The Effects of Parent Educational Expectations on the Competence Development of Rural Left-Behind Children - An Empirical Study Based on CEPS Data

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bulrr

Based on data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), this study empirically analyzes how parent educational expectations affect the competence development of rural left-behind children and the mediating mechanisms involved. Findings show that rural left-behind children exhibit substantially weaker competencies than non-left-behind peers. Parent educational expectations significantly and positively predict competence development, with different expectation dimensions showing distinct impact patterns. Parent involvement and teacher support jointly form a chain mediation pathway, while parent involvement alone may produce masking effects.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Raising the Questions

Research Hypotheses

Research Design

Data Sources

The Effects of Parent Educational Expectations on the Competence Development of Rural Left-Behind Children: An Empirical Study Based on CEPS Data Tianxue Zhang, Heng Huang College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, Zhejiang, China | Abstract: Based on data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), this study conducted an empirical analysis of the effect of parent educational expectations on the competence development of rural left-behind children and the underlying mediating mechanism. The research findings reveal that rural left-behind children have far less developed competencies than their non-left-behind counterparts and that parent educational expectations significantly and positively influence the competence development of left-behind children. Specifically, parent academic expectations impose the greatest impact on academic results of left-behind children; parent expectations of child education levels have the widest effects on various competencies of left-behind children; Parent involvement and teacher support exert a chain mediating effect on the relationship between parent educational expectations and the competence development of rural left-behind children. The mediation effect of teacher support or the concurrence of teacher support and parent involvement remarkably promoted the competence development of rural left-behind children, while parent involvement alone results in masking effects, which impede the improvement of their competencies to some extent.
Best Evidence in Chinese Education 2022; 12(1):1573-1579.
Doi: 10.15354/bece.22.ab007 | | --- | | How to Cite: Zhang, T., & Huang, H. (2022). The effects of parent educational expectations on the competence development of rural left-behind children: An empirical study based on CEPS data. Best Evidence in Chinese Education, 12(1):1573-1579. | Keywords: Rural Left-Behind Children, Competence Development, Parent Educational Expectations, Teacher Support, Parent involvement Correspondence to: Heng Huang, College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, Zhejiang, China. E-mail: [saintfreak4hh@zjnu.edu.cn](saintfreak4hh@zjnu.edu.cn) [Conflict of Interests](Conflict of Interests: None)[: None](Conflict of Interests: None). © 2022 Insights Publisher. All rights reserved. Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 License ([http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed by the Insights Publisher. Raising the Questions Against the backdrop of the economic transformation and dualistic structure of urban and rural areas in China, a massive rural labor force has flowed to urban areas. The issue of rural left-behind children induced by the labor migration has become the focus of concerns of the government and the public. The announcement of the Opinions on Strengthening the Protection and Service for Rural Left-behind Children by the State Council in 2016 signaled that the issue has been incorporated in the state’s policy framework. Over the years, as a result of the advancements of rural revitalization and poverty alleviation strategies, the scale of rural left-behind children has been gradually brought under control The present study utilized the data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) and adopted the perspectives of the neo human capital theory to address the following questions: Are there any significant differences in the competence development among rural children? Do parent educational expectations have substantial influences on the competence development of rural left-behind children? If yes, what is the influencing mechanism? Research Hypotheses In this study, the compet

FAQs

What data source is used in this empirical study?

The study uses data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), employing follow-up data as the main body and baseline survey data as supplementary sources.

How are rural left-behind children’s competence and parent educational expectations measured?

Competence is measured via three indicators: student academic results, cognitive ability, and non-cognitive ability. Parent educational expectations are categorized into four dimensions: expectations of academic achievements, education levels, future occupations, and future life.

What mediating mechanism explains the relationship between parent educational expectations and children’s competence development?

The study proposes and finds a chain mediation effect involving parent involvement and teacher support, where teacher support and the concurrence of teacher support with parent involvement promote competence development more effectively.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bulrr