Zhongjing Huang (黄忠敬)’s research while affiliated with East China Normal University and other places

Purpose This study investigates the degree to which students’ participation in out-of-school activities promotes their curiosity and creativity. In doing so, this study addresses the question of whether various out-of-school activities function differently in the development of students’ curiosity and creativity. Design/Approach/Methods This study sampled 3,647 students for the younger cohort and 3,621 students for the older cohort from the city of Suzhou, China. Findings Both younger and older students who participated in artistic activities and sports consistently rated their creativity and curiosity higher than those who did not. After controlling for family socio-economic status and gender, students’ participation in outdoor socially-oriented activities (e.g., meeting with friends outside school) and indoor activities (e.g., reading books) contributed to the development of creativity and curiosity. In contrast, participation in Internet-based activities negatively predicts adolescents’ creativity and curiosity. Originality/Value Creativity and curiosity are related to students’ academic performance and future success. Therefore, cultivating students’ creativity and curiosity should be of interest to educators and policymakers. This study examines the roles of different out-of-school activities on students’ creativity and curiosity, revealing a potential path for educators.

Purpose This study employs a multi-cohort and multi-informant design to assess how the social and emotional skills of Chinese youth vary according to age and gender, as well as the home, school, and community environment factors that promote or hinder the development of such skills. This study also investigates the relevance of these skills for students’ educational, social, and psychological outcomes. Design/Approach/Methods The survey sample consisted of two cohorts comprising a total of 7,268 students. In terms of age, 3,647 respondents (50.2%) were 10-year-olds, while 3,621 (49.8%) were 15-year-olds. In terms of gender, 3,824 (52.8%) respondents were male, 3,417 (47%) were female, and 13 (0.2%) respondents did not identify their gender. Multiple group confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test for measurement invariance across age and gender. Moreover, correlation and relative weight analyses were conducted to examine the degree and relative contributions of self-, parent-, and teacher-rated social and emotional skills in predicting various important life outcomes. Findings The results revealed that the 10-year-old respondents scored higher in all 15 social and emotional skills than the 15-year-old respondents. Among the younger cohort, girls score higher in cooperation, empathy, sociability, persistence, and tolerance. In general, a sense of school belonging was related to engaging with others (sociability), collaboration (cooperation and trust), and emotion regulation (optimism and stress resistance). The School Bullying Index was closely related to stress resistance, trust, and cooperation. Optimism was the strongest factor related to life satisfaction and psychological well-being, followed by energy and trust. Stress resistance and optimism were closely related to test anxiety. Originality/Value This study makes a significant contribution to the literature because it is the first large-scale assessment of adolescents’ social and emotional skills worldwide and in China. This original study explores the importance of social and emotional skills in predicting educational, social, and psychological outcomes and identifies potential factors that drive the development of such skills.

Purpose This study investigates the fairness preference of five-year-old children in Shanghai, observing their distributive behaviors in both stakeholder and spectator games and showing how this behavior is linked to their family background. Design/Approach/Methods Participants had to make distributive choices in two experiments and distribute between themselves and another participant in the first choice. They had to distribute between two other participants in luck, merit, or efficiency situations in the second choice. Findings The results suggest that preschoolers showed a preference for splitting equally between themselves and another participant. The second choice showed a significant difference in fairness preference under a situation of luck between genders, and only children were more likely to accept an unequal allocation than those who had siblings. Originality/Value We believe that our study makes a significant contribution to the literature because it illustrates the variety of factors that can influence a child's fairness preferences and fairness behaviors and suggests when and how these aspects develop in children. Further, this is an original study exploring the fairness preference of preschoolers in Shanghai using an experimental economics method.