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Starting from the influence of Chinese traditional reading culture on contemporary Chinese family education, this paper analyzes the reasons for the formation of the “involution” of Chinese family education. The involution means to have fierce competition but no good feedbacks. This study found that the objective reasons include China's national education policy, and the subjective reasons come from the current family education; there are problems such as incomplete awareness of parents' education, lack of educational ability, education comparison and so on. It is proposed that the correct values and competition views should be cultivated among family members so that parents can take the initiative to break the barriers of education and promote the all around development and healthy growth of children. This article focuses on the role of family education and the educational methods to prevent “involution”, which may provide another way for China's family education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a composite analysis of children's academic development grounded on the capability approach. The study utilises a panel dataset comprising 8,422 Chinese children and adolescents aged 6 to 16, observed between 2012 and 2018. It introduces a series of innovative indicators, including a parent advantage index to capture how parents influence their children and a ranking indicator for spending priorities to reify the value of children's education that families have reasoned. To address unobserved heterogeneity, we adopted fixed-effects models, multilevel modelling, and heteroskedasticity-based instrumental variables. Our primary results show that a 1% increase in the parent advantage index yields an increase of 13.85% to 21.31% in children's academic development, and the biggest leap in prioritising education-relevant spending increases the child outcomes by 2.88% to 6.57%. By highlighting the influence of parents' beings and doings, particularly the value they assign to education, this research contributes to the existing literature on child development, which often focuses predominantly on material dimensions. In sum, it expands the frontiers of the capability approach and related research on parental practices. It offers novel insights into how policies can be reinforced to equalise educational opportunities and to boost human capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vulnerable children refer to the special group of children with deviation in the process of children's psychological development and personality formation due to growth dilemmas. This may incur a series of serious social and family problems. The vulnerable children mainly cover the children suffering from children's psychological problems, such as childhood autism, autism, social anxiety and hypersensitivity, fear, depression, and PTSD arising from other factors. At present, the research results at home and abroad mainly focus on the psychological dynamic correlation investigation and solution discussion of a certain kind of difficult factor in the children's psychological development based on statistical data by the experimental methods, such as scale and model, and there is a blind spot in the humanistic orientation theory construction of psychological treatment for vulnerable children, causing the social reflection on children's psychological predicament from the humanistic perspective cannot be performed in related researches and going against searching for universal and integral theoretical paradigm for solving related problems. Sophisticated technologies for the observations have emerged increasingly for enabling the psychological features of vulnerable children through developmental cognitive neuroscience experiments. This paper introduces humanistic art therapy theory, focuses on the construction of a theoretical paradigm, and verifies its effectiveness based on the experimental results on the psychological development of vulnerable children, with an efficient performance. This study mainly refers to children with difficulty in social inclusion and psychological development. The results showed that two kinds of art therapy can obviously improve the psychological disorders of vulnerable children. The goal was to enhance self-cognition, strengthen emotional interaction, and implement positive motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Home-visiting interventions have positive effects on child cognitive development, parenting beliefs and parenting practices of caregivers in rural China. • Home-visiting interventions have null effects on child social-emotional development in rural China. • Three mechanisms are identified through which interventions are able to raise child cognitive development. • Shifting parenting beliefs; increasing parenting practices; and shifting parenting beliefs thus fostering better parenting practices of primary caregivers are the three mechanisms that are driving our overall results of the impact of home-visiting interventions on early child development. To better understand the impacts of parenting interventions (e.g., parental training of psychosocial stimulating activities) on child developmental outcomes and design effective policies to benefit young children, it is essential to identify the mechanisms through which the interventions work. To this end, this paper presents the results of two randomized controlled trials that offered home visitation, parenting trainings to 435 households (with 527 households as the control group) in 174 villages across three provinces in China. The findings from the randomized controlled trials showed that the interventions significantly improved child cognitive development and had a positive effect on the primary caregivers' parenting practices and their parenting beliefs. The analysis suggests three possible mechanisms through which the parenting interventions affected child cognitive development: changing the parenting beliefs of the primary caregivers, shifting the parenting practices of the primary caregivers, and improving the primary caregivers' parenting beliefs, thus fostering better parenting practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To describe the changes in moderate‐to‐late preterm infants' (MLPIs) growth during 12 months of corrected age (CA) and to examine the predictive role of NICU‐related stress, postpartum depression trajectory and family coping ability on the physical developmental trajectory of MLPIs. Design: A prospective longitudinal study. Methods: There were 237 mother–infant dyads with at least two follow‐up data records included. General characteristics and NICU‐related stress were recorded from medical records at baseline. Infants' physical growth was measured at 40 weeks, 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months CA during outpatient follow‐up. Maternal postpartum depressive symptoms and family coping ability were assessed by questionnaires at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months CA and 1 month CA respectively. We investigated the modifiable factors inside and outside of NICU on the trajectories of physical growth in the first year in MLPIs, mainly by using latent growth curve models with time‐varying covariates. Results: The curved trajectories of weight, length and head circumference in the first year in MLPIs demonstrated gradually slowed growth rates and these infants were above the WHO growth standards for the same age and sex. The latent growth curve models indicated that more NICU‐related stress was negatively associated with the weight and length at 40 weeks CA, and family coping ability (parent–child relationship) at 1 month CA was associated with the growth rate of weight. Besides, more NICU‐related stress predicted faster length growth rate. The infants of mothers who were in the group of high‐level postpartum depression trajectory had a slower growth rate of head circumference. Conclusions: Our study identified the modifiable factors along the care continuum influencing the trajectory of MLPIs' physical growth. Nurses should receive more training about infant stress measurement and family‐centred care to work in partnership with parents so that MLPIs can reach their full developmental potential. Also, multidisciplinary interventions including stress reduction strategies, close psychological monitoring and education improving parent–infant relationships should be further developed to achieve optimizing growth in the first year of MLPIs. Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care: It is recommended that nurses pay attention to the long‐term physical growth status of MLPIs, and closely support their families. Quantifying NICU‐related stress and developing reduction strategies should be the priority for clinical staff during hospitalization. After discharge, persistent screening of depressive symptoms, psychological intervention and education about the parent–child relationship need to be included in the follow‐up visits. Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution. The study only included patients who were research participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peer relationships play an indispensable role in the social, emotional, and cognitive development of children. However, children exhibiting social withdrawal, such as unsociability, may face challenges in social adjustment. In collectivistic cultures like China, unsociability may be perceived negatively, aligning poorly with collective norms. The objective of the present investigation was to examine the associations between unsociability, receptive vocabulary, and indicators of social adjustment in a cohort of young migrant children residing in urban regions of mainland China. The study mainly aimed to investigate the potential moderating influence of receptive language on these associations. The study involved 148 young children (82 boys, 66 girls, Mage =62.32months, SD =6.76) enrolled in preschools or kindergartens in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Multiple sources of assessment were utilized, encompassing evaluations from mothers (about child unsociability), teacher (assessing social adjustment), and standardized tests (measuring receptive vocabulary). The results indicated that the relations between unsociability and peer exclusion were more positive among children with lower levels of receptive vocabulary but not significant for children with higher levels of receptive vocabulary. Similarly, the relations between unsociability and peer exclusion were more negative among children with lower levels of receptive vocabulary but not significant for children with higher levels of receptive vocabulary. Thus, this study informs us about how receptive vocabulary is jointly associated with unsociable children's development. As well, the findings highlight the importance of considering the meaning and implication of unsociability in Chinese culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adverse perinatal factors can interfere with the normal development of the brain, potentially resulting in long-term effects on the comprehensive development of children. Presently, the understanding of cognitive and neurodevelopmental processes under conditions of adverse perinatal factors is substantially limited. There is a critical need for an open resource that integrates various perinatal factors with the development of the brain and mental health to facilitate a deeper understanding of these developmental trajectories. In this Data Descriptor, we introduce a multicenter database containing information on perinatal factors that can potentially influence children's brain-mind development, namely, periCBD, that combines neuroimaging and behavioural phenotypes with perinatal factors at county/region/central district hospitals. PeriCBD was designed to establish a platform for the investigation of individual differences in brain-mind development associated with perinatal factors among children aged 3–10 years. Ultimately, our goal is to help understand how different adverse perinatal factors specifically impact cognitive development and neurodevelopment. Herein, we provide a systematic overview of the data acquisition/cleaning/quality control/sharing, processes of periCBD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to explore the information needs of Chinese parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and how these needs evolve as their children develop. Design/methodology/approach: This study collated 17,122 questions regarding raising children with ASD via the Yi Lin website until November 2021. Findings: The information needs of parents of children with ASD were classified into two categories: 1) Cognition-motivation: related to children with ASD; and 2) Affection-motivation: related to their parents. Child development causes the adaptation of information needs of these parents. Within the first three years, nine different topics of these parents' information needs were identified. Major information needs at this stage are as follows: intervention content, intervention methods and pre-diagnosis questions. During the ages of three to six years, there were 13 topics of information needs for parents, focusing on three areas: intervention content, intervention methods and diagnosis and examination. There are eight topics of information needs post six years. Parents are more concerned with the three topics of intervention content, life planning and intervention methods. Originality/value: This novel study indicates the complex and changing information needs of parents of children with ASD in China. It may enhance the understanding of the information needs of these parents at theoretical and practical levels, provide support for them to understand their own information needs and provide a reference for relevant government and social organisations to provide targeted information services for them. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-04-2022-0247 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite rapid economic growth in China since 1978, rural-urban inequality has widened. High levels of socioeconomic inequality can have profound implications for child development and lifelong educational equity. Using a dataset containing early childhood development (ECD) outcomes of 0- to 3-year-olds (N = 9,053) from study sites in Eastern, Central, and Western China, the study finds that the risks of cognitive, language, and motor delay are, respectively, 43.2, 18.3, and 20.7 percentage points higher in rural study sites than in urban Shanghai (ps <.01). Impact evaluation of cluster-randomized experiments shows that parental training (focusing on child psychosocial stimulation and caregiver-child interaction) can improve parenting beliefs and practices (or investments) and ECD outcomes of disadvantaged rural children (p<.01). Such programs can play an important role in advancing progress toward more social equality and economic equity, the stated goals of China's "Common Prosperity" policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact on child development of paternal involvement in childrearing has received growing attention recently. Based on data from the 2010, 2014 and 2018 waves of the China Family Panel Studies, this study applies the propensity score matching (PSM) method to investigate the causal effects of being primarily raised by one's father on children's cognitive skills and psychological well-being in different family types. In migrant families, primarily fathered children are not disadvantaged compared to those primarily mothered, and boys even have better word test scores. For children living with both parents, our results indicate no significant differences in most respects between the cognitive skills and mental health of children primarily cared for by fathers and by mothers, except that children perform slightly worse in word-test scores when their fathers are their primary caregivers. However, coresidence with grandparents substantially mitigates the negative effect of primary paternal involvement in childcare on children's language development. Our findings suggest that the role of father involvement in child development should be understood in more nuanced family contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inclusion of Maker education is crucial in fostering innovative individuals. However, evaluating Maker activities in primary schools continues to be a difficult task. This study aimed to determine the fundamental components of Maker literacy among primary school students. The researchers constructed a thorough evaluation index system by doing a literature review, using coding techniques, determining the weights from YAAHP, and performing statistical analysis with SPSS. The Delphi technique enhanced the conceptual framework through consultation with sixteen experts. The emerging framework consists of three dimensions: Design Thinking, Technology Application and Materialized Practice, and Maker Spirit and Responsibility, each encompassing 12 subordinate aspects. These aspects subtly comprehend Maker literacy and act as indicators for comprehensive assessment systems in Chinese elementary schools. The study enhances our comprehension of children's development in the field of Maker literacy by outlining its structure. This study provides vital insights into the assessment of Maker activities, which is a significant obstacle to the progress of Maker education. The findings of this study have practical consequences for those in the field of education, policymakers, and those involved in developing curricula. The aim is to promote the development of a generation of individuals capable of thinking innovatively and creating new ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to examine the lasting effects of childhood experiences of being left behind on the cognitive abilities of Chinese adults. To investigate the impact of children being left behind on adult cognitive capacity, we utilized an instrumental variable (IV) approach and the instrumental variable quantile regression (IVQR) method with data from the 2010 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). The results reveal that childhood experiences of being left behind, especially by mothers during late childhood, have significant negative effects on cognitive abilities in adulthood. Short-term and long-term left-behind experiences both have detrimental effects on cognitive development. Women, those born in the late 1980s, individuals from middle and low-income households, those living in rural areas, and those with siblings are more vulnerable to these effects.The IVQR analysis demonstrates that the negative effects of childhood experiences of being left behind are more pronounced among those with lower levels of cognitive ability. Furthermore, our findings suggest that educational human capital could serve as a possible channel linking early left-behind experiences to adult cognitive ability. Our research provides a better understanding of how parental migration can impact the cognitive development of children left behind in China and other developing countries in the long term. These study results may assist policymakers in implementing measures to protect left-behind children from negative repercussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study explored how Chinese early childhood teachers' self-perceptions of their pedagogical content knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes towards Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) differ based on their backgrounds. Additionally, this research explored teachers' understanding of their knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes towards SEL. The study involved surveying 167 early childhood teachers using the Pedagogical Content Knowledge Scale and the SEL Beliefs and Attitudes Scales, as well as conducting semi-structured interviews with 10 early childhood teachers. The study found that teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and beliefs towards SEL may differ based on their teaching age and educational background. Nevertheless, there is more complexity to these variations than initially assumed, and comprehending this complexity can provide valuable insights into the teachers' current situation. While teachers demonstrated a positive attitude towards SEL and recognized its significance in promoting children's overall development, they exhibited lower pedagogical content knowledge scores. This deficit was attributed to a lack of well-structured and high-quality professional learning opportunities. In conclusion, this study aimed to reveal the current state of social-emotional learning among Chinese early childhood teachers, thus addressing a perceived deficiency in the existing Chinese empirical literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding others' thoughts and feelings is a social-cognitive capacity known as the theory of mind (ToM). Previous studies have attempted to explore children's ToM from a specific domain (personal or moral) while lacking comprehensive evidence across domains. Based on the social domain theory, the present study is the first in our knowledge to explore the developmental characteristics of the ToM within different domains of left-behind preschoolers in rural China. This study used a mixed experimental design of 3 (age groups: 4-, 5-, 6-year-old) × 2 (left-behind status: left-behind, non-left-behind) × 3 (domain types: moral, conventional, personal) with 231 rural children aged 4–6 years, combined with a story–question approach to explore the developmental characteristics of their ToM in moral, conventional, and personal domains through tasks, such as rule awareness and false beliefs. The results showed significant main effects of age group, left-behind status, and domain type. Moreover, the interaction effect of age group and domain type was significant. The following conclusions were obtained: (1) The developmental level of the ToM in moral, conventional, and personal domains of rural preschoolers increased with age and the older preschoolers had a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of the ToM in each domain; (2) The experience of being left behind was detrimental to the development of preschoolers' ToM in each domain; (3) There were differences in children's development in the moral-, conventional-, and personal-related ToM tasks, with the personal domain ToM developing more slowly; (4) The younger preschoolers showed a clear differentiation between the domains of ToM, with a higher level of development in domains of morality and convention. As preschoolers get older, their performance in the domains becomes more comparable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home education plays a unique, vital role in child development that differs from that of formal education. Currently, there is an abnormal phenomenon in Chinese basic education: home education becomes academically focused. This article gives an overview of skewed home education in basic education students, analyzes its causes and harms, and proposes relevant suggestions for a more reasonable implementation of home education with the aim of promoting legitimate home-school partnerships for student healthy growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]