ERIC Number: EJ1262181
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1350-293X
EISSN: N/A
Understanding the Intention of Chinese Parents to Enroll Their Children in Early Enrichment Programs -- A Social Media Perspective
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, v28 n4 p598-621 2020
Early learning centers are springing up rapidly in China. However, parents are confronted with high prices and difficulty in assessing the effectiveness of early enrichment programs (EEPs). This study was driven by this phenomenon and aimed to investigate parental decision-making processes of buying EEPs from a social media perspective. We sampled 271 Chinese parents and analyzed data by partial least squares based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that social media use intensity positively predicted injunctive norms and descriptive norms. The mediating analysis confirms that injunctive norms and descriptive norms are internalized into parental attitude to EEPs with varying degrees. This evidence serves as a new interpretation of the contrasting effect sizes of injunctive norms vs. descriptive norms on parental intention. The data however does not confirm that better-educated parents are less influenced by social norms in EEPs decision-making. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in the paper.
Descriptors: Intention, Parent Attitudes, Early Childhood Education, Enrichment Activities, Decision Making, Social Media, Predictor Variables, Behavior Standards, Consumer Economics, Preschool Children, Enrollment Influences, Foreign Countries, Social Influences, Trust (Psychology), Kindergarten, Computer Use, Information Sources, Expectation
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China (Guangzhou); China (Beijing)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A