Probing children's understanding of science concepts has been a focus of research in science education since the 1980s. In the process of learning, learners often produce many conceptions that differ from established scientific knowledge, which are commonly labelled as alternative conceptions (ACs). Knowing these ACs, their prevalence, nature,…

Exploring the factors that benefit academic persistence may facilitate adolescents' positive outcomes to increase the likelihood of future success, especially for adolescents with low family socioeconomic status (SES). Previous research has highlighted the merits of both motivational beliefs (e.g., self-efficacy and interests) and learning…

Based on data from the China Education Panel Survey in the academic years of 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, this article sought to investigate whether shadow education can yield the "theater effect" and whether the "theater effect" of shadow education is heterogeneous between families of different socio-economic status as well as…

The Next Generation Science Standards regard biological structures at both the micro and macro levels as a core idea of life sciences and expect students to understand animals have external structures that perform diverse functions. Using the common creature of bees as a case, this study aimed to ascertain teenage students' ideas of bees through…

Although the literature widely acknowledges the benefits of formative writing assessment in daily teaching, there is limited understanding of how frontline teachers implement it and the reasons behind their approach, particularly in EFL secondary school contexts where assessment has predominantly served selective purposes. Drawing on interviews,…

Informed by multiple theoretical perspectives pertaining to academic procrastination, this investigation examined multilevel models aimed to predict homework procrastination using the data from 1,072 middle schoolers in China. Our model incorporated student gender, homework motivation, homework approach, homework behavior, and time allocated to…

We investigate the effects of 'lecture-based' (LBT)--i.e. individual work and rote learning--vs. 'discussion-based' (DBT)--i.e. participative and focused on student-centred learning--teaching styles on the test scores and socio-economic inequality of middle-school students randomly assigned to classes using data from the China Education Panel…

Intelligent learning technologies are often applied within the educational industries. While these technologies can be used to create learning experiences tailored to an individual student, they cannot address students' affect accurately and quickly during the learning process. This paper focuses on two core research questions. How do students…

In this work, we studied the influence of different programming approaches on the development of students' computational thinking (CT) skills, the programming experience and gender differences in CT development were also discussed. A total of 158 junior high school students and one teacher participated in the study over 5 months. The sample…

Based on a panel survey filled by seventh grade students, who studied in Shaxi Middle School located in Shaxi, Yunnan, China, after completing a semester of Online English Peer Tutoring Program, the research applied the data collected, including English Exam grades and background information, with Regression and Z-score to analyze the…

The importance of prosocial behavior in helping migrant youths overcome challenges associated with relocating to urban settings has been emphasized. However, the trajectory of prosocial behavior in this population and the factors influencing it remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the influence of cumulative family risk on the growth…

Pottery making in technology education aims to foster students' practical and creative ability. In a typical pottery making class, students receive the teacher's instruction on the fundamental techniques used in pottery making and have opportunities to practice. It is meaningful to construct an observation-doing-reflection process for students in…

Background: In the Chinese educational system, there has been an ongoing debate between using examination- or quality-oriented education. The Chinese concept of psychological "suzhi" was proposed based on quality-oriented education, and a positive link between psychological "suzhi" and academic achievement was found by…

Given the paucity of research on mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) in secondary schools in China, this retrospective case study explored the psychological processes underlying the non-voluntary MALL experiences of Chinese secondary school students during a lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19. Drawing on prior technology acceptance…

Exploring students' systems thinking (ST) is essential in enhancing science learning, but existing studies have failed to understand students' ST fully as it relates to ecological issues. This study aimed to fill the aforementioned literature gap by exploring lower-secondary school students' ST regarding ecological issues. The Systems Thinking…