Best Evidence in Chinese Education

How Cultural Capital Affects Student Academic Achievement

Ting Ge, Chenshuo Wu — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In the context of calls for educational equity and competence-focused education, the relationship between cultural capital and student academic achievement and the mechanisms influencing the relationship are key issues in the understanding of educational stratification and institutional tensions. Based on the two-session data from the China Education Panel Survey, this article analyzes how cultural capital affects student academic performance using the covariate balancing generalized propensity score method and structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that the effect of cultural capital on student academic achievement can be mediated by self-efficacy, and that the school’s preference for exam-focused education is negatively related to the positive effect of cultural capital, particularly objectified cultural capital.

How to Tackle the Issue of Undesirable Educational Quality of Township Boarding Schools in China: The Relationship between the Input of School Resources and Academic Performance of Boarding Students

Jia Qian — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Township boarding schools, as an integral part of rural compulsory education in China, play a vital role in optimizing the allocation of educational resources and promoting educational equity. Nevertheless, many students at these schools are facing the challenge of “boarding but without receiving quality education.” Based on data from a survey of 903 boarding students from 28 township junior secondary boarding schools in Hubei Province, the study empirically and systematically examines how school resources affect academic achievement of boarding students using hierarchical linear models and threshold regression models.

The Impact of Flexible Working Hours on Work Pressure of Compulsory Education Teachers in China

Haiping Xue — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Based on data from a survey of 3,106 compulsory education teachers across 10 provincial administrative regions in eastern, central, and western China, the study explores the effects of the flexible work schedule on work pressure of this category of teachers, employing the propensity score matching method for data analysis.

Effects of Home Education on Child Human Capital Development

Juan Yang — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

As a result of the execution of the Home Education Promotion Law of the People’s Republic of China and the advancement of the policy to improve the collaboration among schools, families, and the community, the significance of home education for child development has been increasingly emphasized. Drawing on the longitudinal data from the China Education Panel Survey 2013–2015, this study seeks to systematically analyze the relationship between home education and child cognitive and non-cognitive development and reveal the mechanism underlying it. With a sample of 5,893 seventh-grade students selected from schools adopting random class assignment, which was meant to control for endogeneity bias, the researchers created value-added models for child cognitive and non-cognitive skill development and applied causal mediation analysis to explore the pathways through which home education affects child development. Home education was measured in two dimensions: home educational investment (time and money investment) and parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful).

Effects of Performance Pay Programs for Primary and Secondary Teachers on Student Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis Based on Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Studies

Jing Yang — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Drawing on the analytical frameworks of principal-agent theory and team production theory, this study seeks to examine the effects of performance pay programs for primary and secondary teachers on student academic achievement and relevant moderating factors, using meta-analysis techniques. The analysis is based on 312 effect sizes from 33 studies with experimental or quasi-experimental design.

Factors Influencing Teacher Curriculum Leadership in the Context of Digital Transformation of Education

Baomin Li — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000