Chinese Primary School Research Articles

Parental Involvement and Children's Subjective Well-Being: Mediating Roles of the Sense of Security and Autonomous Motivation in Chinese Primary School Students.

Parental involvement may influence the subjective well-being of primary school students, but the specific mechanisms remain unclear. This study explores the mechanisms between parental involvement and primary school students' subjective well-being. The current study investigated 340 fifth and sixth grade students and their parents from a primary school using the Parental Education Involvement Behavior Scale, the Well-Being Scale, the Sense of Security Scale, and the Learning Self-Regulation Scale. We found that (1) sense of security plays a complete mediating role between parental involvement and primary school students' subjective well-being; (2) autonomous motivation has a marginal mediating effect between parental involvement and subjective well-being of primary school students; and (3) sense of security and autonomous motivation play a chain mediating role between parents' educational involvement and primary school students' well-being. In conclusion, parental involvement appears to contribute to primary school children's subjective well-being, and this effect may be mediated individually and sequentially by the children's sense of security and autonomous motivation.

Psychometric properties of the Range and Differentiation of Emotional Experience Scale among Chinese teachers

The Range and Differentiation of Emotional Experience Scale (RDEES) is a useful assessment of individual differences in emotional complexity. We recruited 721 Chinese primary and middle school teachers to examine the psychometric properties of the RDEES for use with this population. The results supported a two-factor model, comprising the range of emotional experience and the differentiation of emotional experience. The Chinese version of the RDEES showed a significant correlation with the Chinese version of the Emotional Intelligence Scale. Internal consistency coefficients ranged from .58–86 and test‐retest reliability ranged from .59â–“.66. Therefore, the Chinese version of the RDEES can be used for measuring emotional complexity in Chinese primary and middle school teachers.

TPACK Ability Test for Junior College Teacher Internship Students in Primary School Chinese

Background and Aims: TPACK (Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge) is an essential ability for teachers in the digital era that has a high effect on the quality of basic education. In this paper, 55 junior college teacher education students in the class of 2021, majoring in elementary education as teacher education students in Guangxi, were measured at the beginning of their educational internships to understand their level of TPACK. Methodology: Using a homemade TPACK measurement tool, a test paper, which experts had evaluated. Research results indicate that the scores in the seven dimensions of TK, PK, CK, TPK, TCK, PCK, and TPCK range from 30.5% to 61%, among which TPK was the highest and TK was the lowest. Overall, the TPACK ability was at a low level. Results: Results showed that the TPACK test results of teacher education students of primary school Chinese will provide an important basis for formulating TPACK improvement strategies in the internship stage. Conclusion: The results show that measuring TPACK competency in Chinese teacher education students in elementary schools is an essential first step toward developing focused tactics to improve TPACK in the internship stage. This realization emphasizes how important it is to match educational interventions to particular skill development requirements to maximize teaching efficacy in elementary school environments.

The effects of nutrition education on nutritional knowledge and dietary behaviours in primary school students in Zhongshan city.

Adequate nutritional knowledge and healthy dietary behaviours are essential for promoting rational nutrition for children. However, lack of nutritional knowledge and unhealthy dietary behaviours are common among Chinese children. Therefore, we developed a school-based nutrition education (NE) program to assess its impacts on nutritional knowledge and dietary behaviours in pupils. In this trial, one school was assigned as an intervention group (n = 199) and the other two schools were designated as a control group (n = 140). Children in the intervention group received the NE program in addition to their regular health curriculum, whereas the control group continued with their usual health curriculum without any NE program materials. Concerning nutritional knowledge, the mean difference (follow-up minus baseline) of average knowledge scores in the intervention group was significantly higher than that in the control group (1.99 ± 3.22 vs. 0.66 ± 3.60, p = 0.001). However, subgroup analysis revealed that this difference disappeared among boys and students with malnutrition status. Regarding dietary behaviours, the NE program significantly increased the proportion of children exhibiting high frequencies of meat and nuts consumption in the intervention group, along with diverse food choice at breakfast. Additionally, it markedly reduced the proportion of children exhibiting high frequencies of sugar-sweetened beverages and fast food consumption. Structural equation modelling analyses indicated a significant direct effect of NE intervention on nutritional knowledge and an indirect effect on dietary behaviours. The NE program effectively enhanced nutritional knowledge scores and further improved dietary behaviours among Chinese primary school students. Future NE programs should pay more attention to boys and children with malnutrition.

Current teachers' perceptions and students' perspectives regarding activities modalities, instructional settings during primary school physical education classes in China: a cross-sectional observational study.

This study set out to understand the association between teaching practices, teacher confidence, competence, self-efficacy, and the resulting student outcomes. Data regarding teaching behaviours were collected via video recording and then evaluated using the MASTER Observation Tool. The information about demographics, self-reported teaching confidence, competence, self-efficacy, and student outcomes was collected using questionnaires. The association between teacher characteristics, and teacher and/or student outcome variables were tested using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). A total of ten primary schools were involved, including 597 children (age range: 10-12 years, grade 4-6) and 16 grade 4-6 PE teachers (with 16 PE classes). Most of the Physical Education (PE) lesson time was spent in training-form activities (60.2% ± 9.1), followed by instructional time (33.1% ± 8.6%), reflection (3.4% ± 2.3%), and warm-up (2.9% ± 2.0 %). It was observed that teaching behaviours and student outcomes were significantly better in urban than rural areas. Smaller class sizes (21-30 children) were found to have more positive feedback than larger ones (41-50 children). PE teachers with more than 10 years of teaching experience reported more teaching competence and self-efficacy than teachers with less than 10 years of experience. PE teachers with class sizes of 21-30 children enjoyed significantly better scores in self-efficacy than classes with 41-50 children. They also scored more highly in confidence and competence than classes with 41-50 and 51-60 pupils. The current study confirmed that teachers dedicated a large proportion of lesson time to PE delivering training-form activities, followed by instructional time. Teaching behaviour and student outcomes were associated with location and class size, but not gender. The study contributes to our understanding of PE instruction in Chinese primary schools and offers preliminary evidence to improve future PE teaching strategies in the country.

The Development of an Assessment Scale for Computational Thinking Competence of In-Service Primary School Teachers

In the context of digital technologies, computational thinking (CT) is considered a key competence of primary school teachers. However, assessment tools to measure in-service teachers’ CT competence are rare. The current study explains the design, development, and validation of a scale to determine the in-service teachers’ mastery level of their Computational Thinking Competence (CTC) in the Chinese context. The validity and reliability of the scale have been studied by conducting exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and calculating internal consistency coefficients. The sample of this study consisted of 631 in-service teachers from different Chinese primary schools (EFA N = 189; CFA N = 442). The 31-item scale mirrors five factors: cognitive knowledge of CT, practices and skills of CT, attitudes and perspectives of CT, CT teaching design, and CT teaching implementation. The discussion of the results looks at the future use of the CT scale in Chinese educational settings that mirror a specific national education policy, talent demand, and educational culture.

Type of Primary School Attended Influences Bribe-Giving Intentions

This study provides specific insights into bribe-giving intentions in developing societies with diverse populations, using Malaysia as a case study. We investigated whether there are significant variations in young adults’ intentions to offer bribes, depending on the type of primary and secondary schools they attended. We surveyed 345 young adults and tested for significant differences using Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests. We find that those who attended Chinese vernacular primary schools, as opposed to national primary schools, have a higher intention of giving bribes. We found no significant differences for the type of secondary school attended and bribe-giving intention. The results suggest the need for early anti-corruption education in primary schools in curbing corruption. These insights can aid policymakers and anti-corruption agencies in devising targeted interventions and strategies to diminish bribery. Additionally, they can inform future research concentrating on the socialization environment and the act of giving bribes.

The effect of principal transformational leadership on teacher innovative behavior: the moderator role of uncertainty avoidance and the mediated role of the sense of meaning at work

IntroductionGiven the rapid technological advancements and increasing global uncertainties, principals’ promoting teacher innovative behavior (TIB) is fundamental for schools to enhance effectiveness and achieve sustainable competitive growth. However, previous research on the impact of principal transformational leadership (PTL) on TIB has yielded conflicting results. Drawing upon social cognitive theory and leadership substitution theory, this study constructs a model to elucidate the mediating role of teachers’ sense of meaning in work (TMW) between PTL and TIB, as well as the moderating role of teachers’ uncertain avoidance (TUA) in mainland China.MethodsThe model was examined in Chinese primary and secondary schools, with data gathered in January and July 2023. A total of 295 primary and secondary school teachers participated in this research. With Hayes’ PROCESS macro, we examined all the direct and indirect paths, including moderated mediation.ResultsThe findings confirm that PTL positively influences TIB, with TMW serving as a mediator in this relationship. Furthermore, TUA moderates both direct and indirect relationships mentioned above.DiscussionThese findings shed light on the underlying mechanisms through which principal transformational leadership impacts teacher innovative behavior. The implications derived from this conclusion offer valuable managerial insights for principals seeking to promote TIBs.

A qualitative study on Chinese primary school EFL teachers’ beliefs about incorporating intercultural competence into foreign language teaching

Intercultural competence has become one of the important goals of foreign language education. The potential and value of foreign language education on students' intercultural competence (IC) has been widely recognized by academia. Currently, most of the research on intercultural foreign language teachers in China focuses on university teachers, with little attention paid to primary school EFL teachers. However, the cultivation of IC is a staged and continuous process which cannot be achieved in one stroke. Therefore, it is necessary to include primary school EFL teachers in the study of IC cultivation. This paper presents data on Chinese primary school EFL teachers' beliefs about incorporating IC into foreign language teaching. Specifically, their understanding of culture, IC, and intercultural teaching practices are investigated through interviews. The interview transcriptions were analyzed using thematic analysis. The research found: 1. Chinese primary school EFL teachers generally hold an essentialist view of culture; 2. Teachers emphasize the attitudinal dimension of IC; however, they also exhibit a tendency to oversimplify IC or perceive it as a higher-order skill than language proficiency, hence deeming it unsuitable for cultivation at the primary school level; 3. Most cultural teaching practices are teacher-centered, focusing on background knowledge-style introduction. In general, teachers’ intercultural teaching practices align with their cultural outlook. At last, the study explores two suggestions for promoting intercultural foreign language teaching: 1. Supporting primary school EFL teachers in updating their language and culture concepts system; 2. Encouraging teachers to reflect on their daily teaching practices as a major opportunity to promote the development of intercultural foreign language teaching.

An empirical study of a data-driven personalized diagnostic feedback strategy to enhance Chinese primary school pupils’ writing performance

ABSTRACT This study proposes a data-driven personalized diagnostic feedback strategy (D-DPDFS) based on data, and its purpose is to explore the effects that this strategy brings on pupils' writing performance, epistemic network structure, and self-efficacy. In this study, the participating pupils were randomly divided into an experimental group (N = 39) and a control group (N = 39), in which the experimental group used the data-driven personalized diagnostic feedback strategy and the control group used the Experience-Driven Teacher Diagnostic Feedback Strategy (E-DTDFS), and the writing activity lasted for 6 weeks. The results of the study showed that the D-DPDFS strategy had higher performance in promoting the four aspects of students' writing and enhanced the self-efficacy of the pupils in the experimental group. Meanwhile, the results based on epistemic network analysis showed that pupils using the DDPDFS focused on describing the action, psychology, and emotional changes in vocabulary use, and their epistemic network structure was more complex. After the interviews, the pupils in the experimental group were able to accurately understand and reflect deeply on the writing problem, and their satisfaction was high. Therefore, we believe that this study brings new insights into improving the teaching and learning of writing.

Unplugged programming practice in Chinese rural primary schools: a method to foster students’ computational thinking and resilience

ABSTRACT Computational thinking (CT), acknowledged as a crucial twenty-first century skill, has attracted considerable attention. However, cultivating CT in resource-limited rural schools is challenging, with limited research on its development in these settings. Unplugged programming, not constrained by the availability of computer hardware, may offer a promising approach to fostering CT skills within rural schools. This study conducted a six-week quasi-experimental project in a rural school in Guizhou, China. In this study, 43 students participated in unplugged activities in the experimental group, while 45 students in the control group did not engage in any form of programming activities. The findings are noteworthy: post-intervention, the experimental group showed notable improvements in CT skills and resilience, unlike the control group. Additionally, the study explored gender differences, revealing that students of all genders exhibited similar growth in CT skills and resilience through unplugged activities. Resilience was identified as a key factor in enhancing CT skills. Interviews further enriched the quantitative findings. This research provides valuable insights for educators to improve rural education and promote CT education.

Under the Vision of Situated Learning: Analysing the Influence of Educational Video Games on English Vocabulary Retention in Chinese Childrens Second Language Acquisition

This study will analyze the influence of educational video games on English vocabulary retention in Chinese childrens second language acquisition. This study base on the situated learning theory and the ABC reading which is both mobile and web-based is adopted as educational game in this research. This experiment takes the Chinese primary school students with an average age of 9-10 years old as experimental subjects, and set three groups of these Chinese students including the control group. By comparing the amounts of words they can remember at different times after learning, researchers can judge whether the educational video games have any influence on students' language learning. Through the experiment, We hypothesis that the video games will have a positive effect on childrens second language learning acquisition. On this basis, video games can be used as tools for language learning to provide more effective learning methods during the process of studying.

The Relationship between Parental Autonomy Support and Children's Self-Concept in China-The Role of Basic Psychological Needs.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between parental autonomy support and children's self-concept, and to explore the role of basic psychological needs in Chinese primary schools from the perspective of self-determination theory. A total of 3109 children aged 6-13 years participated in eastern China. The results indicated a significant correlation between parental autonomy support, basic psychological needs, and children's self-concept. Basic psychological needs play a partial mediating role between parental autonomy support and children's self-concept. Specifically, autonomy support varied by need types whereas parental control steadily played a negative predictive role. Parental autonomy support and control predicted children's self-concept differently through three basic psychological needs, with differences across gender and grades. Boys and elder children had stronger relationships to competence needs, while girls were sensitive to autonomy needs; in addition, both of them were sensitive to relatedness needs. The mediating effects model and cross-group analyses revealed the complex predictive role of parental autonomy support on children's self-concept in China, providing an effective entry point for cross-cultural research and family education to improve children's psychological well-being.

Disadvantages and Solutions of the Model Course in Contemporary Primary and Secondary Schools

This article analyzes and studies drawbacks of model courses in Chinese primary and secondary schools. We found that: 1) It is difficult to improve teachers’ professional qualities; 2) Teaching cannot face to all students; 3) Students’ subject status is neglected; 4) Focus too much on flawlessness and cannot highlight the key points of teaching. Therefore, we propose to solve the above drawbacks from the following four points: 1) Further strengthen teachers’ research consciousness; 2) Face to all students and teach them in accordance with their aptitude; 3) Teachers serve as the guidance and students serve as the main body; 4) Highlight key and difficult points in the teaching process. In addition, we propose that in current model courses, the application of modern educational technology and artificial intelligence classrooms should be strengthened in order to achieve a model and guidance role.

The Impact of Content and Language Integrated Learning on Motivation and Anxiety Levels of Chinese Primary School Students

The Impact of Content and Language Integrated Learning on Motivation and Anxiety Levels of Chinese Primary School Students

Like Water: Feeling and Negotiating Relational Complexity in School-Based Ethnographic Childhood Research in China Through the Lens of Emotional Reflexivity

Ethnography is often considered as a suitable methodological approach to explore childhoods, nevertheless, there is limited reflection on ethics in the field in the Global South educational settings, such as China. Previous China-based fieldwork studies suggest complex field relationships as a major ethical challenge. Although the issue is especially prominent in research that contests “normative” Chinese childhoods, it hasn’t been sufficiently discussed due to a culture of silence surrounding researchers’ emotions and positionality. This paper uses emotional reflexivity as a lens to revisit two Chinese female researchers’ experiences of fieldwork, respectively, with left-behind children and disabled children in Chinese primary schools. The analysis examines how we identified ourselves and negotiated complex relationships with school members and unpacks experiences of “sameness” and “otherness” and the vulnerability and creditability impacted by our fluid identities. The paper adds insights into ethical considerations of school-based ethnographic research with diverse children in the Global South.

How Narrative Skills Associate With Peer Relations

Narrative skills are essential for children's social development. However, existing research primarily focuses on narratives' impact on children's cognitive abilities, with limited attention given to the relationship between narrative skills and peer interactions. This study aims to explore how oral and written narrative skills are associated with peer relations from a social perspective. 166 Chinese primary school children were randomly assigned to tasks of oral and written narratives, as well as peer nominations. Results indicate that grade 5 students performed significantly better than grade 3 students in both written and oral narrative tasks. Moreover, the level of written narrative proficiency surpassed that of oral skills. Significant interactions were also found among grade level, gender, and narrative modes. Crucially, narrative skills exhibited positive correlations with peer nominations, with stronger correlations seen for written narratives. These findings have important implications for narrative research and language instruction.

Bloglator in the era of social media: a case study of the reports about the ‘tragically ugly’ math textbooks on What’s on Weibo

ABSTRACT While extensive research exists on blogs, news-related blog translation has been relatively unexplored. This study delves into the realm of news-related blog translation through the case of What’s on Weibo (hereafter WoW), an independent English-language news-related website that reports trending topics on Weibo. Given the unique nature of blog translation, the term bloglator is proposed to refer to a blog translator. By analyzing the reports related to the controversial Chinese primary school mathematics textbooks, this paper examines WoW’s criteria for content selection, the characteristics of the reports, and the role a bloglator plays within the news ecosystem. The research findings reveal that there are both similarities and differences between a bloglator and a journalator, and a bloglator may employ a variety of translation methods and assume an important role in the news ecosystem in this era of social media.

Engagement predicts computational thinking skills in unplugged activity: Analysis of gender differences

Engagement is critical to computational thinking and programming education. However, as multi-dimensional variables, when analyzing how different aspects of engagement in computational thinking tasks influence skills development, it becomes crucial to discern precisely which engagement components intersect with the progression of computational thinking skills. This discernment is pivotal because engagement can vary based on the task nature, the context, and the individual's preferences. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the gender differences in engagement and computational thinking skills and the predictive relationships among these sub-dimensions for boys and girls in an unplugged environment. In this study, a quasi-experiment for 90 sixth-grade students from a north Chinese primary school was performed. By partial least squares–structural equation modeling, students’ models of computational thinking skills and engagement were analyzed, and comparisons of boys and girls were made by analysis of covariance statistics. Results indicated that compared with boys, girls reported higher computational thinking performance and more engagement in unplugged contexts. Furthermore, girls’ computational thinking skills were only predicted by their cognitive engagement, whereas boys’ computational thinking skills were predicted by their behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. Teachers can adopt these findings to design computational thinking teaching interventions that combine the advantages of unplugged activity and focus on the engagement of boys and girls.

The effects of COVID-19 on the Physical Activity and Recreational Screen Time among Chinese children and adolescents

BackgroundThe lack of Physical Activity (PA) and prolonged Recreational Screen Time (RST) among children and adolescents has been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing this issue to escalate into a crucial public health concern. This study aims to investigate the trends in PA and RST among Chinese children and adolescents from 2019 to 2022, thereby analyzing the short-term and long-term effects of the pandemic on PA and RST among Chinese children and adolescents. MethodsA nationally representative sample of Chinese primary, middle, and high school students was surveyed annually between September and December from 2019 to 2022 using a consistent set of questionnaires. Trends in PA and RST across different school levels, genders, areas (urban/rural), and regions (north/south) were analyzed using Segmented Linear Regression. ResultsFrom 2019 to 2022, the PA and RST of children and adolescents displayed an inverted U-shaped trend, initially increasing and subsequently declining. Specifically, from 2019 to 2021, the PA of children and adolescents significantly increased but dramatically declined from 2021 to 2022. This trend in PA is more pronounced among primary, male, urban, and northern children and adolescent. The RST of children and adolescents increased from 2019 to 2020 but significantly decreased from 2020 to 2022. This trend in RST is more pronounced among primary, urban, and southern children and adolescent. ConclusionsThis research unveils the effects of the pandemic on PA and RST in children and adolescents, suggesting short-term beneficial and long-term adverse effects on PA and short-term adverse and long-term beneficial effects on RST. These findings provide a foundation for formulating policies related to children and adolescents' PA and RST during the pandemic.