This research aims to explore the latent effect of elementary student engagement in a Spherical Video-based Virtual Reality (SVVR) environment for a school-based course on higher level competence development. Student engagement and higher level competence development were investigated using a valid sample of 324 students from five elementary…

School-based curriculum innovations have been widely implemented in Chinese kindergartens since the turn of the new millennium. However, in the absence of professional guidance, Chinese kindergartens have been forced to "ride a blind horse" when developing curriculum. The aim of this study was to understand the nature of and mechanisms…

This study explored the relationships between parenting profiles and young children's school readiness in urban China. Eighty-six pairs of Chinese parents completed the Chinese Parenting Style Questionnaire (CPSQ), and their children were administered the "Bracken School Readiness Composite" (BSRC; Bracken, B. A. (1998). Bracken basic…

The key to instructional improvement lies in teacher learning, and teachers' professional learning is best achieved in a professional community. This study compares teachers' communal learning activities in rural and urban schools in China with the aim of illustrating the influence of the professional learning community (PLC) on teachers'…

Science and Technology Innovation Communities (STICs) are student-led partnerships that bring together businesses, research centres, and university staff. They constitute an effective way of promoting student innovation ability. However, the students' position within the STICs organisation network may condition how their innovation ability is…

Conceptions of the "good citizen" have implications for defining the goals of civic education and formulating civic education programs. In Mainland China, the concept of "good citizen" is clearly defined by the authorities in the official curriculum guidelines. Teachers' perceptions of a "good citizen", however, may…

Background: The remarkable academic advancement of Asian students in cross-national studies has been attributed to numerous factors, including the value placed on education by Chinese parents. However, there is a dearth of research on how exactly Chinese parents are involved in children's early learning. Purpose: This study has two major research…

School-based curriculum development (SBCD) has been advocated to enhance the quality of early childhood education within the context of modernization and globalization. However, few studies have examined how the social change and globalization may shape the early childhood curriculum. This study examined SBCD in two Shenzhen kindergartens via…

Research Findings: This study aims to validate the Parent Satisfaction with Education Experiences Scale (PSEE) and to explore parental satisfaction with early childhood education service in urban China. Altogether 27,515 Chinese parents who were randomly sampled from 12 cities of China completed the survey. First, the exploratory and confirmatory…

This study examines the effects of family involvement on the literacy gap between rural and urban Chinese primary students via mediation analysis. Altogether, 1080 students in Grades 1, 3, and 5 were randomly sampled from three urban and three rural primary schools from Shandong and Guizhou Provinces, representing eastern and western China,…

This study forms part of a wider comparative research project investigating the mechanisms and outcomes of school-based curriculum (SBC) development in kindergartens between the two neighbouring cities of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, under the umbrella of 'one country, two systems'. This comparison will help to clarify how sociocultural contexts may…

This study aims to investigate how school-based curriculum development (SBCD) was interpreted and implemented in a Chinese context like Hong Kong whose educational system is highly centralized and bureaucratic. Altogether 118 teachers and 34 principals reported their beliefs and practice in SBCD, and four principals were interviewed in individual…

Two waves of reform have been conducted in China since the 1980s to transform its early childhood curriculum into a Western-style, progressive model. Western curricula and programs such as the Montessori method, the project approach, the Reggio Emilia method, and the high/scope method have been imported and adopted all over the country. But the…

Research findings This study aimed to explore whether the fusion of constructivism and instructivism could be observed in the teaching dialogs during the Engineer Block Building (EBB) activities in Chinese kindergartens. Altogether 20 block building activities about the theme of architecture were videotaped and coded with the "Engineer Design…

Research Findings: This study aimed to explore parental satisfaction with Puhui early childhood education (ECE) service in China using evidence from a national validation study. The Parent Satisfaction with the Puhui Early Childhood Education Service Scale (PES) was developed and validated with 4,134 Chinese parents, who were sampled using a…