About this paper symposium

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Panel information
Panel 8. Education, Schooling

Paper #1
Joint effects of pubertal timing and pubertal support on school adjustment in Chinese adolescents
Author information	Role
Zhiqian Zhang, Beijing Normal University, China	Presenting author
Shan Zhao, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China	Non-presenting author
Yan, Li, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, United States	Non-presenting author
Li Niu, Beijing Normal University, China	Non-presenting author
Abstract
Puberty is marked by dynamic bodily and brain changes. The age at which adolescents enter puberty varies across individuals, with implications for cognitive and behavioral outcomes (Hoyt et al., 2019). The maturation disparity hypothesis suggests that early puberty exposes youth to new stressors and social expectations before they are cognitively or emotionally ready (Brooks-Gunn et al., 1985). Previous research often links early puberty to negative cognitive and academic outcomes (Chaku et al., 2022; Goering et al., 2023; Mendle et al, 2007; Stumper et al., 2020). However, sex differences and domain specificity in these associations remain unclear. Additionally, the contextual amplification hypothesis indicates that harsh social environments may amplify the negative outcomes for adolescents experiencing off-time puberty (Ge et al., 2011). However, whether positive contexts that prepare youth for pubertal development can enhance academic outcomes has not been examined. This study investigated whether early puberty was associated with academic engagement and achievement, and whether pubertal support moderated this association in ways that allowed early maturers to benefit from the learning opportunities that accompany puberty. The study sample comprised 3439 middle school students (1760 girls) from Sichuan Province, China (Mage = 13.23, SD = 0.63 years). Pubertal timing was measured using self-reports on the Pubertal Development Scale (Petersen et al., 1988), with scores standardized within age and sex. Adolescents were asked via 4 items assessing emotional and informational support they received from parents and peers. School engagement in cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects was measured using the 15-item School Engagement Scale (Li et al., 2014). Academic achievement was measured using final exam scores obtained from school records. We conducted regression analysis to examine the independent and joint effects of pubertal timing and pubertal support on academic outcomes, adjusted for academic-related covariates including parental education and family and peer stress. Earlier pubertal timing was associated with better academic performance in girls, while this effect was not observed in boys (Table 1). Pubertal support was associated with better academic achievement across both sexes, independent of pubertal timing with no interaction effect. For school engagement, while there was no main effect of pubertal timing for either sex, it interacted with pubertal support in predicting cognitive engagement in girls and behavioral engagement in boys. Specifically, earlier maturing girls were more cognitively engaged when they perceived high pubertal support but were less cognitively engaged when pubertal support was low (Figure 1A). In boys, later maturing boys were more behaviorally engaged when boys perceived higher pubertal support but were less behaviorally engaged when pubertal support was low (Figure 1B). Our findings highlight the joint effects of pubertal timing and pubertal support in adolescent academic outcomes. Early pubertal timing was linked to better academic performance in girls and had limited effects in boys. In contrast, positive contexts that prepare youth for their pubertal transition may effectively enhance academic outcomes in both girls and boys. Findings suggest that parenting interventions during puberty may lead to academic benefits for early maturing girls and late maturing boys.

Paper #2
The Joint Development Trajectory of Learning Engagement and Learning Anxiety in Chinese Primary School Students
Author information	Role
Yu Xiao, Beijing Forestry University, China	Presenting author
Deng Yuqi, Beijing Forestry University, China	Non-presenting author
Abstract
In July 2021, China implemented the “Double Reduction” policy, which is the biggest education reform policy in China in recent years. Since its implementation, the focus of education has shifted from student learning outcomes to learning process and academic emotions. Learning engagement and learning anxiety, as important indicators of students' academic process and emotion, are key measures for evaluating the effectiveness of the "Double Reduction" policy. Learning engagement refers to the extent of students' involvement in their learning activities, while learning anxiety is the fear or apprehension they experience, potentially hindering performance and motivation. In addition, family, school, and natural environmental factors significantly influence their dynamics. Thus, this study from a person-centered perspective, employed a longitudinal tracking of learning engagement and learning anxiety among primary school students over two years after the implementation of the "Double Reduction" policy. It was aimed to characterize the joint developmental trajectories of learning engagement and anxiety in primary school students, investigate the predictive roles of family, school, and natural environmental factors in these trajectories, and to examine the potential differences in academic performance among children with different developmental trajectories. Total 440 Chinese primary school students (217 boys; mean age at T3:10.39 ± 0.63 years old) participate this study three times at 1, 1.5 and 2 years after the implementation of the “double reduction” policy respectively. Students completed the Children’s Learning Engagement Scale (at T1, T2, and T3), Learning Anxiety Scale of MHT (at T1, T2, and T3), Parents’ Positive Parenting Scale (at T1), Teacher-Student Relationship Scale (at T1) and Nature Contact Index Questionnaire (at T1). Children's final grades in three major subjects (i.e., Chinese, English and math) were obtained from school records. The results showed that: in the post- “Double Reduction” era, (1) There were three heterogeneous developmental trajectories of learning engagement: “high level decreasing”, “moderate level stable”, and “low level fluctuating” (see Figure 1a). (2) For learning anxiety, there were three heterogeneous developmental trajectories: “high level stable”, “moderate level stable”, and “high level decreasing” (see Figure 1b). (3) The joint developmental trajectories between learning engagement and learning anxiety included “high engagement-low anxiety-stable”,“high engagement-high anxiety-decreasing”, and “moderate engagement-moderate anxiety-fluctuating” (see Figure 1c). (4) Compared to “high engagement-high anxiety-decreasing” group or “moderate engagement-moderate anxiety-fluctuating” group, more parents’ positive parenting, better teacher-student relationships, and more frequent nature contact significantly predicted a higher likelihood of students belonging to the “high engagement-low anxiety-stable” group. (5) Changes in learning engagement and learning anxiety had influenced on students’ academic achievement, with “moderate engagement-moderate anxiety-fluctuating” group showing lower achievement compared to the other two groups (see Figure 1d). This study revealed a common developmental pattern between learning engagement and learning anxiety among primary school students. It aids in accurately identifying low-engagement or high-anxiety groups, providing empirical evidence for recognizing different learning adaptation groups.

Paper #3
Educational Involvement and Child Academic Outcomes: The Moderating Effect of Maternal Controlling Behaviors
Author information	Role
Siman Zhao, Ph.D., University of Dayton, United States	Presenting author
Xi Chen, East China Normal University, China	Non-presenting author
Xinyin Chen, University of Pennsylvania, United States	Non-presenting author
Abstract
Parental involvement in education refers to parents’ practices to promote children’s school achievement (Hill & Tyson, 2009). Numerous studies have demonstrated the positive impact of educational involvement on children’s academic outcomes (e.g., Wang & Sheikh-Khalil, 2014). Nevertheless, much of the existing studies focus primarily on the quantity or frequency of involvement, often overlooking the approaches that parents might adopt to engage in children’s educational activities. The manners in which parents participate may significantly influences the effectiveness of educational involvement. The present study aimed to address this gap by examining the moderating effect of maternal controlling behaviors in the relations between maternal educational involvement and children’s academic outcomes in China. Due to the heavy emphasis placed on children’s academic performance in China, Chinese parents are often deeply involved children’s learning (Pomerantz et al., 2014). Such involvement is often perceived as a sign of love, care, and support by Chinese children (Cheah et al., 2015; Kim & Fong, 2013). In addition, Chinese parents are encouraged to exert high levels of control and supervision over their children to ensure that children learn socially acceptable and desirable behaviors (Chao, 1994). However, the effects of controlling behaviors are mixed in China. While some studies have found a positive association between controlling behaviors and children’s school performance (e.g., Wang et al., 2007), other have reported null or negative effects (e.g., Wong et al., 2018; Zhao et al., 2015). A study that examining both parental educational involvement and control in China can provide valuable insight into how these parenting behaviors interact, contributing to the design of practical programs that promote positive parenting behaviors and child development. The participants included 95 rural children (54 boys) and 102 urban children (53 boys) (M age = 9 years) and their mothers. Maternal educational involvement was assessed with children’s report, and maternal controlling behaviors were assessed through observations. Mothers’ controlling behaviors were coded when mothers displayed verbal or non-verbal behaviors that interfered with the child’s exploration or self-directed play (e.g., when the child is playing with a toy, the mother asks the child to play with her, choose another toy for the child, or takes over the toy and instructs the child on what to do). The indicators of children’s academic achievement included final exam grades and teacher-rated academic performance. Child gender, region (rural vs. urban), and maternal educational level were controlled in the analyses. The results showed that maternal controlling behaviors moderated the relations of maternal educational involvement with grades and teacher-rated school performance. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, maternal educational involvement was positively related to children’s grades and teacher-rated academic performance only when the level of controlling behaviors was low, not when the level of control was high. The results of the study suggest that maternal educational involvement is beneficial only when mothers display low controlling behaviors. The moderating effects of maternal control were consistent across both gender and region (rural vs. urban).

Paper #4
Teacher’s Failure Feedback and Students’ Math Engagement: Examining Students’ Achievement Goal and Basic Needs Satisfaction
Author information	Role
Tong Zhou, Shanghai Normal University, China	Presenting author
Xi Chen, East China Normal University, China	Non-presenting author
Junsheng Liu, East China Normal University, China	Non-presenting author
Abstract
Feedback is one of the most effective ways teachers can use to enhance student engagement (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). Building upon the implicit theory about intelligence, teachers’ feedback on students’ performance includes both person and process orientation (Haimovitz & Dweck, 2017), offering motivation-related information. Compared to process-oriented feedback, person-oriented feedback leads to more helpless responses in children (Barger et al., 2022). In Eastern cultures, educators tend to focus more on students’ performance in failure situations than their Western counterparts (Ng et al., 2019). Therefore, examining Eastern teachers’ feedback for academic setbacks is essential. Beyond the motivational perspective, the emotional perspective of feedback also warrants attention (Fong & Schallert, 2023). Teachers may convey positive (comforting) or negative (critical) emotional valence in their feedback, especially in academic setbacks situations. However, research addressing motivational and emotional perspectives of feedback has largely been conducted in isolation. Thus, the first aim of the current study is to examine how teacher’s feedback for academic setbacks, through the interaction of motivation (person vs. process) and emotion (comfort vs. criticism), influences adolescents’ learning engagement. Moreover, according to self-determination theory, when individuals’ basic needs are satisfied, their learning engagement is enhanced (Ryan & Deci, 2000, 2017). The information conveyed in the teachers’ feedback may either promote or inhibit students’ basic needs satisfaction, subsequently influencing their learning engagement. Additionally, students’ achievement goals have been found to moderate the relationship between feedback and learning engagement (Winstone et al., 2021). Therefore, this study also aimed to explore extent to which students’ basic needs satisfaction explains the relationship between teachers’ failure feedback and learning engagement, and how this relationship varies based on students’ achievement goals. Using an adapted mathematical game task and between-subject experimental design, the study involved 335 middle school students (M age = 13.12 years old, SD age = 0.43 years old). Structural equation model (SEM) revealed that students’ basic needs satisfaction mediated the relations between the emotional perspective of feedback (comfort vs criticism) and task engagement. Additionally, mastery-oriented goals were found to moderate the relation between the motivational perspective of feedback (person vs process) and behavioral engagement. Students with high mastery goals benefited more from process-oriented feedback, leading to increased behavioral engagement, while this relationship was not observed in students with low mastery goals. Findings highlight the importance of considering both emotional and motivational perspectives of feedback in failure contexts. Furthermore, teachers should provide adaptive academic feedback tailored to students’ individual achievement goals.

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