Middle Schools In China Research Articles

Psychometric Properties of the Bullying Participant Behaviors Questionnaire (BPBQ) among Chinese Middle School Students

The Bullying Participant Behaviors Questionnaire (BPBQ) is an efficient self-report measure for investigating bullying participant role behaviors. The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the BPBQ in a Chinese middle school sample. A total of 516 middle school students (47.7% girls; age range = 12–14 years) were recruited from an urban middle school in China. Results revealed that a five-factor model fit the data best. Correlations between the BPBQ subscale scores and the external criterion variables, including empathy and sympathy, moral disengagement, and trait anger, provided evidence of criterion validity. Furthermore, the BPBQ had good alpha reliability and moderate to good test-retest reliability. In conclusion, the BPBQ is a promising assessment tool to measure bullying participant behaviors among Chinese middle school students.

Can a Non-Core Subject Teacher Serve As a Homeroom Teacher? Discussion on the Dispute between Core and Non-Core Subject Teacher as Homeroom Teacher

In elementary and middle schools in China, core subject teachers serve as homeroom teachers in most classes. Nevertheless, some schools are beginning to try to use non-core subject teachers as homeroom teachers. A series of disputes have arisen over the non-core subject teacher serving as the homeroom teacher. Based on defining the concepts of the core subject, non-core subject, and homeroom teacher, this paper summarized the two viewpoints of whether core and non-core subject teachers can become homeroom teachers; and then discussed the role and the potential reasons of the non-core subject teacher as the homeroom teacher for being blocked, and some solutions are proposed. It is hoped to inject new vitality into the position of homeroom teacher by discussing this phenomenon.

School-Based Practice Based On Supplemental Instruction of Big Data In Education

The rise of big data technology provides direction and support for the reform and development of education. Big data technology can realize the inventory management and effective dynamic monitoring of schools, students, and teachers. It is conducive to comprehensively and accurately controlling the development of teaching activities, injecting new ideas and working ideas into teaching activities, and providing essential guidance for personalized teaching. This paper reviewed the detailed process of applying big data in education to teaching practice based on the case of a middle school in China. Furthermore, it pointed out the factors hindering the large-scale development of big data in the education field, aiming to provide directions for applying big data in education

Are Students Satisfied with the Current School-Based Curriculum of Chinese Traditional Culture? A Survey of 120 Elementary and Middle Schools in China

The school-based curriculum is one of the crucial ways of Chinese traditional culture education. Therefore, it is essential to discuss the current elementary and middle school students’ satisfaction with the traditional cultural school-based curriculum. A survey of the curriculum satisfaction of 120 elementary and middle schools in China with a traditional cultural school-based curriculum found that students’ satisfaction with these curriculums is generally average. However, students believed that the quality of the curriculum is still low. Its main manifestations were passive satisfaction, compromise satisfaction, excellent satisfaction, fall satisfaction, and autonomous satisfaction. This highlighted the problems of some traditional cultural school-based curriculums like the positioning is based on subjective guesswork, the content has not been effectively screened, and the implementation method is a single indoctrination. Based on this, we suggest that: (i) create an all-round atmosphere for students to learn traditional culture actively; (ii) reshape the traditional culture in the curriculum according to the value of the times; (iii) guarantee the cultural resources and professional teachers of curriculum implementation with discipline construction, and (iv) focus on the experience of the implementation process.

Chinese students’ perspectives on learner identity

ABSTRACT To gain insight into Chinese students’ perspectives on their education, this study examines how they construct their learner identities by navigating multiple subject positions both at school and in their families. Drawing on the frame of learner identity formation and the concepts of Western and Confucian ways of being, thematic analysis is applied to analyse the educational experiences of final-year students (N = 479) at a public middle school in China. The analysis shows the push and pull between various subject positions, such as the exam-oriented self, the enterprising self, the familial self and the free and happy self, around the theme of competition. It highlights the multiplicity and complexities of Chinese students’ identification. This study illustrates the value of Western and Confucian ways of being as conceptual tools in identity studies and initiates a discussion on re-defining Chinese education through students’ identity-formation experiences.

Parental Phubbing and Adolescents' Cyberbullying Perpetration: A Moderated Mediation Model of Moral Disengagement and Online Disinhibition.

The current study sought to examine whether parental phubbing was significantly related to adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration and if moral disengagement mediated this relationship. We further examined whether online disinhibition moderated the direct and indirect relationships between parental phubbing and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration. The participants included 2,407 adolescents from seven middle schools in China who completed the questionnaires regarding their experience with parental phubbing, moral disengagement, cyberbullying perpetration, and online disinhibition. Results indicated that adolescents with a high level of parental phubbing were likely to cyberbully others. Moral disengagement significantly mediated the relationship between parental phubbing and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration. Furthermore, online disinhibition moderated the indirect relationship between parental phubbing and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration. Specifically, the paths from parental phubbing to moral disengagement and from moral disengagement to cyberbullying perpetration became strengthened when adolescents experienced high levels of online disinhibition.

The Role of Social Cohesion in Preventing Child Abuse Among Rural Chinese Left-Behind Children.

Child abuse is a significant public health issue that can affect children's physical and mental health. However, few studies have examined rural Chinese left-behind children. The role of social cohesion of rural Chinese communities in the prevention of child abuse remains understudied. The present study aims to investigate certain factors that could reduce child abuse problems, placing a special focus on the protective role of social cohesion, especially for left-behind rural children. Data were collected from a sample of 1,049 school-aged rural children from the largest middle school in China's Henan Province. It was found that social cohesion directly affected physical abuse and emotional abuse; furthermore, social cohesion was more significantly associated with emotional abuse, whereas sexual abuse was a more significant issue for left-behind children than for those living with their parents. However, the moderating effect of the left-behind status on the association between social cohesion and physical abuse was not significant. Our findings suggest that social cohesion is an important factor for preventing emotional and sexual abuse. Thus, it is necessary to enhance social cohesion in rural Chinese communities with left-behind children to reduce their risk of experiencing child abuse.

Epidemic Prevention and Teaching Measures in Chinese Elementary and Middle Schools under the Background of COVID-19 Pandemic

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a huge impact on education worldwide. Many countries have therefore suspended classes for pandemic prevention. As the situation of COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control in China has gradually improved, elementary and middle schools have started to resume classes. To guarantee the resumption of classes and pandemic prevention and control at the same time, and to ensure the safety and health of teachers and students, schools carefully planned various tasks after school resumption. The creative work carried out in various places and time ensured that the school resumed in a timely, orderly, and scientific manner. This paper took some elementary and middle schools in China as examples, and introduced in detail the preparatory work before the class resumption and the pandemic prevention and teaching measures under the pandemic after the class resumption.

Epidemic Prevention and Teaching Measures in Chinese Elementary and Middle Schools under the Background of COVID-19 Pandemic

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a huge impact on education worldwide. Many countries have therefore suspended classes for pandemic prevention. As the situation of COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control in China has gradually improved, elementary and middle schools have started to resume classes. To guarantee the resumption of classes and pandemic prevention and control at the same time, and to ensure the safety and health of teachers and students, schools carefully planned various tasks after school resumption. The creative work carried out in various places and time ensured that the school resumed in a timely, orderly, and scientific manner. This paper took some elementary and middle schools in China as examples, and introduced in detail the preparatory work before the class resumption and the pandemic prevention and teaching measures under the pandemic after the class resumption.

The Impact of Parent-Child Attachment on Self-Injury Behavior: Negative Emotion and Emotional Coping Style as Serial Mediators.

In order to explore the relationship between parent–child attachment, negative emotion, emotional coping style, and self-injury behavior, 662 junior high school students in four junior middle schools in China’s Yunnan Province were investigated using a parent–child attachment questionnaire, adolescent negative emotion questionnaire, emotional coping style scale, and adolescent self-injury behavior scale. As a result, two mediate models were created to explain how parent–child attachment affects self-injury behavior. Negative emotion and emotional coping style play serial mediating roles in mother–child and father–child attachment models, respectively. The results show that negative emotion mediates between self-injury behavior and both father–child and mother–child attachment, while emotional coping style only functions between father–child attachment and self-injury behavior. By means of bootstrap analysis, negative emotion and emotional coping style have serial mediating roles concerning the impact of parent–child attachment on self-injury behavior. By comparison, the father–child and mother–child attachment have different mediating models: the former relies on emotional coping style, while the latter is associated with emotional experiences. This implies that parent–child attachment has different mechanisms in triggering self-injury behavior, which is in line with the hypothesis of attachment specificity.

Peer effects on student weight: randomization evidence from China

ABSTRACT This paper investigates peer effects on student weight. Taking advantage of a national survey of middle schools in China, we exploit the BMI variation in randomly assigned classrooms. We find that having heavier peer classmates significantly increases a student’s body weight. The results are consistent across various robustness checks based on a standardized measurement of BMI, alternative peer measures, a spurious correlation with height, and the validity of the instruments. Peer effects are more pronounced among female students, nonlocal students, rural students, and students with longer exposure to classmates. The quantile analysis suggests that the peer effect is stronger at the lower end of the BMI distribution. These findings confirm the presence of social multiplier effects in middle schools, which is helpful in establishing health policies for reducing student overweight.

Moral disengagement and adolescents’ cyberbullying perpetration: Student-student relationship and gender as moderators

There has been growing scholarly interest in understanding the relationship between moral disengagement and adolescents’ cyberbullying perpetration. However, it is less clear which factors can diminish the strength of this relationship. Based on evolutionary psychological and the general aggression model, the current study sought to determine whether student-student relationships and gender simultaneously moderated the relationship between moral disengagement and cyberbullying perpetration. The participants included 2,393 adolescents from seven middle schools in China. They completed the questionnaires regarding moral disengagement, student-student relationships, cyberbullying perpetration, traditional bullying, traditional victimization, and cybervictimization. Results indicated that adolescents with high levels of moral disengagement were more likely to engage in cyberbullying perpetration, even after controlling for traditional bullying, traditional victimization, and cybervictimization. Student-student relationships moderated the relationship between moral disengagement and cyberbullying perpetration. Furthermore, student-student relationships and gender simultaneously interacted with moral disengagement in predicting cyberbullying perpetration. That is, higher levels of moral disengagement significantly predicted increases in females’ cyberbullying perpetration, regardless of whether they had positive or negative student-student relationships. However, the relationship between moral disengagement and cyberbullying perpetration became weaken for males with positive student-student relationships.

Peer effects of low-ability students in the classroom: evidence from China’s middle schools

This paper examines the causal effects of the proportion of low-ability students in the classroom on the academic performance of regular students, exploiting random assignment of students to classes within middle schools in China. We show that the share of students in a class who are low achievers has a significant negative impact on the academic achievement of regular students in the seventh grade. The peer effects are heterogeneous along their achievement distribution, with the strongest adverse impact at the bottom end but no discernable impact at the top end. In contrast, there is no evidence that low-ability students influence any part of the achievement distribution of regular students in the ninth grade. Therefore, peer effects in academic outcomes can vary with the length of regular students’ exposure to the same group of low-ability classmates. We further show that the differences in peer effects of low-ability students in seventh and ninth grades are driven by the adjustments of students’ friendship formation and learning environment when approaching the completion of middle school.

Teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Chinese Schools: The Case of Dongchang Middle School Using Schema Theory

This empirical study applies the schema theory English writing teaching in a middle school in China according to the new curriculum standards.This study mainly seeks to address two issues: i). Does the application of schema theory in teaching English writing in middle school effective? ii). Compared with the traditional teaching of English writing teaching methods, can middle school students’ English writing method based on schema theory be more efficient?The methods used in this study are known as the literature analysis and experimental research methods. This paper analyzes the current situation of middle school students' writing level and teachers' English writing, based on the schema theory of education.A survey was conducted as a teaching experiment for about two months in two parallel classes in Donchang Middle School. The controlled class used the traditional teaching method, while the experimental class used the teaching method based on schema theory. After about a period of the experiment, the two classes were post-tested and data collected, analyzed and conclusions made. The findings show that the Schema Theory used in English teaching can effectively improve the writing ability of students and enhance their confidence in English writing. Therefore, it is recommended that the schema theory should be used as a method of effectively teaching English writing. Keywords: English education, schema theory, teaching and learning, Middle School, Dongchang , China DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-15-03 Publication date: May 31 st 2020

Impact of Combined Theory-Based Intervention on Psychological Effects and Physical Activity among Chinese Adolescents.

Purpose: The current study was intended to assess the effect of a facilitated behavioral intervention based on the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) on psychological constructs and physical activity among adolescents over a period of eight weeks. Methods: Students (n = 51, 12 ± 0.3 years of age) in the seventh grade at a junior middle school in China were randomly assigned to two groups: the intervention group (n = 24) and the control group (n = 27). Both groups were pre- and post-tested with the related psychological constructs of the extended TPB, along with behavioral measures of the Physical Activity Scale and ActiGraph accelerometer (model wGT3X-BT). The intervention group took part in 45 min classes once per week for 8 weeks, including five indoor theoretical courses and three outdoor basketball matches. The control group was not required to make any change to their normal school day. Also, 2 × 2 repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to compare the differences between the two groups, and then t-test was employed to compare the independent and paired differences. Results: Significant increases in pre–post subjective norms (SN) (p = 0.041, Cohen’s d = 0.62), perceived behavior control (PBC) (p = 0.023, Cohen’s d = 0.72), exercise intention (EI) (p = 0.043, Cohen’s d = 0.61), and self-efficacy (SE) (p = 0.035, Cohen’s d = 1.36) were observed in the intervention group. In addition, participants in the intervention group increased their exercise frequency (p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.25) and intensity (p = 0.028, Cohen’s d = 0.68), especially their time spent on light intensity physical activity (light-PA%; p = 0.031, Cohen’s d = 0.68), and their percentage of sedentary time (SB%) was also reduced (from 68% ± 10% to 58% ± 7%, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.17). Furthermore, the intervention group showed significantly better performance in PBC (p = 0.032, Cohen’s d = 0.62), EI (p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.32), SE (p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.15), SB% (p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.22), light-PA% (p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.12), and total physical activity (TPA) (p = 0.015, Cohen’s d = 0.72) compared to the control group at the post-test. No significant pre post differences were observed for any psychological or behavioral variables in the control group, except for exercise frequency, but the values were still lower than those in the intervention group after the 8-week intervention (3.70 ± 0.72 versus 3.92 ± 0.83). Conclusion: The combined theory-based intervention was effective at improving psychological constructs and physical activity among seventh-grade adolescents in 8 weeks.

Psychosocial Mechanism of Adolescents' Depression: A Dose-Response Relation with Physical Activity.

Depression has become the most prevalent mental health problem in developing countries, and especially among adolescents. Lubans and his colleagues proposed a psychosocial mechanism to understand the trajectory of mental health (i.e., depression). Thus, this study aimed (1) to examine the relations between different doses of physical activity (PA), light PA (LPA), moderate PA (MPA), and vigorous PA (VPA), academic self-efficacy, and depression among adolescents, and (2) to investigate the direct and indirect relations of various doses of PA to depression through academic self-efficacy among middle school adolescents. Participants were 428 (235 boys, Mean age = 13.7) adolescents recruited from two middle schools in China. They completed previously validated questionnaires to measure different intensity levels of PA (LPA, MPA, and VPA), academic self-efficacy, and depression. There were significant associations of academic self-efficacy with three different doses of PA (p < 0.01). Both LPA and MPA were negatively associated with depression but not VPA. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed a well-fit model suggesting the psychosocial pathway from different doses of PA to depression through academic self-efficacy. Findings of this study indicated that academic self-efficacy regulates adolescents’ depression. Tailoring different intensities of PA benefits adolescents’ academic self-efficacy by framing the positive and supportive environment in schools, which can potentially reduce the prevalence of depression during adolescence.

Teachers’ Perceptions of Students’ Creativity in China’s Classrooms: The Role of Students’ Academic Achievement and Misbehaviors

AbstractTeachers can be biased, especially toward low achievers and students with behavioral issues. However, creative students often appear to be disruptive in the classroom, and many of them struggle academically. The purpose of the present study was to examine the extent to which teachers’ perceptions of students’ creativity is associated with students’ academic achievement and classroom (mis)behaviors, as well as to examine the interaction between these two factors. Three hundred and fifty‐four eighth‐grade students selected from five middle schools in China participated in this study. Using achievement scores, peer nominations, a divergent thinking test, a self‐rated ideational behavior scale, and teacher ratings, the present study found that, whereas creativity has no significant relationship with teachers’ perceptions, academic achievements and misbehavior are significantly associated within structors’ perceptions. The achievement bias resulted in the underestimation of low achievers’ creativity, even when the low achievers were highly creative. More nuances emerged when student misbehaviors were considered. Specifically, misbehaving low achievers’ originality was further underestimated even when they were highly original. In contrast, teachers overestimated well‐behaved high achievers’ creativity, even when the students comprised the lowest creativity group. The results are further discussed from a socio‐cultural perspective.

Parenting styles and children’s academic performance: Evidence from middle schools in China

Most of the existing literature has shown that parents’ educational background, occupation and income will affect children’s initial endowment, educational investment and cultural environment. Few studies have used large samples to analyze the influence of parental communication, company, supervision, requirements and other parenting practices on children’s academic performance after controlling for parents’ external background. Based on a large sample survey of middle-school students in China, this study applies factor analysis and cluster analysis to categorize parenting styles as authoritative, permissive, authoritarian and neglectful. Using the instrumental variable method, we discuss the causal effect of parenting style on children’s academic performance. The findings are as follows: the parenting styles of Chinese parents are predominantly authoritarian and neglectful; parents of higher social classes tend to adopt the permissive parenting style; the authoritative parenting style is more conducive to improving children’s academic performance; parenting style has a greater effect on children from disadvantaged backgrounds; and the parenting styles of mothers play a more vital role in their children’s academic performance than do the parenting styles of fathers.

Epidemiology and HBGA-susceptibility investigation of a G9P[8] rotavirus outbreak in a school in Lechang, China.

Rotaviruses cause severe gastroenteritis in infants, in which the viruses interact with human histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) as attachment and host susceptibility factors. While gastroenteritis outbreaks caused by rotaviruses are uncommon in adolescents, we reported here one that occurred in a middle school in China. Rectal swabs and saliva samples were collected from symptomatic and asymptomatic students, and samples were also collected from the environment. Using PCR, followed by DNA sequencing, a single G9P[8] rotavirus strain was identified as the causative agent. The attack rate of the outbreak was 13.5% for boarders, which was significantly higher than that of day students (1.8%). Person-to-person transmission was the most plausible transmission mode. The HBGA phenotypes of the individuals in the study were determined by enzyme immunoassay, using saliva samples, while recombinant VP8* protein of the causative rotavirus strain was produced for HBGA binding assays to evaluate the host susceptibility. Our data showed that secretor individuals had a significantly higher risk of infection than nonsecretors. Accordingly, the VP8* protein bound nearly all secretor saliva samples, but not those of nonsecretors, explaining the observed infection of secretor individuals only. This is the first single-outbreak-based investigation showing that P[8] rotavirus infected only secretors. Our investigation also suggests that health education of school students is an important countermeasure against an outbreak of communicable disease.

Linking Rejection Sensitivity, Shyness and Unsociability with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Psychiatric Co-Morbidity among Chinese Adolescents.

This study investigated whether rejection sensitivity (RS), shyness and unsociability would positively correlate with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and psychiatric co-morbidity and whether shyness and unsociability would mediate the impact of RS on distress outcomes. Four hundred and one adolescents from three middle schools in China completed a demographic questionnaire, Children's Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire, Children's Shyness Questionnaire, Child Social Preference Scale, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5, and the General Health Questionnaire-28. The results showed that RS and shyness were mostly correlated with PTSD and psychiatric co-morbidity whereas unsociability was not and therefore not a mediator. Shyness, on the other hand, mediated the impact of angry RS and anxious RS on PTSD, as well as anxious RS on psychiatric co-morbidity. To conclude, the severity of PTSD along with other psychological difficulties tends to increase for those who are shy and sensitive to rejection.