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• 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]

• We examine the other-regarding preferences of grade 3 and 5 rural and urban children in China. • We run a lab-in-field experiment using three simple allocation games. • We compare rural children by parent migration status to each other and city children. • For rural children, altruistic preferences developed most among those left behind by both parents. • By grade 5 the preferences of these children most resembled those of city children. Other-regarding preferences have a profound influence on both individual and societal success. In this paper, using a unique sample from China, we study the impact of two family background characteristics: parental migration and rural/urban status on both the level and the developmental formation of other-regarding preferences during childhood. Decades of economic reform have led to an unprecedented growth of economically driven rural-to-urban internal migration in China. Many migrant parents leave their children behind. According to figures from China's 2010 census, more than 61 million children from birth to 17 years were "left behind." In this lab-in-field experiment, we use three simple allocation games to study samples from four populations: rural children left behind by both parents, rural children left behind by one parent, rural non-left-behind children, and urban children. We expected that the development of altruistic preferences would be positively associated with parental presence. However, we found this was not the case. In fact, among rural children the development of altruistic preferences from Grade 3 to Grade 5 was most pronounced among those who were left-behind by both parents. Moreover, by Grade 5, it was these children whose preferences most resembled those of the urban children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impacts of both the availability and the quality of village preschools on student enrollment and longer-term outcomes in the context of the rapid development of early childhood education in the poorest areas of China. After the implementation of one of the world's largest universal preschool programs for a decade, the number of preschools in China has more than doubled while annual enrollments have increased by 60%. Using nationally representative survey data tracking children from 2010 to 2018, we identify the causal impacts of village preschools using a difference-in-differences instrumental variable approach. Building new preschools substantially increased students' access to early childhood education in low-income villages. We also find suggestive evidence of positive impacts on their cognitive skills four years after preschool enrollment, but not their non-cognitive skills. To identify the impacts of preschool quality, we re-examined the "One-Village-One-Preschool" experiment in one of China's poorest counties. High-quality preschools substantially improved students' academic outcomes, particularly among disadvantaged students. Our findings contribute new evidence on how early childhood education affects human capital development in low-income regions. • The number of preschools in China has more than doubled in the past decade under one of world's largest universal preschool programs. • Building new preschools substantially increased students' access to early childhood education in low-income villages. • We find evidence of positive impacts on students' cognitive skills four years after preschool enrollment, but not their non-cognitive skills. • High-quality preschools substantially improved students' academic outcomes, particularly among disadvantaged students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We apply generalized propensity score matching method and instrumental variable method to explore the relationship between breastfeeding duration and child development. • The relationship is relatively stable and presents a U shape, with the optimal breastfeeding duration (6–10 months) promoting children's early behavior performance. • Breastfeeding longer than the optimal duration delays child development. • The optimal duration of breastfeeding had a greater positive effect on children from disadvantaged backgrounds. • The conclusions of this paper have obvious practical value for the policy of child development strategies and parenting practices. Based on a large-scale survey in China, we use the generalized propensity score matching method and instrumental variable method to explore the effect of breastfeeding duration on child development, and find that there is a relatively stable "U" relationship between breastfeeding duration and children's early behavioral performance, with the optimal breastfeeding duration (6–10 months) promoting children's early behavioral performance. However, more than the optimal breastfeeding duration will delay child development. We further find that the effect of breastfeeding duration on child development varies among different groups. There is evidence that the optimal breastfeeding duration has a greater positive effect on children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The conclusions of this paper have obvious practical value for the policy of child development strategies and parenting practices. Given the importance of early child development, there should be a reasonable breastfeeding duration, and the feeding interventions for disadvantaged children can bring higher returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese Hukou system, a major tool for social control employed by the government, has undergone various fundamental reforms and has received increasing attention in recent years. This study investigates the relationship between Hukou policy innovations and migrant children's cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes, which are vital to the lifetime development of individuals. On the basis of 2654 children holding non-local Hukou from the 2013–2014 wave of the China Education Panel Survey, the results show that migrant students who expect to have fair access to local senior high schools have significantly higher test scores and higher educational aspirations than their counterparts. The expectation of attending a local senior high school improves migrant students' relationship with teachers and the social acclimation with classmates. These findings carry policy implications for addressing migrant children's educational challenges and shed light on China's reform of its Hukou system to achieve social justice and equality. • This paper analyzes the impacts of Hukou reforms on migrant students. • Test scores are higher for migrant students expecting fair access to local senior high schools. • Fair access is positively related to higher educational aspirations. • Fair access improves student-teacher relationships for migrant students. • Fair access improves classmate relationships for migrant students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mindfulness emphasizes the awareness of the “here-and-now.” Studies in the recent decade have found that mindfulness can affect positive change in child and adolescent school performance. As an emerging field, however, the mechanisms and effects of mindfulness practice on academic performance for children in developing countries have not been elaborated sufficiently in previous studies. Using China as an example context, this paper examines the relationship between mindfulness practice and academic performance of migrant children, and explores the role of executive function in this relationship. Through a survey with 219 fifth-graders in two migrant schools in Beijing, this study validates the positive association between mindfulness, executive function, and better school grades in Chinese, math, and English tests. Additionally, this study adds empirical evidence to the roles of mindfulness in child development, and also sheds light on the pathway through which mindfulness positively correlates with academic performance. These findings provide implications for addressing child academic challenges and conducting further research among migrant children in China and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Parental belief is associated with Child social-emotional development. • Parental investments mediate parental belief and child development. • The mediation effects vary across investments and developmental outcomes. • The varieties of play materials and activities are the strongest mediators. Parental investments are associated with early child outcomes, and some evidences outside China suggest that parental belief might affect parental investments. However, the interrelationships of parental belief, parental investments, and early child development has not been well documented in China. This paper aims to study the interrelationships between the caregiver's parental belief, the caregiver's parental investments, and the child's early developmental outcomes in rural China. A total of 1787 sample households in an undeveloped rural area of western China are enrolled in the cross-sectional study. A parental belief questionnaire, the Family Care Indicators (FCI), the Bayley Scales of Infant Development version III (BSID-III), and a socioeconomic questionnaire were used to measure the caregiver's parental belief on parenting practices, the caregiver's parental investments, the child's early developmental outcomes, and the socioeconomic characteristics of sample households, respectively. The mediation model was then applied to estimate the interrelationships. The results find that the caregiver's parental investments significantly mediate in the relationships between the caregiver's parental belief and the child's early developmental outcomes. Through parental investments, one standard deviation (SD) increase in the caregiver's parental belief is corresponding to 3% of one SD increase in the child's four developmental outcomes (cognition, language, motor, and social–emotion) respectively. For future studies aimed at designing targeted interventions on early child development in rural China, the key findings of this paper might be informative. Early interventions aimed at strengthening the caregiver's subjective belief on parenting practices and increasing the parental investments in the household might be effective to improve the development of rural children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite growing public attention to access to preschool education in rural China, there is limited evidence about its potential long-term impacts on child development. Using a nationally representative dataset from China Family Panel Studies, this paper is the first rigorously estimating the long-term effects of preschool attendance on multiple domains of child development in rural China for a sample of 11–15 year olds. Results based on ordinary least squares analysis, county fixed effects, and propensity score matching point to a consistent positive association between preschool attendance and individual social skills, although no association was found between attendance and cognitive skills. Directions for future research and policy recommendations related to early education development in China are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• There is no significant difference between the OVOP centers and county level centers in terms of ECD. • Early learning environment is positively associated with ECD. • Teachers' burnout shows no relationship with ECD. • OVOP centers promoted the equality of rural ECE. Early childhood development (ECD) has become an issue of great concern in academics. This study evaluated the effects of a foundation-supported intervention called the One Village One Preschool (OVOP) project, which provided access to early childhood education (ECE) to disadvantaged and minority children in rural areas in central and western China. This study aimed to examine the variance in ECD between OVOP preschools and county level preschools. Hierarchical linear modeling involving 540 rural children aged 4 to 7 years was employed to explore the effects of early learning environment in predicting ECD. We found that the implementation of the OVOP project had benefited the children by enhancing their ECD. This paper discusses the policy implications of the study to promote the equality of ECE in rural China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Parental investment and skill mediate caregiver mental health and child development. • Caregiver depression are more harmful to parenting practices and child development. • The variety of play material has significant mediation effect on child development. • Coercive parenting mediate caregiver mental health and child development. Parenting practices are associated with early childhood development (ECD), and some evidences suggest that mental health might affect parenting practices. However, the interrelationships of mental health, parenting practices, and ECD outcomes have not yet been well documented in developing contexts like rural China. This paper aims to investigate the interrelationships between the caregiver's mental health, parenting practices, and the child's ECD outcomes in rural China. A total of 1787 sample households in an undeveloped rural area of western China are enrolled in the study. A socioeconomic questionnaire, the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, the Family Care Indicators, the Parent and Family Adjustment Scales, and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development version III were used to measure the socioeconomic characteristics of sample households, the caregiver's mental health, parental investments and parenting skills, and the child's development outcomes, respectively. Mediation model was then applied to estimate the interrelationships. The results showed that parental practices significantly mediated between the caregiver's mental health and the child's cognition, language, motor, and social–emotion development. Through parental investments, one standard deviation increases in the caregiver's mental health test score was associated with the decline in the child's four development scores by 0.6% standard deviation, respectively. Through parenting skills, one standard deviation increases in the caregiver's mental health test score was associated with the decline in the child's language and social-emotional score by 2% and 5% standard deviation, respectively. Different dimensions of caregiver mental health, parental investments and skills played heterogeneous roles in the interrelationships. Early interventions aimed at improving the caregiver's mental health, parental investments and skills are important and might be effective to improve early childhood development in rural China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Intergenerational transmission of parenting styles exists in rural China. • The transmissible parenting style emphasis the role of father in parenting. • There is intergenerational transmission of rejective, hostile parenting style. • The transmission of parenting style is mediated by caregiver's mental health. The quality of parenting is associated with both early childhood development and lifelong negative adult outcomes, and there is evidence to suggest that some aspects of parenting show patterns of intergenerational transmission. However, the mediating mechanisms of the intergenerational transmission of parenting style are not fully understood. This study aims to examine whether intergenerational transmission of parenting style occurs among caregivers in rural China, and whether the mental health of caregivers is a critical mediator in the transmission process across generations. The sample consists of 194 caregivers who were recruited from an investigation in rural Jiangxi Province, China. Parenting style of both father and mother of the caregiver were self-reported by the caregiver using the simplified version of Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran (s-EMBU) inventory. The current parenting style of the caregiver is assessed by using the Parenting Practice Questionnaire (PPQ). We use multivariate regression to predict the intergenerational transmission of parenting style and examine the potential mediation effects. We found that 'emotional warmth' and 'rejective' parenting style of caregiver's parents are positively and significantly associated with 'warm' and 'hostile' parenting style of the caregiver, respectively. The transmission of rejective, hostile parenting style across generation is fully mediated by the mental health status of the caregiver. Specifically, the mediation effect of caregiver's depression, anxiety, and stress are all statistically significant. Findings in this paper support the existence of intergenerational transmission of parenting styles in rural China. Caregiver's mental health mediate the transmission process of rejective, hostile parenting style. This raises the possibility that parenting services may benefits across generations, and provides empirical evidence for preventive services aimed at improving caregiver's mental health and parenting styles at the early stage of child development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]