Chinese Middle School Research Articles

Peer Victimization and Problem Behaviors: The Roles of Self-Esteem and Parental Attachment Among Chinese Adolescents.

Guided by the social-ecological diathesis-stress model, this longitudinal study examined the roles of self-esteem, parental attachment, and gender on the association between peer victimization and problem behaviors among Chinese early adolescents. A total of 466 Chinese middle school students (Mage =12.8years) completed measures of peer victimization, self-esteem, and paternal and maternal attachment twice (T1 and T2; 6-month interval). Their guardians also completed ratings on adolescents' problem behaviors at both T1 and T2. Results indicated that self-esteem mediated the association between peer victimization and problem behaviors. Paternal attachment, but not maternal attachment, moderated the mediating effect of self-esteem. Moreover, the moderating effect of maternal attachment on the association between peer victimization and self-esteem varied depending on adolescents' gender.

Incidence, risk factors and psychosomatic symptoms for traditional bullying and cyberbullying in Chinese adolescents

IntroductionThe objectives were to determine the prevalence and risk factors of traditional bullying and cyberbullying in Chinese middle school children, and to explore the association between bullying and psychosomatic symptoms. MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted in urban and rural areas in Chongqing, Henan and Zhejiang provinces in 2018. A self-completion questionnaire was completed by students in the classroom setting. ResultsThere were 3774 completed questionnaires: the mean age of respondents was 13.58 (SD 0.87). For traditional bullying, 1332 (35.6%) identified as victims, and 341 (9.5%) as perpetrators. For cyberbullying, 1170 (31.4%) identified as victims, and 622 (16.6%) as perpetrators. After controlling for confounders, risks for traditional victimization were being male, attending boarding school, low academic performance, and a poor relationship with parents. Traditional perpetrators were more likely to be male, and have a poor relationship with parents. Risks for being a victim or perpetrator of cyberbullying were the same: male sex, attending boarding school, and having a poor relationship with parents. Compared to non-victims, traditional victims and cyber victims were at least 1.5 times more likely to report headache and sleep problems; traditional victims were 1.3 times more likely, and cyber victims 1.4 times more likely to report abdominal pain. ConclusionsSchools must take measures to raise awareness of bullying, to identify bullies and victims, and especially to protect the most vulnerable adolescents.

Testing the Only-Child Advantage in Cognitive Development in the Context of China’s One-Child Policy

Using data from a recent national survey of approximately 20,000 Chinese middle school students, we tested the difference in cognitive development between only-children and children with siblings using non-parametric matching method. We took advantage of the massive increase in involuntary only-child families in China under the one-child family planning policy (1979–2015) to reduce the bias introduced by the otherwise pervasive human tendency to avoid having only one child. Our average treatment effect for the treated estimates indicates no significant cognitive difference between only-children and children with siblings. Further subgroup analyses, however, suggest that such average effect estimates can conceal important population heterogeneities because the only-child effect on cognitive development changes drastically between subgroups of the same population. Among other potential moderating factors, birth order and gender play particularly important roles in this process.

Teaching towards knowledge integration in learning force and motion

ABSTRACTKnowledge integration is essential to achieve deep conceptual understanding, which requires students to develop well-connected knowledge structures through the central idea of a concept. To effectively represent and analyze knowledge integration, a conceptual framework model on force and motion is developed to map learners’ knowledge structures in terms of how conceptual ideas and contextual conditions are connected. Two studies have been conducted. First, the misconceptions on force and motion held by Chinese middle school students are examined. Although the Chinese students had experienced extensive problem-drilling in instruction, which is notably different from that of the populations documented in the literature, their misconceptions are similar to those previously reported. This suggests that traditional problem-drilling does not substantively improve conceptual development. In addition, detailed analysis of students’ qualitative and quantitative responses also suggests that students’ misconceptions can be viewed through the conceptual framework model as local connections among subsets of contextual features, which indicate fragmented knowledge structures. The second study evaluates the effectiveness of a modified instruction that targets knowledge integration by explicitly emphasizing the learning of the central idea and making the needed connections with it. The results indicate that the modified instruction outperforms the traditional method in promoting knowledge integration.

Prevalence, risk factors, and psychosomatic symptoms of bullying in Chinese adolescents in three provinces: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundThe risk factors and effects of bullying are well recognised in many countries, but evidence from China is scarce. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of traditional bullying and cyberbullying in Chinese middle school children (aged 12–15 years) and the psychosomatic symptoms associated with bullying. MethodsA cross-sectional survey using a self-completion questionnaire was done in middle schools in urban and rural Zhejiang, Henan, and Chongqing provinces. In the schools, research assistants introduced the purpose and content of the survey, distributed the questionnaire and stayed in the classroom to respond to any queries. Ethical approval was obtained from the Medical Ethics Committee of Zhejiang University, School of Public Health, Hangzhou, China. FindingsFrom May 20 to Sept 25, 2018, 12 schools in total participated. 3774 questionnaires were completed: the mean age of respondents was 13·58 years (SD 0·87 years). For traditional bullying, 1332 (35·3 % identified as victims, and 341 (9·0% as perpetrators. For cyberbullying, 1170 (31·0%) identified as victims, and 622 (16·5%) as perpetrators. After adjusting for confounders, risk factors for traditional victimisation or perpetration were male sex, rural residence, low academic performance, and a poor relationship with parents. Risk factors for being a victim or perpetrator of cyberbullying were male sex, boarding at school, and a poor relationship with parents. In terms of psychosomatic symptoms, 491 (13·0%) reported they often had headache, 607 (16·1%) abdominal pain, and 597 (15·8%) sleep problems. Traditional victims and cyber victims were more likely to have frequent headaches (adjusted odds ratio 1·3, 95% CI 1·2–1·5 for traditional victims; 1·5, 1·3–1·8 for cyber victims) and frequent abdominal pain (1·2, 1·1–1·4 for traditional victims; 1·3, 1·1–1·5 for cyber victims). Traditional victims (1·3, 1·1–1·5), traditional bullies (1·3, 1·0–1·6), and cyber victims (1·6, 1·4–1·9) were more likely to have frequent sleep problems. InterpretationThe prevalence of bullying among Chinese adolescents is high and it is associated with psychosomatic conditions. Schools must take measures to raise awareness of bullying and to protect the most vulnerable adolescents. FundingGlobal Health Center of Zhejiang University.

중국 안후이성 중학생의 스트레스 위험군과 비위험군의 자아정체감과 정서행동 특성 비교

중국 안후이성 중학생의 스트레스 위험군과 비위험군의 자아정체감과 정서행동 특성 비교

Investigation on Mental Health Status among High School Students at Grade 3 in Haidian District of Beijing

Objective: To understand and analyze the mental health status of key Senior School Students at grade 3 in Haidian District of Beijing and Senior Three Students in General Schools, so as to provide basis for mental health education and psychological intervention. Methods: A total of 263 senior three students were randomly selected from a general school and two key school in Haidian District of Beijing. A questionnaire survey was conducted using the Mental Health Scale for Chinese Middle School Students (MSSMHS). Results: Of the 260 students surveyed, 54.2% had mental health problems, 36.5% had mild problems, 8.8% had moderate problems, and 0.5% had slightly and deeply serious problems. The first three factors about examined rates of factors of mental health were anxiety, learning and interpersonal relationship. The detection rates accounted for 23.5%, 23.1% and 18.8% respectively. There was no significant difference in the scores of each factor between key and ordinary middle school students (P>0.05). The scores of interpersonal, depression, anxiety and emotional factors of middle school girls were higher than those of boys, with statistical significance (P<0.05). Conclusion: There are some mental health problems among senior students at grade 3 in Haidian District of Beijing, and female students’ are serious. Schools, families and societies should pay attention to this problem and strengthen mental health education with a focused goal.

Translation and Validation of a Chinese Version of the Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire (MIPQ).

Objective:To translate the Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire (MIPQ) into Standard Mandarin and then explore the reliability and validity of this newly translated measure in a large sample of Chinese middle school parents.Methods:We translated the MIPQ using the forward-backward method and pilot tested it on a sample of parents of adolescents (aged 12–16 years) in China. Following minor modifications, 1057 Chinese parents (Mothers or Fathers) in two middle schools (one in the North and one in the South of China) completed the translated Chinese Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire (C-MIPQ). To determine test-retest reliability 121 participants completed the C-MIPQ again 2 weeks later. In order to test convergent validity, 395 participants completed the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire-Short Version (PSDQ-short) and the Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale (IM-P). The Chinese Perceived Stress Scale (CPSS), Beck Depression Scale (BDI-13), and socioeconomic status (SES) were completed in order to test discriminant validity.Results:Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the two-factor model indicated in the original study was a good fit. The total score of the scale and the scores of the two dimensions (‘Mindful discipline’ and ‘Being in the moment with the child’) were significantly positively correlated with the total score of the MAAS, IM-P and the authoritative parenting style in the PSDQ-short, demonstrating convergent validity. Discriminant validity was established as there was no difference in C-MIPQ sub-scale scores across any of the SES variables except for levels of education (parents with higher education had higher scores on the ‘being in the moment with the child’ subscale). In addition, the C-MIPQ was negatively related to stress and depression. Cronbach’s alpha of the total scale was 0.93 (and 0.88, 0.89 for the two dimensions of the C-MIPQ) indicating excellent internal consistency. Test-retest reliability was good (intra-class correlation of 0.83).Conclusion:This study is the first step toward establishing the psychometric properties of the C-MIPQ for measuring mindful parenting in parents of adolescents aged 12–16 years; additional studies will be needed in order to test this further.

Disability status and student outcomes over time in regular classrooms: Evidence from a national panel survey in China

The idea of inclusive education suggests that student with disabilities should be educated in regular schools, instead of being placed in segregated special education sectors. However, little is known about whether students with and without disabilities could follow parallel paths of development within the same classroom, especially in developing countries. Drawing upon two waves of data from a nationally representative sample of Chinese middle school students (sample size, 8252; mean age, 12.6 years; disability prevalence, 8%), we employed multiple regressions with class fixed effects and the change score method to examine the association between disability status of students and temporal changes in various developmental domains, including cognitive ability, school attachment, and emotional wellbeing). Our results showed that students with disabilities were disadvantaged on wave-specific outcomes, but not on between-wave changes. There was indeed some heterogeneity across various aspects of development. Specifically, the observed gains in cognitive ability and school attachment during the follow-up period were not significantly affected by disability status, net of individual and family background and class fixed effects. In addition, although both students with and without disabilities experienced a temporal decline in emotional wellbeing, the decline was larger among students without disabilities, pointing to a convergence of mental health between students with and without disabilities within the same regular classrooms. These findings contribute to the understanding of the relationship between inclusive education and development of both students with and without disabilities in less developed educational context.

Gender Differences Between Student-Student Relationship and Cyberbullying Perpetration: An Evolutionary Perspective.

With the development of Internet technology, cyberbullying has become a serious social issue and public concern in modern society. Based on the general aggression model and an evolutionary psychological perspective, the present study aimed to examine (a) whether student-student relationship would be significantly related to cyberbullying, (b) whether materialism would mediate the link between student-student relationship and cyberbullying, (c) whether boys would be more likely to engage in cyberbullying than girls, and (d) whether there would be gender differences among the links between student-student relationship and cyberbullying. The research hypotheses were tested among 712 Chinese middle school students (M age = 13.66 years, SD = 1.36; 50% of the participants were boys) with a moderated mediation model. The results showed that student-student relationship was negatively related to cyberbullying, with their link mediated by materialism. Furthermore, boys were more likely to engage in cyberbullying than girls. Moderated mediation analyses indicated that gender moderated the path between materialism and cyberbullying, with the effect being significant only among the male participants. Gender did not moderate the link between student-student relationship and materialism, and between student-student relationship and cyberbullying. This study highlighted the importance of uncovering the links between adolescents' offline interpersonal relationships and cyberbullying, as well as the benefits of applying the evolutionary psychological perspective to study cyberbullying.

Hidden School Dropout Among Adolescents in Rural China: Individual, Parental, Peer, and School Correlates

A number of studies on rural students have addressed the issue of discernible school dropout; however, information on hidden dropout is relatively obscure. To fill this gap, this study examines the data of 2045 rural adolescents (regular students: 1770, hidden dropouts: 275) in Chinese middle schools. This study also theoretically differentiated the two groups via assessing environmental dynamics, including school, parental, and peer factors, in addition to considering the individual. We ascertained that these four domains are significant class disengagement predictors in rural adolescents. However, our results also showed that self-educational expectation, belief in the law, and positive peer relationships lost their correlative power with hidden dropout. In the individual, parental, peer, and school domains, almost all factors were significantly correlated with disengaged hidden dropout. Thus, school maladaptation, father’s alienation, and isolation in interpersonal relationships may be more important for explaining hidden school dropout. Our conclusions also credibly assert that similar analytical predictors could be applied to both actual and hidden school dropouts.

One way to produce beauty and poetry: my experiences in teaching Yang Shuo’s prose

ABSTRACTYang Shuo’s prose was once a model of contemporary Chinese middle school literature teaching. He broke through the classical writings of Chinese landscape travelogues, and actively carried out the spirit of “people’s nature” in contemporary literature. He conveyed the distinctive aesthetic tendency of contemporary literature through the brushwork of “sacrifice chapters show true meaning.” However, in today’s university literature education system, Yang’s prose is almost impossible to find a foothold. Regardless of ideological or literary nature, Yang’s prose shows a huge rift in Chinese education and literary education. Through the accumulation of experience in the teaching practice of contemporary literature courses in ten years, this paper attempts to explore the new perspective of literary criticism by examining the comparison between the middle school experience of literature education and the university experience from the perspective of reader acceptance.

Motivation, Engagement, Academic Buoyancy, and Adaptability: The Roles of Socio-Demographics among Middle School Students in China

ABSTRACTThe present study sought to extend prior research in the Chinese context by examining the role of demographic and socioeconomic factors in middle school students’ motivation, engagement, academic buoyancy, and adaptability. A total of 2,434 middle school students (aged 11–15 years) in China participated in the study. For demographic factors, gender played the dominant role, with males higher on numerous adaptive motivation and engagement factors and females higher on numerous maladaptive motivation and engagement factors. In terms of student-related SES, it appears that parents’ education explains the bulk of variance with higher education levels associated with higher self-efficacy and adaptability. There were no significant interactions between demographics and SES and so the main effects of gender and parents’ education are associated with motivation, engagement, and adaptability in relatively independent ways. Taken together, the present study has identified salient socio-demographic factors that play a role in educational processes important to Chinese middle school students’ academic development.

How to Achieve a Balance between Teacher-Lead and Student-Independent Inquiry in A Digital Class?- A Case Study Based on Chinese Middle School Mathematics Teaching

How to integrate digital information technology into classroom is not only a challenge, but also a test for both teaching and learning. Getting involvement of digital information technology into classroom extends students’ learning in time and space, and alters teachers’ teaching status. However, how can we achieve a balance between teacher-led and student-independent inquiry in a digital classroom? I hereby used “Reviewing the Image and Nature of Quadratic Function” as an example, compared and recorded the behavioral performance and results of teachers and students in an experimental comparison, and found that both teachers’ leading and students’ independent inquiring were indispensable, and a balance between them was a must-be goal if a maximal teaching effectiveness was expected.

The Predictive Power of Working Memory on Chinese Middle School Students’ English Reading Comprehension

The present research set out to investigate the effect of working memory on English reading comprehension of Chinese middle school students. To do so, we recruited 150 Chinese students at grade 8 and conducted two studies. Study 1 examined the predictive power of working memory on the performance of English reading comprehension, grammar, and writing. Results showed that working memory has a significant positive correlation with English grammar or writing and that working memory is the key predictor of English reading comprehension of Chinese middle school students. Recruiting 80 students out of those 150 participants in Study 1 based on their performance of English reading comprehension, Study 2 further explored the effects of different components of working memory on English reading comprehension. Results showed that verbal working memory and the updating function respectively exert great influence on English reading comprehension of Chinese middle school students. The findings can help L2 teachers understand the importance of working memory in reading comprehension and encourage them to design learning and teaching materials that match with students’ working memory capacity.

Who Are Being Bullied? – An Empirical Study on the Influence Factors of School Bullying among Chinese Middle School Students

This study used a large-scale random sampling survey data called Regional Assessment of Education Quality (RAEQ) organized by Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment toward Basic Education Quality in 2014. The school bullying phenomenon is described from the perspective of middle school students who were bullied. Regression is used to estimate the effects of academic achievement, self-esteem, interpersonal relationship and pro-social behavior on the different types of school bullying. And the differences between urban and rural areas among the influence factors were also compared. The conclusions are as follows. First, the average frequency of verbal bullying is the highest, relational bullying is in the middle level, and physical bullying is the lowest. Second, boys are more likely to suffer school bullying weighted more in verbal and physical bullying. Third, those who are single-parent, migrant, left behind and rural origin are more vulnerable to various types of bullying. Interestingly, students from single-parent families are more likely to suffer relational bullying, while migrant and rural children are more likely to get verbal bullying. Fourth, the level of self-esteem has a U-shaped relationship with the frequencies of all kinds of school bullying, and it is more significant and clear in the relational bullying. Fifth, interpersonal relationship, including parent-child, peer-peer, and teacher-student relationship can affect the school bullying significantly, and the peer relationship has a bigger effect on the relational bullying for urban students compared with rural ones. Therefore, parents, teachers and schools should pay more attention to and even interfere with the potentially bullied students to prevent and control school bullying.

Psychometric validation of the Internet Gaming Disorder-20 Test among Chinese middle school and university students.

Background and aimsInternet gaming disorder (IGD) was proposed in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of American Psychiatric Association as an area warranting more research attention. High prevalence of excessive Internet game use and related addictions has been reported in China, especially among youth; however, there is a lack of psychometrically and theoretically sound instruments for assessing IGD in the Chinese language.MethodsThis study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGD-20 Test) among Chinese middle school (n = 569; Mage = 13.34; 46.2% females) and university students (n = 523; Mage = 20.12; 48.4% females) samples in Beijing, China. All participants voluntarily completed an anonymous questionnaire.ResultsConfirmatory factor analysis results showed that the Chinese version of the IGD-20 Test had five factors (i.e., salience-tolerance, mood modification, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse). Measurement invariance was confirmed across the two samples. The test score was positively associated with the modified Young’s Internet Addiction Test for gaming addiction. Concurrent validation was further demonstrated by the IGD-20 Test’s positive correlation with weekly gameplay and depression symptoms. The latent profile analysis showed four different gamer classes (i.e., regular gamers, low-risk engaged gamers, high-risk engaged gamers, and probable disordered gamers), with the estimated prevalence of 2.1% of the last group.Discussion and conclusionThe IGD-20 Test was applicable to Chinese youth and its Chinese version generally demonstrated good psychometric properties.

Family, teacher, and student ability development in China

We investigate the impact of family and teacher human capital on the development of cognitive and noncognitive abilities of Chinese middle school students. Our cognitive ability is measured by a standard cognitive ability test, and our noncognitive ability indicators include confidence, college intentions, perseverance, and behavior problems. We specifically solve the endogeneity issue caused by nonrandom sorting by employing Hausman–Taylor estimation method. Our results indicate that family characteristics such as family size, income, and parental relationship are highly predictive of both cognitive and noncognitive abilities. We also find that teachers’ educational background and experience significantly affect the development of cognitive and noncognitive abilities.

Teachers' Emotional Intelligence and Self-efficacy: Mediating Role Of Teaching Performance

We investigated the relationship between teachers' emotional intelligence (EI) and self-efficacy, and tested whether this relationship was mediated by teaching performance. Participants were 467 Chinese middle school teachers (312 women; 66.8%). They completed 3 questionnaires relating to EI, self-efficacy, and teaching performance. The results showed that the total effect of EI on self-efficacy was .61, indicating that higher EI is positively correlated with a higher level of self-efficacy. This relationship was partially mediated by teaching performance. In the mediating model for teaching performance, the direct effect of EI on teachers' self-efficacy was .23 and the mediating effect of teaching performance on the relationship between EI and teachers' self-efficacy was .45. In addition, both the direct and mediating effects were invariant across gender and teaching experience. These results indicate that an increase in EI largely enhances teachers' self-efficacy only when emotional skills are successfully used to improve teachers' performance.

Developing classroom-based language assessment literacy for in-service EFL teachers: The gaps

Teachers are expected to keep up to date with challenges and expectations that arise in classroom-based language assessment. This study responds to the call for increased research in the area of language assessment literacy in the context of classroom-based assessment. In particular, our research provides insights into assessment literacy training for in-service teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL). By way of gap analysis based on a questionnaire of 344 EFL teachers in Chinese middle schools, this study found that EFL teachers investigated were nearly at the functional level of classroom-based language assessment literacy (CBLAL), and that they wished to be procedurally and conceptually literate through professional training so as to understand the central concepts of classroom-based language assessment and use their knowledge in practice. The study will shed light on views regarding the assessment literacy topics that are important to be included in in-service EFL teacher training programs.