与不足等方面进行综述, 旨在为国内开展护理工作室工作提供借鉴。)

An increasing number of policy makers in developing countries have made the mass expansion of upper-secondary vocational education and training (VET) a top priority. The goal of this study is to examine whether VET fulfills these objectives of building skills and abilities along multiple dimensions and further identify which school-level factors help vocational students build these skills and abilities. To fulfill this goal, we analyzed representative, longitudinal data that we collected on more than 12,000 students from 118 schools in one province of central China. First, descriptive analysis shows that approximately 90 percent of VET students do not make any gains in vocational or general skills. In addition, negative behaviors (misbehavior in the classroom, antisocial behavior, and other risky behaviors) are highly prevalent among VET students. A nontrivial proportion of student internships also fail to meet minimum government requirements for student safety and well-being. Perhaps as a result of these outcomes, more than 60 percent of students express dissatisfaction with their VET programs, as evidenced by either self-reports or dropping out. Finally, using a multilevel model, we find that school inputs (such as school size, teacher qualifications, and per pupil expenditures) are not correlated with vocational and general skill at the end of the school year, or student dropout in the academic year.

Assessing student learning outcomes has become a global trend in higher education. In this paper, we report on the validation of the Chinese HEIghten® Critical Thinking assessment with a nationally representative sample of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science students from 35 institutions in China. Key findings suggest that there was a test delivery mode effect favoring the paper tests over the online tests. In general, the psychometric quality of the items was satisfactory for low-stakes, group-level uses but there were a few items with low discrimination that awaits further investigation. The relationships between test scores and various external variables such as college entrance examination scores, university elite status and student perceptions of the test were as expected. We conclude with speculations on the key findings and discussion of directions for future research.