Preschoolers may board at school to access early childhood education in some rural areas of southwestern China. These young boarders usually exhibit disadvantaged language development relative to their nonboarding peers. Thus, effective language interventions for them are urgently needed. Here, 104 rural boarding preschoolers were recruited and randomized to a dialogic reading group, a group that watched prerecorded book-reading videos incorporating pseudocontingent interactions, or a control group for 8 weeks. The results showed that the two interventions had positive and equivalent effects on children's book-specific expressive vocabulary. Children in the dialogic reading group significantly improved their general expressive vocabulary relative to the control group. Effects on children's receptive vocabulary or Chinese reading skills were not found in both intervention groups. The findings indicate that teacher-child dialogic reading is an effective strategy to enhance rural boarding preschoolers' expressive vocabulary. Watching prerecorded pseudocontingent book-reading videos, though not as potent as dialogic reading, provides a valuable and labor-saving alternative.

This editorial paper introduces a special issue presenting thirteen papers investigating the factors related to exceptionally high and low mathematics performance across diverse age groups and educational contexts. Despite the variety of approaches, several consistent findings emerged. One important finding is that early numerical competencies are reliable predictors of later mathematics achievement. While domain-general factors are associated with mathematics performance, their predictive power diminishes when considered together with numerical skills. Additionally, both shared and distinct predictors of low and high attainment have been identified. The studies also highlight substantial heterogeneity within the high- and low-achieving groups. Overall, these findings challenge the idea that differences along the mathematics attainment continuum are purely quantitative. Instead, they support a multidimensional perspective where different pathways underlie low and high performance. These results have important implications for theory, early identification, and targeted interventions, emphasizing the need for approaches that account for both between-group differences and within-group variability.

Two studies collaboratively investigated the influence of joint media engagement (JME) on preschoolers' acquisition of Chinese characters through touchscreens. In Study 1, 76 children (32 boys; M +/- SD = 68.95 +/- 4.11 months) were randomly allocated to three groups: touchscreen with JME, touchscreen without JME, and video groups. The findings indicated that JME significantly facilitated children's learning of Chinese characters via touchscreens. Study 2 further examined the type of scaffolding in JME that could most effectively support children's character acquisition from touchscreens. A total of 75 children (38 boys; M +/- SD = 71.36 +/- 4.19 months) were randomly assigned to three groups: cognitive, affective, and technical scaffolding groups. Results revealed that cognitive scaffolding provided the greatest enhancement for JME-assisted touchscreen learning outcomes. Collectively, the two studies underscore that JME can substantially advance children's learning of Chinese characters through touchscreens. Moreover, Study 2 showed that cognitive scaffolding during the JME process yields the most significant advantages for learners. These findings highlight the importance of parents' and educators' active engagement in discussions about educational content with their children when utilizing touchscreen devices for learning.

The present study examined the psychometric quality of the newly developed Early Number Competence Test (ENCT) among Chinese preschool children aged five to six years. The ENCT measures children's number competencies in eight domains (i.e., number-word comparison, counting, set comparison, digit comparison, word problems, number writing, nonverbal calculation, and basic arithmetic concepts). The test was administered to 299 children (mean age = 57.29 months, SD = 5.05 months) three times from the second semester of their second preschool year (Time 1) to the second semester of their third preschool year (Time 3), with a six-month interval between adjacent time points. The results from the item response models showed that all the items were of medium difficulty on average and that discrimination power was moderate to high. Additionally, all the items functioned equally well over time and were fair to both boys and girls. The factor analysis showed that a threedimensional model that included numbering, relations, and arithmetic operations best fitted the data. This factor structure was stable across the first two time points, but not from Time 1 to Time 3. Finally, children's numbering, relation, and arithmetic operation skills at Time 1 were moderately correlated with their written computation one year later. Overall, the ENCT exhibited sound psychometric properties that were supported by various forms of validity evidence, making it a promising tool for measuring the number competencies of young Chinese children.

Parents may provide their children with opportunities for various types of activities to help them acquire math skills. Yet, findings on the long-term associations between different math activity types and children’s math skills development remain mixed. The theoretical models concerning the patterns and mechanisms of these associations require further clarification. In this study, a total of 306 Chinese preschoolers and their parents participated in a 3-wave longitudinal study conducted over 15 months. The findings from latent growth curve modeling showed that the frequency of the four types of parent-child math activities (namely skill, book, game, and application activities) significantly predicted the growth rates of children’s formal and informal math skills, indicating a consistent pattern of developmental gains. Moreover, children’s domain-general language, spatial skills, and initial math-specific skills were all identified as moderatorsors in the link between math activities and formal math skills development, yet executive function did not moderate these associations. All math activity types provide learning opportunities for children to acquire formal math skills, yet the extent to which children benefit from these activities is associated with their domain-general and initial math skills. The stronger these skills children possess, the greater their gains in formal math skills from math activities. The findings highlight the role of both domain-general and basic math skills in children’s math development. A math-related instruction that is effective for one child may work less well for another child with a different constellation of skills. Personalizing math activities, taking into account child characteristics, may contribute to children’s higher level of math achievement.

Research on patterning skills in preschool children has mostly focused on repeating and growing patterns. This study introduced rotating patterns as an additional pattern type and validated a self-designed instrument to assess 138 Cantonese-speaking preschool children's (age in years: M = 4.98, SD = .33) understanding of rotating patterns based on three-wave longitudinal data. Rasch modeling was employed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the instrument. The results suggested that our instrument assessed a unidimensional construct, with items exhibiting local independence and covering a broad spectrum of easy, medium, and high difficulty levels. The instrument also possessed adequate reliability and was associated with measures of arithmetic competence and Chinese word reading, providing evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. While most items were found to be longitudinally invariant, some displayed differential functioning over time, suggesting changes in item difficulty over the assessment period. Overall, the validated instrument appears suitable for evaluating the rotating patterning skill of children aged 5 to 6 years. This study makes an important contribution by expanding the conceptualization of preschoolers' patterning abilities to include rotating patterns, a previously underexplored domain. The psychometrically robust instrument presented in this research can also be readily utilized by scholars to further investigate the development and educational implications of children's patterning skills.

This longitudinal study examined the relations between cognitive-linguistic skills and the developmental trajectories of mathematics and word reading abilities in 247 rural Chinese children. Baseline measures at age 4 (M +/- SD = 50.46 +/- 6.69 months) assessed four cognitive-linguistic skills (sustained attention, working memory, visual-spatial skills, and receptive vocabulary) and two academic skills (mathematics and word reading). Academic skills were reassessed at 12-month intervals over 2 years to examine the contribution of early cognitive-linguistic skills to academic development through age 6. Results of latent growth modeling showed that: (1) Sustained attention, working memory, and visual-spatial skills each made a unique contribution to the children's initial mathematics skills but not to their initial word reading skills; (2) Receptive vocabulary was related to children's initial word reading skills and their initial mathematics skills; (3) Working memory was related to the growth of children's mathematics and word reading skills, and sustained attention was related to the growth of their mathematics skills. These findings suggest that cognitive-linguistic skills contribute differentially to individual differences in mathematics and word reading skills among rural Chinese children. They also emphasize the need for educators and policymakers to improve rural education through implementing cognitive-linguistic intervention programs, thereby enhancing the academic development of rural children.

School liking has long been considered critical to school-aged children’s social adjustment and academic performance; however, limited empirical research has explored the predictors and outcomes of school liking among preschool children. Additionally, there is scant evidence concerning these dynamics among children from families with low socio-economic backgrounds. This longitudinal study investigated whether parent- and teacher-child relationships were associated with school liking and whether school liking was further related to early academic skills among a sample of rural Chinese preschool children. A total of 247 children participated and were followed up for three years. Children reported their school liking and the quality of their relationships with parents and teachers and were tested individually on word reading, receptive vocabulary, and mathematical achievement. Results showed that parent- and teacher-child warmth were positively associated with school liking, while parent- and teacher-child conflict were negatively associated with school liking. School liking was positively associated with word reading but not with receptive vocabulary or mathematical achievement. Our findings underscore the importance of rural Chinese preschool children’s school liking in the development of children’s early academic skills and emphasize the roles of parent- and teacher-child relationships in shaping children’s school liking. Practical implications are discussed.

Children's emotional dependency is often perceived as a barrier to their psychosocial adjustment. This study aimed to explore the moderating roles of culture and maternal attitudes in the relation between young children's emotional dependency and psychosocial adjustment. The study invited mothers of 130 young children, comprising 63 from the United Kingdom (Mean age [M] = 61.56 months, SD = 4.56 months) and 67 from China (M = 60.04 months, SD = 5.44 months). The results revealed significant cross-cultural differences in the correlation between children's emotional dependency on mothers and psychosocial adjustment; the correlation was negative for British children but not statistically significant for Chinese children. Additionally, Chinese mothers exhibited more positive and fewer negative attitudes toward their children's emotional dependency compared to their British counterparts. Furthermore, both Chinese and British mothers' positive attitudes played a moderating role in the relation between children's emotional dependency and social skills, particularly in terms of engagement and empathy. When mothers displayed more positive attitudes, emotional dependency was positively associated with empathy and engagement skills. Conversely, when mothers exhibited fewer positive attitudes, these relations were negative. This study's findings underscored the importance of two intertwined contextual factors-culture and maternal attitudes-in understanding the adaptive significance of a child's emotional dependency.

The COVID-19 pandemic was challenging for caregivers and their young children in many ways. This study aimed to examine the familial and individual correlates of mindful caregiving and the relation of mindful caregiving to preschoolers’ approaches to learning during the pandemic. The primary caregivers of 764 preschool children in Wuhan, China, where the pandemic started, completed questionnaires on mindful caregiving, children’s approaches to learning, and a large pool of familial characteristics (family socioeconomic status, economic stability, family physical health, and household chaos) and individual characteristics (depression, anxiety, and resilience). The results showed that more household chaos, lower family socioeconomic status (i.e., less prestigious occupation), and more depressive symptoms (i.e., decreased positive affect) were associated with caregivers’ lower levels of mindful caregiving during the pandemic. In addition, mindful caregiving during the pandemic was positively related to preschoolers’ approaches to learning. These findings highlight the significance of understanding the antecedents and consequences of mindful caregiving during the pandemic. They provide important insights for designing family-based interventions that aim to reduce the adverse effects of pandemic-like stressors on caregiving practices and young children’s learning. Beyond the pandemic era, these findings suggest the importance of supporting caregivers’ mental health and reducing household chaos to promote mindful caregiving during challenging times. Practitioners and policymakers should consider implementing mindfulness-based programs and providing resources to help caregivers maintain mindful caregiving practices and support children’s learning during future crises. Household chaos was linked to reduced mindful caregiving. Caregivers’ less prestigious occupations were linked to reduced mindful caregiving. Caregivers’ depressive symptoms were linked to reduced mindful caregiving. Mindful caregiving was positively associated with preschoolers’ approaches to learning.

Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) is widely used to assess fluid intelligence in developmental and educational research. Several short forms of the 60-item SPM have been proposed to address its lengthy design. However, an SPM short form for early elementary children is lacking, which is important given their distinct developmental milestones. To bridge this gap, the current study developed a 15-item SPM short form for children aged 6-8 years. The short form displayed a strong correlation with the 60-item SPM (r = 0.85). Monte Carlo simulation, Item Response Theory, and other validation methods collectively supported the short form as a reliable alternative to the full form SPM. Significant positive correlations between the short form with working memory and academic achievement dimensions further supported the validity of the short form. The current study complemented Langener, Kramer, van den Bos, and Huizenga (2022) to offer a complete collection of SPM short forms for developmental populations, enabling researchers to efficiently measure intelligence in these samples. The current short form minimizes participant fatigue intelligence assessments and facilitates more informative research designs, contributing to enhanced progress across developmental and educational research.

The importance of computational thinking (CT) in K-12 education is widely recognized, particularly in the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). However, the structure and components of preschool children’s CT skills remain unclear. There is also a lack of psychometrically robust CT assessments that can comprehensively evaluate various CT skills of preschool children. Leveraging the power of digital technology, this study developed and validated a new digital test—the Digital Computational Thinking Test for Preschool Children (DCTt-PreK)—for assessing six components of preschool children’s CT: algorithms, representation, modularity, pattern recognition, conditional logic, and debugging. Two hundred and twelve Chinese preschool children aged between 39 and 66 months (Meanage = 53.38 ± 4.83 months) participated in this study. An evidence-centered design was used to develop the DCTt-PreK. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the six-factor structure of preschool children’s CT. Item response theory analysis showed that the test items had satisfactory difficulty and discrimination. The multi-group measurement invariance and differential item functioning analyses showed that the test assessed CT skills in boys and girls fairly at both the test and item levels. Finally, the test demonstrated good reliability and satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity. Overall, our study showed that the DCTt-PreK had sound psychometric properties and was a valid, reliable, and sex-equitable digital instrument for comprehensively assessing CT skills in preschool children aged three to six years.

This longitudinal study investigated the bidirectional relations between primary caregivers’ caregiving styles and young rural Chinese children's academic skills. A total of 247 rural Chinese preschool children and their primary caregivers were followed up three times with a one-year time interval between adjacent time points. At each time point (Time 1 [T1], Time 2 [T2), and Time 3 [T3]), the caregivers completed questionnaires assessing their caregiving styles, and the children were tested individually on their Chinese reading and informal and formal math skills. Results from the random intercept cross-lagged model showed that T1 authoritative caregiving positively predicted T2 Chinese reading skills, and T1 Chinese reading skills positively predicted T2 authoritative caregiving. T1 Chinese reading skills negatively predicted T2 authoritarian caregiving. Further analysis showed that children's boarding status (boarders versus nonboarders) did not moderate the relation between caregiving styles and children's academic skills. These findings highlight the importance of authoritative caregiving for the development of preschool children's Chinese reading skills. They also underscore the role of children's better Chinese reading skills in eliciting more authoritative caregiving and less authoritarian caregiving from their caregivers.

This study investigated the joint developmental paths of parent-child numeracy activities, which encompassed number skills, number books, number games, and number application activities, in 476 Chinese households during the three preschool years of their child. It also explored the connection between these identified paths and parental beliefs regarding the importance of children's mastery of mathematical skills and the corresponding age expectations. The study's findings revealed four latent categories: 1) Low involvement- slowly rising group (38.24 %), 2) High involvement- medium rising group (11.97 %), 3) Low involvement- fast rising group (30.88 %), and 4) High involvement- decreasing group (18.91 %). Compared to the low involvement- fast rising group, parents in the low involvement- slowly rising group perceived their children's mastery of math skills to be less important, while parents in the high involvement- medium rising group and high involvement- decreasing group expected their children to acquire numeracy skills at an earlier age. Educational relevance statement: This study identified four distinct groups of the joint developmental trajectories of Chinese parents' involvement in home numeracy activities using a person-centered approach. We also found the relationship of parental beliefs and expectations toward their children's mastery of math skills with the identification of the four groups. Early intervention measures require educators to communicate the importance of young children's math skills to their parents.

Based on 814 3- to 4-year-olds (408 girls; Han Chinese: 97.5%) from Wuhan and Zhengzhou, two cities in China affected by COVID-19 to varying degrees, this study examined the impact of COVID-19 and lockdowns on children's emotional distress and its underlying family-level mechanisms. Children living in a city with "high-load" coronavirus and lockdown (Wuhan) exhibited more symptoms of anxiety/withdrawal, fear, and acting out than their counterparts living in a city with "low loads" (Zhengzhou; ds = .29∼.35). The differences were explained by differences in primary caregivers' worries about health and basic resources (e.g., food) between Wuhan and Zhengzhou (ds = .45∼.61). The findings highlight the importance of incorporating the impact of lockdowns on children and families in policy making in the context of a public health emergency. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

This cross-cultural study investigated the factorial structure and the measurement invariance of the Teacher-Child Dependency Scale (TCDS) and Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS-SF) in Greece and China. The sample consisted of 346 children (Greece: 170, China: 176) and 44 teachers across 18 Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings. A two-factor structure of the TCDS - emotional dependency and physical dependency was supported and found to be invariant across cultures. Chinese teachers reported higher levels of closeness and physical dependency than their Greek counterparts, whereas emotional dependency was similar across countries. Teacher-child closeness negatively predicted internalizing and externalizing problems in both contexts. However, cultural differences emerged: emotional dependency significantly predicted behavioral issues in Greek children, whereas physical dependency played a more prominent role in internalizing issues for Chinese children. These results highlight the role of cultural contexts in shaping teacher-child relationships and suggest the need for culturally tailored practices and interventions in ECEC.

The cultivation of positive attitudes toward reading is an important goal in early childhood education. This study examined the developmental trajectories of reading attitude in institutional contexts (IRA) and global reading attitude (GRA), their antecedents, and their associations with later literacy outcomes including word reading and vocabulary. One hundred and ninety-seven children (mean age = 52.72 at the first wave of data collection) were assessed individually for four times on their reading attitudes at 6-month intervals across their last two years in preschool. Information on home literacy environments was obtained from both parents, and data was also obtained on children's performance on several cognitive-linguistic tasks. Children's word reading and receptive vocabulary were assessed at the beginning and at the end of the study. The results showed that, on average, children's IRA did not change across the two-year follow-up, whereas their GRA declined in a linear fashion. Paternal home literacy environment variables played unique roles in predicting the initial level and growth rate of IRA and the growth rate of GRA. In terms of developmental outcomes, the initial levels of IRA and GRA predicted children's receptive vocabulary at the end of preschool after baseline performance, background variables and cognitive-linguistic skills were controlled for. Chinese word reading was predicted by IRA but not GRA; however, this prediction did not sustain after baseline performance was entered. The findings suggested that different aspects of reading attitudes overlapped greatly, yet were somewhat dissociated in terms of developmental trajectories, antecedents, and consequences.

In western China, many socioeconomically disadvantaged rural children remain at preschools for extremely long hours: they start to receive boarding services as young as 3 years old and remain at preschools for 4 to 5 consecutive days weekly. Although the quality of childcare is generally poor in these preschools, extremely long school hours and prolonged separation from primary caregivers may induce additional stress and lead to school maladjustment among boarding preschoolers. This study examines the impact of boarding experience on preschool beginners' social adjustment and stress responses, as indicated by their saliva alpha-amylase (sAA) and cortisol. A total of over 900 saliva samples of 31 boarding and 30 non-boarding preschoolers (mean age = 44.0 months, SD = 9.8 months) were collected over 12 weeks after they entered preschools. Primary caregivers reported children's behavioural problems and school refusal. Boarders experienced a larger mid-morning to mid-afternoon rise in cortisol than non-boarders on the second-to-last weekdays but not on the first weekdays. Non-boarders experienced an accelerated decrease in sAA during the 12 weeks, whereas boarders did not. Differences in cortisol and sAA patterns indicate potential increased stress for boarders, which might be associated with their more prevalent school-refusal behaviour than non-boarders. The findings underscore that entry into boarding preschool may cause stress and school refusal in rural Chinese children during their transition to preschool. Additional contacts with primary caregivers during this transition are needed to support boarders emotionally.

Based on a representative sample of 196 Chinese children (101 girls; ages 5-9) and their parents, this study examined the longitudinal relations of early home numeracy activities, measured in preschool in 2015, with children's math skills in third grade in 2019. The results showed that the frequency of number book activities predicted children's third-grade nonsymbolic math skills and that the frequency of number application activities was predictive of third-grade symbolic math skills. More importantly, these relations persisted even after controlling for preschool number skills, the other types of numeracy activities, parenting styles, and demographic variables. The findings highlight the potential role of enhancing early number book and application activities at home in engendering long-lasting effects on children's math development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Mathematics learning difficulty (MLD) can be manifested in the early years of primary school, yet its early indicators remain largely unexplored, particularly in the context of rural children. This study sought to address this gap by investigating the early predictors of MLD in rural Chinese children. The first wave of assessments conducted on 106 rural preschoolers (aged 40-60 months) encompassed IQ, spatial skills, short-term and working memory, visual attention, and vocabulary. Two years later, in Grade 1, their mathematics achievement was assessed, leading to the identification of 26 children with MLD (25 % percentile cut-off). After adjusting for age, it was found that children with MLD scored lower on preschool measures of spatial skills and visual attention compared to their typically achieving peers. Logistic regression analyses further revealed that lower preschool visual attention scores were indicative of a higher MLD probability in Grade 1. Also, a longer duration of boarding preschool attendance was associated with a lower MLD probability. This study thus provides novel insights into early cognitive and contextual factors that contribute to the later identification of MLD in rural Chinese children. Educational relevance and implications statement: The present study revealed that disparities in spatial skills and visual attention, measured in preschool, differentiated rural Chinese children with and without mathematics learning difficulty (MLD). Additionally, visual attention and boarding school experience during preschool appeared to be uniquely predictive of the likelihood of MLD two years later. Practically, visual attention could be considered to be included in the early screening tools to detect children potentially at risk of developing MLD, at least in rural Chinese settings. Moreover, despite concerns about the well-being of children receiving institutionalized residential childcare at a young age, the practice of boarding during preschool in rural China appears to exert some beneficial effects on children's math development.