A research team led by Associate Professor Yu Xiao in the Department of Psychology of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences has announced a breakthrough in developmental and educational psychology. Their series of research findings have been published in the internationally renowned journal International Study in Learning and Individual Differences (JCR Q1, IF=9.0) and the domestically authoritative journal Acta Psychologica Sinica (a Tier A Chinese journal). The papers are titled respectively: "Longitudinal relationship between mathematics learning engagement and children's mathematics achievement: Different roles of children's mathematics anxiety and positive parenting style" and "Longitudinal relationship between mathematics learning engagement and children's mathematics achievement: Different roles of children's mathematics anxiety and positive parenting style" .

Mathematics is one of the core domain skills for individuals, with foundational competencies typically acquired during the early stages of education. However, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) indicates that only 40 % of school-age children are proficient in mathematics, triggering the urgent identification of which factors jointly explain why some children do well in mathematics and others fall behind. Although a growing number of studies have documented the positive association between school-age children's learning engagement and overall academic performance, individual discrepancies in mathematics achievement persist worldwide. Therefore, exploring how children's mathematics-related factors (i.e., mathematics learning engagement and mathematics anxiety) are linked to their mathematics outcomes is the primary goal of this study.

Grounded in the control-value theory of achievement emotions and the developmental dynamic bio-psycho-social model of mathematics anxiety, the current study prospectively examined the potential mechanisms and longitudinal links focusing on Chinese children's mathematics learning. Children's individual factors (i.e., mathematics learning engagement and mathematics anxiety) contribute to their later mathematics achievement in an interlocking way. Additionally, the quality of interactions between environmental factors (i.e., positive parenting style) and children's mathematics learning engagement influences later mathematics achievement, indicating the moderation pattern as the stress sensitization model. Specifically, parents' higher positive parenting style alleviates the mathematics anxiety of children who exhibit higher mathematics learning engagement, while parents' lower positive parenting style exacerbates children's mathematics anxiety regardless of the effect of mathematics learning engagement. With the implementation of China's Double Reduction Policy and the Family Education Promotion Law, these findings suggest that effective interventions strategically incorporate the critical roles of children's mathematics anxiety and parents' positive parenting style in fostering long-term improvements of mathematics achievement. This work was supported by the Key projects of the 14th Five-Year Plan of Beijing Education Science (BEAA23038), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (72404027), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32171061), MOE Project of Key Research Institutes of Humanities and Social Science at Universities (22JJD190001), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2024SKQ01).

Furthermore, a longitudinal study of 347 Chinese primary school students examined how the landmark "Double Reduction" policy (designed to reduce homework and tutoring burdens) has transformed learning engagement patterns. Using latent transition analysis, the team identified four distinct engagement profiles and tracked their evolution following the policy's implementation.

This research provides critical insights into how family and school factors shape children's mathematics engagement, offering evidence-based strategies to enhance educational quality in China. The findings demonstrate our university's strong capabilities in psychological research and contribution to national education goals.

Paper links:

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2025.102747

https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1041.2024.001

Written by Yu Xiao
Translated and edited by Song He
Reviewed by Yu Yangyang