Exploring the role of ecological systems and intersectionality in shaping the academic performance of Chinese adolescents

Xixi Kang and Wen-Jui Han

Children and Youth Services Review, 2025, vol. 172, issue C

Abstract: This study examines Chinese adolescents’ academic performance using an ecological systems framework and intersectionality perspective, based on data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS). We examined micro- (individual- and family-level factors) and meso-level factors (teachers and schools) and considered whether adolescents with relatively more disadvantaged characteristics might have poorer academic performance than otherwise. Our three-level mixed-effects models considered the nested data structure to obtain more precise regression estimates than otherwise. Results from the mixed-effects models indicate that having preschool experience and positive school experiences were consistently positively while living in a single-parent family was consistently negatively associated with adolescents’ academic performance. However, our findings only weakly support the intersectionality perspective; adolescents with disadvantaged characteristics did not necessarily have poorer academic outcomes than expected. These findings underscore the importance of examining multi-layered systems to shed light on how resources and opportunities external to the family in China might carry vital implications for educational equity.

Keywords: Adolescents; Ecological systems theory; Intersectionality; Academic performance; Mixed-effects models; China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:172:y:2025:i:c:s0190740925001495

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108266

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