Work

Enhancing Rural Children’s Cognitive Abilities Through Teacher Support: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Longitudinal Data in China

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This study leverages longitudinal data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS, 2012-2020) to examine the association between teacher support and cognitive ability among children aged 10-16 living in economically disadvantaged rural areas of China. Employing a difference-in-differences (DID) framework, we found that exposure to the Rural Teacher Support Program (RTSP) is associated with an improvement of about 0.19 standard deviations in students' cognitive abilities after accounting for individual-, family-, and county-level characteristics. Two key mechanisms appear to underlie this association, reflected in increased teacher quantity and enhanced student satisfaction with teachers. Heterogeneity analyses further show that these benefits are more pronounced among female students and those from low-income households, suggesting that teacher-centered institutional improvements may help mitigate developmental disparities. Overall, the longitudinal results indicate that better teacher-related environments are likely to support children's cognitive development, which in turn may help reduce educational inequality in under-resourced areas.

Source: Journal of Intelligence

DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence14010015

Authors: Xinxin Hao, Jingxuan Lou, Mengyun Jin, Yihao Tian

Institutions: Chengdu University, Sichuan University

Language: English

Topic: School Choice and Performance

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137