Rural Junior High School Students Research Articles

The Relationship between Family Factors and Academic Achievement of Junior High School Students in Rural China: Mediation Effect of Parental Involvement.

This study aims to understand how socioeconomic status and the family environment impact students' academic achievement through the mediation of parental involvement in rural China. To achieve this, a cross-sectional design was adopted, and a total of 525 parents of rural junior high school students from S province in southwest China were surveyed. The proposed conceptual framework was tested by structural equation modeling. The results claimed that both socioeconomic status and the family environment are important factors affecting the academic achievement of rural students, and the role of the family environment is more pronounced. Furthermore, parental involvement has a significant mediating effect between socioeconomic status and academic achievement, especially between the family environment and academic achievement. The findings highlighted the importance of the family environment and parental involvement to compensate for the negative impact of disadvantaged family socioeconomic status on academic achievement.

The Effect of English Songs on Chinese Students’ Acquisition of Word Stress in a Rural Junior High School

Few studies have examined how teaching English songs to junior high school students in rural areas affects students’ English pronunciation. To fill this gap, we taught English songs to 39 rural junior high school students and tested their perception and production of English words with different stress patterns before and after the session of learning English songs. Students were asked to identify the position of word stress for a list of disyllabic words, and they were asked to read the disyllabic words with different stress placements. Teachers evaluated the students’ pre-test and post-test performance, and acoustic measures were taken to compare their pronunciation in two sessions. After two weeks, the production test revealed an improvement in the students’ ability to produce English stress. In the post-test, students could more effectively use the duration cue to distinguish between stressed and unstressed syllables. However, students’ perception improvement was not attested. The findings generally indicated that English songs have a beneficial impact on junior high school students in rural areas who are learning English word stress.

Factors Influencing Rural Junior High-School Students’ Motivation to Learn English in Taiwan

English-language learning in rural Taiwan has been targeted by government policy for two decades, yet little research has investigated students’ motivation and support in these rural communities. This study investigated the effects of students’ gender, grade, parental support (PS), and teacher support (TS) on their English learning motivation (ELM) in Taiwan’s rural middle-level schools. A quantitative survey approach was used in this study. Seven hundred and fifty-four questionnaires were delivered to the students in 12 rural middle-level schools. The collected data were analyzed by using the t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and multiple-regression methods. Females reported higher ELM, PS, and TS than their male counterparts. Seventh-grade students reported higher ELM, PS, and TS than eighth- and ninth-grade students. PS and TS were significantly correlated to ELM. Appraisal support of teachers was the most relevant predictor for value, emotion, and willingness to execute factors of ELM. Programs and policies to improve ELM in rural schools are suggested.

English learning anxiety of Chinese rural junior high school students under the online class mode.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought tremendous changes to the field of education, transferring traditional offline teaching to online teaching on a large scale globally. Junior high school students, as a special group, may experience foreign language learning anxiety different from anxiety experienced by college students in the process of online English learning. This research aims at investigating the level of, sources and strategies for English learning anxiety of Chinese rural junior high school students under online class mode. A total of 120 students from Dongshan Junior High School in Haikou participated in this study and asked to fill in the questionnaires, and 12 of them were randomly chosen to be interviewed. IBM SPSS Statistics 26 was used to analyze the data. This research found that Chinese rural junior high school students generally had a moderate level of English learning anxiety, and there is statistically no significant relation between the gender difference and anxiety in online foreign language classes. It was also found that factors influencing English learning anxiety of Chinese rural junior high school students included the students themselves, their home environments, the teacher and the school, and the social environment. Lastly, the research found five strategies to relieve foreign language learning anxiety, including recognizing the existence of anxiety correctly, communicating the anxiety honestly with others, improving the psychological quality, being positive about life' s setbacks, and setting up some realistic goals in English learning.

The Association Between Screen Time and Outdoor Time on Adolescent Mental Health and Academic Performance: Evidence from Rural China.

We examine how adolescent free time allocation-namely, screen time and outdoor time-is associated with mental health and academic performance in rural China. This paper used a large random sample of rural junior high school students in Ningxia (n = 20,375; age=13.22), with data collected from self-reported demographic questionnaires (to assess free time allocation), the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (to assess mental health), and a standardized math test (to measure academic performance). We utilized a multivariate OLS regression model to examine associations between free time allocation and adolescent outcomes, controlling for individual and family characteristics. Our sample's screen time and outdoor time both averaged around 1 hour. About 10% of the sample adolescents reported behavioral difficulties, while a similar percentage (11%) reported abnormal prosocial behaviors. Adolescents with higher levels of screen time (>2 hours) were 3 percentage points more likely to have higher levels of behavioral difficulties (p<0.001), indicating that excessive screen time was associated with worse mental health. Meanwhile, outdoor time was associated with better mental health, and positive correlations were observed at all levels of outdoor time (compared to no outdoor time, decreasing the likelihood of higher levels of behavioral difficulties by between 3 and 4 percentage points and of lower prosocial scores by between 6 and 8 percentage points; all p's<0.001). For academic performance, average daily screen times of up to 1 hour and 1-2 hours were both positively associated with standardized math scores (0.08 SD, p<0.001; 0.07 SD, p<0.01, respectively), whereas there were no significant associations between outdoor time and academic performance. Using a large sample size, this study was the first to examine the association between adolescent free time allocation with mental health and academic performance, providing initial insights into how rural Chinese adolescents can optimize their free time.

The Psychological Barriers of Students with Learning Difficulties in Teaching English in Rural Secondary Schools and How to Cope with Them

Slow students are a common phenomenon in the education industry, especially for rural students, who have less contact with foreigners and foreign cultures. The most troublesome subject is English, which can directly affect the students’ advancement rate, so teachers should focus on the teaching of struggling English students, and schools should pay more attention to the development of students’ physical and mental health and the cultivation of their learning ability. Teachers need to improve their working ability, innovate their educational methods, cultivate students’ interest in learning English, and base on teaching practice. This paper analyzes and explores how to improve the English literacy and learning ability of rural junior high school students.

A Survey and Study on the Current Status of Mathematics Study Habits of Rural Junior High School Students in China

The research is supported by the research project of higher education reform in Jiangsu Province. Nos. 2019JSJG257, 2017JSJG212, Special research project on Rural Education in Yancheng City. No. XCZX21090, and Yancheng educational science planning project in 2021. No. 2021-L-136. (Sponsoring information) Abstract Based on the relevant theories, the article adopts literature research, questionnaire survey, and interview records to first analyze and summarize the research related to " mathematics study habits" and to define and classify the concepts related to "mathematics study habits." Take rural junior high school students in a school in China as the target group, and analyze the current situation of mathematics study habits of rural junior high school students in this school through a questionnaire survey based on the results. Furthermore, through personal interviews with rural junior high school students, teachers, and parents in the region, we completed the analysis of the factors that contribute to the formation of good mathematics study habits in rural junior high school students from the perspectives of students, teachers, and parents. Finally, combined with the current situation and influencing factors of mathematics learning habits of rural junior high school students in the region, corresponding countermeasures are proposed for the cultivation of good mathematical learning habits from the three perspectives of students, teachers and parents. Keywords: Rural junior high school students, Mathematics study habits, Influence factors, Habit development measures DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-29-04 Publication date: October 31 st 2022

Exploration of the Motivation of Secondary Vocational Education Under the Background of “Diversion”—Based on a Case Study of Impoverished Junior High School Students in Northwest Rural Areas of China

The society generally regards the students who choose the secondary vocational school as the students who failed the high school entrance examination. Based on interviews and on-site observations of poor junior high school students and their parents in a rural junior high school in Northwest China, the paper summarizes the four major motivations for rural poor students to enter secondary vocational schools under the background of today&amp;rsquo; s high school entrance examination diversion. The cost of educational choices and compromises, the influence of peer groups, and individual interests are motivated by school, family, peer, and individual motives, respectively. In view of the current fierce competition in education in China, the disparity of educational resources between regions and the embarrassed family background, the decision to enter secondary vocational school is the result of the interaction between the macro-structure and micro-situation of poor rural junior high school students. In conclusion, promotion to secondary vocational education is a reasonable choice for many rural families. Therefore, in order to meet the survival and development needs of the disadvantaged rural poor students and their families, and make vocational education truly a channel for their upward mobility, it is necessary to strengthen the publicity of vocational education, change the concept of discrimination against vocational education, and at the same time strive to improve vocational education.

An Investigation of the Relationship Between English Classroom Environment in Rural Junior Middle School and Students’ English Learning Boredom

Learning boredom is a negative sense of experience caused by students' lack of interest in learning. For rural junior high school students, English learning is often limited to English classroom. Although a consensus has been reached that the classroom environment has an impact on the process and outcome of second/foreign language learning, it’s still unclear how the classroom environment is related to the process of breeding negative emotions such as boredom among learners. Under such a circumstance, this study adopts a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods, taking 480 students from rural junior high schools as subjects, using methods with a combination of questionnaire survey and interview to study the current situation and correlation between English classroom environment and English learning boredom in rural junior high schools. And the results show that rural junior high school students' overall perception of English classroom environment is at a high level and the overall English learning boredom among rural junior high school students is at a medium level. Also, there is a negative correlation between English classroom environment and English learning boredom. The English classroom environment has the function of negative prediction of boredom in students’ learning process.

Research on Scaffolding Instruction Strategies for English Writing Teaching of Rural Junior Middle School Students in China

In the teaching process of English composition writing of rural junior middle school students, there are some common cases that students "don't know how to start, the composition structure is not clear, the vocabulary sentence pattern is scanty and improper ". In view of these problems in teaching, this paper introduces scaffolding teaching strategy, designs the vocabulary sentence structure, writing frame, online interactive frame and other strategies to assist students in English writing based on the practice of English writing teaching. Through scaffolding teaching practice, the strategy and process of applying teaching scaffold to specific learning situation are explored. The results show that :(1) Scaffolding teaching ability can improve the English writing level of rural junior high school students, but also improve the learning interest of English writing in the process of learning;(2) Scaffolding teaching should not only pay attention to the process of knowledge construction, but also pay attention to the cultivation of students' interest in English learning to promote the development of learners' English writing ability.

Differences in Educational Expectations between Urban and Rural Junior High School Students: Individual, Family, and Social Structures

This paper studies the current differences in educational expectations between urban and rural students and explores the mechanism from the individual/family and school/society perspectives. The results show significant differences in expectations between rural and urban junior high school students for going on to higher education. In addition, urban students’ educational expectations are higher than that of rural and migrant students. These differences are caused by the students’ cognitive ability, family background, and school environment, among which the influence of family background is larger than that of cognitive ability, while the effect of the school’s hukou structure is the most important influencing factor. The results suggest that building a desirable school education atmosphere, alleviating hukou segregation in schools, and strengthening the integration of widely diverse school populations are important approaches to promoting educational and social equity in China.

Research on English Learners’ Self-efficacy in Rural Junior High Schools from the Perspective of Rural Revitalization

Currently, English learners in Chinese rural junior high schools have been increasingly focused by people in all walks of life, especially the government for they will function as an impetus to promote the construction as well as the growth of the new rural areas. Accordingly, this study will utilize the rural revitalization, a national strategy for rural areas to investigate some current situations on English learning self-efficacy of rural school students, which is an important factor affecting their learning, taking students of several rural middle schools in Suining, Sichuan province as participants and including the following research questions by virtue of the method of questionnaire, interview and literature analysis: 1) What is the current situation about English learning self-efficacy of rural junior high school students under the background of rural revitalization? 2) What factors can affect English learners’ learning self-efficacy against the background of rural revitalization? 3) Is there any positive or negative correlation between learners’ English learning self-efficacy and their academic achievements in the context of rural revitalization? Based on the outcomes of this research project, some valid and feasible strategies can be introduced to promote English learners’ self-efficacy and facilitate better achievements in English learning in rural junior high schools.

偏鄉國中全英語教學對國中學生英語口說能力之影響 Implementing English-only Instruction to Promote the English Speaking Proficiency of Rural Junior High School Students

偏鄉國中全英語教學對國中學生英語口說能力之影響 Implementing English-only Instruction to Promote the English Speaking Proficiency of Rural Junior High School Students

Research on the Influence of Urban-rural Dual Structure on the Social Mobility Function of Rural Education — Based on the Empirical Investigation of the Loss of Rural Junior High School Students in S City, Hubei Province

Based on the empirical investigation of the loss of rural junior high school students in S City, Hubei Province, this article explores the weakening of the social mobility function of rural education under the dual structure of urban and rural areas, and points out the deep-seated reasons — the urban-centric orientation of the national education system under the dual urban-rural structure. At the same time, the article reveals the harm of the weakening of the social mobility function of rural education under the urban-rural dual structure.

Visual Impairment, Spectacle Wear and Academic Performance among Junior High School Students in Western China

Purpose: To assess the prevalence and academic impact of visual impairment and spectacle wear among rural junior high school students in western China. Methods: In September 2013, 2248 students from 36 junior high schools in Shaanxi Province underwent assessment of visual acuity (VA), completed a questionnaire about their spectacle use and were administered a standardized mathematics examination. Results: Among 2248 students, visual impairment was about 31% (699/2248). Spectacle wear was observed 37% (360/966) children needing glasses. Ownership of spectacles among children needing glasses was associated with poorer uncorrected vision in the better-seeing eye (P 0.001) and paternal educational (P = 0.001), but not age, sex, boarding at school, both parents having out-migrated for work or maternal education. Spectacle ownership among children with visual impairment was associated with better test performance (P=0.035). Conclusion: Visual impairment and non-wear of spectacle were common. Wearing spectacles was associated with better academic performance in this cross-sectional analysis, consistent with recent trial results among younger children.

"At three years of age, we can see the future": Cognitive skills and the life cycle of rural Chinese children.

While the Chinese education system has seen massive improvements over the past few decades, there still exists large academic achievement gaps between rural and urban areas, which threaten China's long-term development. Additionally, recent literature has underscored the importance of early childhood development (ECD) in later-life human capital development. We analyze the lifecycle of cognitive development and learning outcomes in rural Chinese children by first examining if ECD outcomes affect cognition levels, then seeing if cognitive delays persist as children grow, and finally exploring connections between cognition and education outcomes. We combine data from four recent studies examining different age groups (0-3, 4-5, 10-11, 13-14) to track cognitive outcomes. First, we find that ECD outcomes for children in rural China are poor, with almost one-in-two children being cognitively delayed. Second, we find that these cognitive delays seem to persist into middle school, with almost 37% of rural junior high school students being cognitively delayed. Finally, we show that cognition has a close relationship to academic achievement. Our results suggest that urban/rural gaps in academic achievement originate at least in part from differences in ECD outcomes. While many papers have analyzed ECD, human capital, and inequality separately, this is the first paper to explicitly connect and combine these topics to analyze the lifecycle of cognitive development in the context of rural China.

Understanding Motivational Fluctuations among Young Rural EFL Learners : A Longitudinal Case Study

This three-year longitudinal study examines Taiwanese rural junior high school students’ motivational changes regarding learning English. The same questionnaire measuring their levels of motivation was conducted throughout five semesters across three school years. Seven motivational aspects, including intrinsic, extrinsic, task value, control beliefs, self-efficacy, expectancy and test anxiety, were measured each semester. The overall findings suggest that these rural students started with higher levels of intrinsic, extrinsic and task-related motivation compared to the other motivational aspects; also that girls generally presented higher motivation levels than boys. More generally, students reported mild-to-low level motivation, which indicated that rural students’ EFL motivation would decrease during their school years. The results suggest both English teacher and homeroom teacher appear to play vital roles in affecting rural students’ motivation. Such findings signal a need for English teachers and educational authorities to reconsider the methods used for both developing and improving rural students’ motivation to learn English throughout their junior high school years. Other factors, including gender and English engagement after school, were also found to be effective. This study also suggests practical recommendations for English learning and teaching in rural Taiwanese high schools, which may be effective in other EFL contexts.

High Serum Cortisol Levels as a Potential Indicator for Changes in Well-Regulated Daily Life among Junior High School Students.

Problematic smartphone use among adolescents has become a social concern and is associated with poor sleep quality. The relationship between life habits, such as smartphone use and sleep duration, and levels of immunological and neuroendocrine biomarkers, including the stress hormone cortisol, in adolescents seems to be important to objectively comprehend their health and well-being in school life. However, such a relationship has not been well documented. We therefore studied rural junior high school students in Japan to elucidate the relationship between serum cortisol (SC) levels and their life habits. A total of 155 students in the seventh grade in 2016 were recruited as subjects. Of them, 140 students with eligible responses and blood samples (12-13 years; 80 boys, 60 girls) were finally included in the study (response rate 90.3%). A questionnaire survey concerning wake-up time, sleep duration, and the length of time using a smartphone per day was conducted. Blood samples were collected from peripheral veins of participants under fasting conditions between 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. The Spearman rank correlation coefficients were as follows: between SC and wake-up time, 0.199 (p = 0.018); between SC and sleep duration, 0.185 (p = 0.029); and between SC and time spent on smartphones, 0.172 (p = 0.042). The multiple regression analysis showed that high SC levels were significantly associated with late wake-up time and with short sleep duration. We therefore propose that measuring SC levels is useful for early detection of the change in the well-regulated daily life among junior high school students.

A Comparative Empirical Research on English Learning Demotivators (ELDs) between Urban and Rural Junior High School Students

English learning demotivation refers to the situation where students will generate less enthusiasm for learning English due to the influence of several factors in the process of learning English. In this study, four different types of junior high school students from Qiaocheng District, Bozhou City, Anhui Province are chosen as the research object. By means of using empirical research methods, four factors were found: teacher-related demotivators, social environment related demotivators, learner-related demotivators and learning environment related demotivators. In addition, there exist significant differences on teachers’ basic teaching skills, learners’ language attitude, learners’ confidence and economic support between urban and rural students. Based on the above analysis, this paper put forward some suggestions.

The changing literary environment for rural junior high school students in China: the case of Xiang Yi in Shandong Province, PRC

This essay presents a case study of the current literary environment for rural junior high school students at Xiang Yi in Shandong Province of the People's Republic of China, focusing on literary resources available in family, school, and the local community. A comparison with the mid 1990s scenario reveals astonishing transformations that came about as a result of changes in four aspects: mode of production and lifestyles, culture and recreation, cultural network, and the school system. The case of Xiang Yi is representative of China's townships, where many of the future literary readers, writers and researchers will be educated. The literary environment in such towns is bound to have a far-reaching impact on Chinese literary creation and criticism in the future.