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20 November 2020, Volume 38 Issue 11 Previous Issue    Next Issue

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The Behavioral, Psychological and Socio-cultural Perspectives of Student Engagement Research: Perspective Shift and its Implications for Improving the Quality of Teaching and Learning in Chinese Universities Yin Hongbiao 2020, 38 (11):  1-20.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2020.11.001 Abstract ( 525 )   HTML ( 717 )   PDF (1067KB) ( 771 )   Save The dominant research approach to student engagement in higher education follows a behavioral perspective, which neglects the possible discrepancies between students’ behavioral engagement and psychological status, making largely invisible the links between student engagement and specific socio-cultural contexts. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the research on student engagement in higher education to shift its views and include diverse perspectives. The Motivation and Engagement Wheel, a psychological perspective of student engagement, provides a more appropriate conceptual framework and research tools. Targeting Chinese university students, three empirical studies based on the Motivation and Engagement Wheel revealed a series of findings. First, there were four types of learners among Chinese university students according to their motivation and engagement, and two of them showed some discrepancies between their internal motivation and external behaviors. Those “maladaptive but engaged learners” typically reflect the influence of Chinese cultural and educational traditions on student engagement. Second, although the relationships between motivation and engagement largely echoed Anglo-American researchers’ previous findings, maladaptive motivation was found to sometimes facilitate, rather than impair Chinese university students’ engagement. These findings reflect the cultural specificity of student engagement in higher education. Third, students’ course experiences significantly influenced their motivation and engagement. According to the nature of effects, these course experience factors can be classified as ideal, paradoxical and weird indicators. The paradoxical and weird indicators mirror some characteristics and long-standing problems of university teaching and learning in China. To improve the quality of university teaching, academic affairs administrators and instructors should clarify the connotations of good teaching in higher education, attach more importance to the cultivation of students’ independence and self-regulated learning, and promote assessment for learning in university teaching. They also need to pay attention to the double-edge effects of Chinese cultural and pedagogical traditions on learning and teaching in higher education. Meanwhile, although the three studies follow a psychological perspective, they can not only help us identify the close associations between student engagement and the socio-cultural context in China, but also take account of students’ engagement behaviors, which makes it possible for researchers to conduct student engagement research from a holistic perspective in future. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Comparative Research on Shadow Education: Historical Developments and Future Directions Zhang Wei, Mark Bray 2020, 38 (11):  21-38.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2020.11.002 Abstract ( 708 )   HTML ( 1018 )   PDF (1270KB) ( 829 )   Save This paper reviews research on private supplementary tutoring, widely known as shadow education during the first two decades of the present century. It takes as its starting point the first global study of the phenomenon, published in 1999, despite some scattered national and subnational literature before 1999. During the initial two decades, great expansion of the research on shadow education brought more depth and stronger awareness of commonalities and differences in different cultures. From initial mapping and identification of factors shaping demand came work on ecosystems with deeper sociological and economic analyses, together with greater attention to research methods. The agenda ahead will need to keep up with the changing times, e.g., through the impact of technology, and develop stronger interdisciplinarity to explore additional domains. It will also need continued attention to definitions and methods. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Information Capital and Household Education Choice: Evidence from China Yang Po, Xu Ying 2020, 38 (11):  39-55.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2020.11.003 Abstract ( 288 )   HTML ( 731 )   PDF (927KB) ( 499 )   Save Increasing household education expenditure is critical for improving human capital investment and expanding household consumption in China. This study analyzes how information capital embedded in internet usage influences household’s education choice and investment. Based on 2014 and 2016 wave of China Family Panel Survey data, this paper constructs a parent-child matched sample and uses the Coarsened Exact Match method to estimate the causal effect of using internet on human capital investment, and evaluate how inter-household variation in access to internet influences education investment gap. This study shows that mother’s internet use significantly increases the likelihood of a household’s participating in education choice in terms of school choice, school quality choice, and after-school tutoring. Information capital also induces families to spend more money on non-mandatory education expenditure and private tutoring. However, such positive effect disappears as the access to internet expands over time. Moreover, migrant children are less likely to benefit from this kind of digital dividend. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Participation in Shadow Education of Adolescents: School Peer Group and Ascribed Difference——A Multilevel Analysis Based on CEPS Data Xi Wei, Li Ying 2020, 38 (11):  56-68.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2020.11.004 Abstract ( 341 )   HTML ( 422 )   PDF (836KB) ( 607 )   Save The influence factors and their impact on shadow education opportunities are not fully discussed in existing studies. Applying China Education Panel Survey data and multilevel analysis model, we find that adolescents’ shadow education is influenced by family background and school peer group factors. More than 40% of the variance comes from the school level, and the school factors play a role in shadow education mainly through peer effect. In addition to the direct impact, peer group factors also indirectly affect the role of ascribed factors by moderation effect. In the subdivision, different types of shadow education are affected by different ascribed factors. The academic type is mainly influenced by the social capital and economic capital of the family, while the talent type is mainly influenced by the cultural capital of the family. These findings can provide a reference for further understanding of the behavior of family education investment and the role of shadow education in social reproduction function. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Beyond the Logical Framework of Liberal Education：A Structural Transformation in University General Education Cui Yanqiang, Wei Miaomiao 2020, 38 (11):  69-77.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2020.11.005 Abstract ( 240 )   HTML ( 112 )   PDF (596KB) ( 328 )   Save What general education has been pursuing is “rational freedom”, which requires to transcend the conception “liberal” from “liberal education”. However, due to the intersection of definitions and historical facts, general education and liberal education are regarded as two conceptions with plenty of similarities and interactions by some scholars. Dewey criticized the “class nature”, “political symbol” and“cultural symbol” of liberal education from the perspective of educational democracy, pointing out its “traps of illiberality”. Therefore, general education must transcend the logical framework of liberal education to achieve its own goal of “liberty”. Under the ideological framework of educational constructivism and empiricism, Dewey provided the theoretical basis for his core educational concept by “construction-deconstruction-reconstruction”. This special liberal education is different from the traditional one, offering a leading direction for the modern general education in university, which is expected to solve a series of problems faced by general education. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Questionnaire Design and Basic Characteristics of Undergraduates’ Course Experience: A Survey of 2018 Graduates in Shaanxi Province Lu Genshu, Li Lijie 2020, 38 (11):  78-89.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2020.11.006 Abstract ( 408 )   HTML ( 127 )   PDF (733KB) ( 736 )   Save Undergraduates’ course experience is a key indicator of teaching quality. Based on Course Experience Questionnaire complied by McInnis and other researchers, we designed the Shaanxi Graduates’ Course Experience Questionnaire with the model of presage process and product (3P model) by combining self-developed “the University Mathematics Classroom Environment Questionnaire (UMCEQ)” and applied it to investigate all the graduates in Shaanxi Province of 2018. The analysis of the survey data showed that the questionnaire performed well in validity and reliability, and can be used to measure graduates’ course experience in Shaannxi scientifically, effectively and reliably. Hence, it is an effective measurement to evaluate the teaching quality. And if we marked graduates’ score different dimensions of course experiences in percentage grading system, then their perceptions reached the passing level in four dimensions (Learning Resources, Course Organization, Good Teaching,Independence) and reached medium level in seven other dimensions (Student Support, Clear Goals and Standards, Learning Community, Appropriate Workload, Appropriate Assessment, Intellectual Motivation and Graduate Qualities). Based on what we’ve found, we are still facing some challenges in pursuing the first-class undergraduate education. In addition, graduates’ course experiences are significantly different considering their backgrounds like gender, major, and institutional level. Therefore, targeted measures should be taken to optimize undergraduates’ course experience and improve education quality of regular colleges according to undergraduates’ gender, major and institutional level. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Do Teachers Truly have a “Learning-centered” Professional Vision: An Analysis Based on Video Clubs Xia Xuemei, Fang Chaoqun, Liu Xiao 2020, 38 (11):  90-100.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2020.11.007 Abstract ( 229 )   HTML ( 111 )   PDF (782KB) ( 501 )   Save Many schools and teachers claim that they stress students’ learning and endeavor to achieve the transitioning from teaching-centeredness to learning-centeredness in the classroom. So do teachers truly have a learning-centered professional vision? How can videos be used to promote the development of teachers’ professional vision? This study uses the video club approach to explore answers to the above questions. The results show that professional vision of teachers studied are more oriented towards superficial learning activities, and less oriented towards such key dimensions as creating a safe learning environment, designing challenging tasks, triggering higher-order thinking and peer arguments, and paying attention to individual differences. By analyzing three groups videos of varying degrees of learning-centeredness, it is also found that the average scores of the “focus on student” criteria and the “shared understanding” criteria are significantly different, while those of the “substantive discussion” criteria show no significant difference. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Crisis and Outlet of China’s Enlightenment about the Prominent Morality and the Weakening Ethics Yan Conggen 2020, 38 (11):  101-108.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2020.11.008 Abstract ( 322 )   HTML ( 140 )   PDF (568KB) ( 614 )   Save Morality mainly directs one’s spiritual order, while ethics primarily point to the extrinsic social order, so they are not unified, and the appropriate way is keeping balance between morality and ethics. However, in modern enlightenment of our country, morality is increasingly prominent, ethics is gradually weakening. The enlightenment of ethical retreat deviates from the essential pursuit of education, which contributes to the disappearance of individual freedom and the confusion of the spirit, and easily leads to ethical disorder and community decline. To resolve the crisis while fully respecting the achievements of moral education, this study suggests that our country should regard modern ethic community as the starting point of moral education, and take the cultivation of modern ethical people as the goal, using human relations and customs as the main content and means of education to carry out enlightenment. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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On the Logic of Value Education Li Yixi 2020, 38 (11):  109-118.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2020.11.009 Abstract ( 234 )   HTML ( 124 )   PDF (569KB) ( 336 )   Save Knowledge and value are both taught in the course of education. But they work differently. Under the influence of Benthamism, intelligence education with the purpose of teaching knowledge is extensively researched and practiced. There is no adequate understanding of rules for value education. This could adversely affect the practice of value education and the impetus of education for holistic development. This paper mainly explains two key conditions to define the value education, and puts forward three value education logics, namely, the significance assignment of behavior as the object, the rational construction with the individual as the carrier, and the value judgment based on history and culture. It also discusses the internal relationship of the three logics and the relationship between them and the two key conditions of defining value education. Finally, how to use the understanding of the rules to carry out the practice of value education is studied. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Compensating Education Cost for Students from Poor Families/Regions: Theory and Method Ma Hongmei, Lei Wanpeng 2020, 38 (11):  119-126.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2020.11.010 Abstract ( 204 )   HTML ( 136 )   PDF (894KB) ( 268 )   Save The paper reviews the theoretical underpinning and technical framework for approximating students’ educational cost differentials by taking individuals’ background characteristics into account. The study addresses the issue of how much more cost a poor student needs to achieve the same academic performance by employing weighted formula widely-used in existing literatures, as children born in poor families or neighborhoods where challenges are inevitable need extra public expenditures to reach the same level of accomplishments, which need to be financially equalized across schools or broader geographic units. Hedonic price theory tailored for equalizing differences will serve as the theoretical foundation for interpreting education cost differentials for those disadvantaged pupils. The article provides both conceptual framework and empirical strategy for providing quality education service across different geographic spaces, and sheds light on how to evaluate local governments’ efforts in targeting population in poverty and helping them out as well. References | Related Articles | Metrics