Education

Middle school kids at school desks smiling at each other while wearing glasses.

Education

Shaping China's future generation.

Overview

Education is an essential component of human capital formation and has implications for economic growth, China’s transition to a modern economy, and China’s capacity to compete in 21st century industries. Our Center is among a small number of groups with comprehensive data on multiple key dimensions of China’s education system. This unique position enables us to continue path breaking research on education in China that is relevant to policy makers and educators around the world.

Featured Projects

Three young students wearing headphones and working on desktop computers in a classroom.

Educational Technology

Educational Technology (EdTech) holds abundant promise to narrow China’s -- and the worlds -- educational divide, by possibly bringing many of these resources within reach of rural students. But virtually no research so far has determined what types of platforms are most effective. Our researchers have pioneered evidence based research to determine the effectiveness of EdTech and help policymakers understand the value of extending useful programs to the neediest areas.

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Improving Rural Schooling

We see what happens in the classroom as an integral part of the learning experience. We are intervening to help bring tailored effective solutions to both teachers and students in rural classrooms. Some of our initiatives include extracurricular reading programs, teaching training research, and incentives for teachers programs.

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Early Childhood Development

China's future is in its children, and REAP is working directly with babies and their parents to help them start off on the right foot.

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Journal Articles

Effects of Vision Health Education and Free Eyeglasses on Knowledge of Vision and Usage of Spectacles Among Primary School Students: Evidence from Gansu and Shaanxi Provinces in China

Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 2021

Background

In rural China, children’s vision problems are very common, with many who would benefit from refractive correction not getting the care they need. This study examines whether a health information campaign that involves vision health education and a free trial of health product with free eyeglasses is effective at raising students’ awareness of myopia and promoting students’ eyeglasses usage.

Methods

We conducted an in-the-field randomized controlled experiment of a program providing vision health education and subsidized free eyeglasses to myopic children from 168 primary schools in rural Northwestern China in 2012.

Results

A total of 2189 students, mean age 10.5 years (49.3% male), participated in the baseline survey. At the baseline, the average correct response rate for visual knowledge among the sample students was 30.1%, and only 15% who needed eyeglasses used them. Seven months after intervention, the average correct response rate for vision knowledge were 48.5% and 48.3% in the education group and the education plus free eyeglasses group respectively, significantly higher than that of the control group. The rate of eyeglasses usage was 36% and 43% in the free eyeglasses group and the education plus free eyeglasses group respectively, significantly higher than that of the control group. The rate of eyeglasses compliance in the free eyeglasses group and the education plus free eyeglasses group was 19% and 26%, which also were significantly higher than the control group.

Conclusion

The information campaign combined with subsidized eyeglasses had a better effect both on vision knowledge and eyeglasses usage. The information campaign improved knowledge by providing the right information, and free eyeglasses changed the perceived utility and experience by the students using the product and getting benefits. Information and the free eyeglasses (subsidized) are complements.

Policy Briefs

Tracking China's Economic Path

2021

Journal Articles

Skill Levels and Gains in University STEM Education in China, India, Russia, and the United States

Nature Human Behavior, 2021

Journal Articles

It All Starts at Home: 'Home Reading Environment and Reading Outcomes in Rural China'

Journal of Research in Reading, 2021

Journal Articles

The Impact of Internet Use on Adolescent Learning Outcomes: Evidence from Rural China

China Agricultural Economic Review, 2021

Purpose: Internet use has become particularly prevalent among adolescents, prompting much thought and concern about both its potential benefits and adverse effects on adolescent learning outcomes. Much of the empirical literature on the impact of Internet use on adolescent learning outcomes is mixed, and few studies examine the causal relationship between the two in rural China. In order to bridge these gaps, we use empirical analysis to investigate the effect of Internet use on the learning outcomes of adolescents in rural China. Design/methodology/approach: We use fixed effect models with samples drawn from a large nationally representative dataset (the China Family Panel Studies—CFPS) to identify the causal impacts of Internet use on the learning outcomes of three cohorts (Cohort A (N = 540), Cohort B (N = 287) and Cohort C (N = 827)) of adolescents in rural China. Findings: The results of the descriptive analysis show a continued increase in the number of adolescents accessing the Internet and the amount of time they spend online. The results of the fixed effect models show that Internet use has positive (in many of the analyses), but mostly insignificant impacts, on the learning outcomes of adolescents. In the sets of results that find significant associations between Internet use and learning outcomes, the measured effects are moderate. Originality/value: This study investigates the causal relationship between Internet use and adolescent learning outcomes in rural China. The findings claim that there is not a great need to worry about adverse effects of Internet use on adolescent learning development. Attention, however, should focus on seeking ways to improve the positive effects of the Internet use on adolescent learning outcomes. The study will provide a reference and experience for the development of education and the Internet in rural areas and promote the integrated development of urban and rural areas in China.

Journal Articles

The Impact of Online Computer Assisted Learning at Home for Disadvantaged Children in Taiwan: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment

Sustainability, 2020

Journal Articles

Institutions, Implementation, and Program Effectiveness: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation of Computer-Assisted Learning in Rural China

Journal of Development Economics, 2020

Journal Articles

School Quality and Peer Effects: Explaining Differences in Academic Performance between China’s Migrant and Rural Students

The Journal of Development Studies, 2020

Journal Articles

All Research Initiatives

Education

Overview

Featured Projects

Educational Technology

Improving Rural Schooling

Early Childhood Development

Effects of Vision Health Education and Free Eyeglasses on Knowledge of Vision and Usage of Spectacles Among Primary School Students: Evidence from Gansu and Shaanxi Provinces in China

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Tracking China's Economic Path

Skill Levels and Gains in University STEM Education in China, India, Russia, and the United States

It All Starts at Home: 'Home Reading Environment and Reading Outcomes in Rural China'

The Impact of Internet Use on Adolescent Learning Outcomes: Evidence from Rural China

Early Childhood Reading in Rural China and Obstacles to Caregiver Investment in Young Children: A Mixed-Methods Analysis

Rural Minimum Living Standard Guarantee (Rural Dibao) Program Boosts Children's Education Outcomes in Rural China

IQ, Grit, and Academic Achievement: Evidence from Rural China

Cognitive Ability and Academic Performance Among Left-Behind Children: Evidence from Rural China

The Impact of Online Computer Assisted Learning at Home for Disadvantaged Children in Taiwan: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment

The Status Quo of Teaching Reading Skills in Rural Primary Schools in China: PIRLS Questionnaires in Guizhou and Jiangxi

The Impacts of Highly Resourced Vocational Schools on Student Outcomes in China

Examining Mode Effects for an Adapted Chinese Critical Thinking Assessment

Invisible China: How the Urban-Rural Divide Threatens China’s Rise

Correlates of Participation in Community-Based Interventions: Evidence from a Parenting Program in Rural China

Institutions, Implementation, and Program Effectiveness: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation of Computer-Assisted Learning in Rural China

Schooling and Covid-19: Lessons from Recent Research on EdTech

Education and EdTech during COVID-19: Evidence from a Large-Scale Survey during School Closures in China

The Impact of Computer Assisted Learning on Rural Taiwanese Children: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment

“At Three Years of Age, We Can See the Future”: Cognitive Skills and the Life Cycle of Rural Chinese Children

Independent Reading in Rural China's Elementary Schools: A Mixed-Methods Analysis

School Quality and Peer Effects: Explaining Differences in Academic Performance between China’s Migrant and Rural Students

Factors Linked to Cultivating Successful Readers: Evidence from Rural China

Teacher Qualifications and Development Outcomes of Preschool Children in Rural China

Large-Scale International Assessments of Learning Outcomes: Balancing the Interests of Multiple Stakeholders