How to promote the social–emotional competence of rural left-behind children? An empirical study based on propensity score matching

Social–emotional competence (SEC) played an important role in promoting the physical and mental development of children, but there exist huge gaps in SEC development between rural left-behind children. This study used propensity score matching (PSM) to investigate 578 rural children about the effects of being left behind as well as individual characteristics and teacher support on their development of SEC. The results showed that being left behind had significant negative effects on the SEC of rural children. The development of SEC varies among left-behind children of different genders and length of left-behind duration. Teacher support had a significant moderating effect on the influence path of SEC, which could effectively mitigate the negative effects of left-behind children. Therefore, this study played an implicative role in studying the development of left-behind children’s SEC. The government and society should provide adequate cultural capital by completing the support system for compensating the lack of cultural capital. Schools and teachers should pay more attention to the development of left-behind children’s SEC through curriculum development and performance evaluation to create a positive atmosphere. Parents should promote SEC development for left-behind children by improving their communication and family parenting styles.