The Center for Educational Psychology and Early Childhood Education at the University of Macau is committed to advancing research that not only meets international standards of excellence but also addresses the developmental, educational, and social needs of children and families in Macao and the Greater Bay Area. Faculty members at the Center have produced a series of high-impact studies published in prestigious international journals such as Child Development, Educational Psychology Review, Journal of Counseling Psychology, and Contemporary Educational Psychology. These studies reflect the Center’s interdisciplinary expertise and its dedication to generating empirical evidence that informs educational practice, teacher development, mental health interventions, and policy innovation. The research profiled below exemplifies the Center’s strategic vision: to integrate rigorous scholarship with local relevance and global impact across domains of child development, teaching and learning, and psychological well-being.

Recent publications in leading field-specific journals

• Cao, H., Zhou, N., * Wang, Y., & Liu, Y.* (2025). Parental social comparison shaming hinders Chinese adolescents’ presence of life meaning through thwarting satisfaction of need for competence, especially for those endorsing reciprocal filial piety. Child Development. Advanced Online Publication.
• Chen, M., Hu, B., & Ren, L. (2025). Developmental trajectories of early teacher–child relationships among Chinese children: Predictors and associations with child outcomes. Teaching and Teacher Education.
• Chen, M., Koomen, H. M. Y., & Roorda, D. L. (2023). Young children’s social withdrawal and teacher–child relationship quality: A cross-cultural comparison between the Netherlands and China. Social Development, 32(3), 1–17.
• Ching, B. H.-H., Li, X. F., & Chen, T. T. (2023). Longitudinal links between parental failure mindsets, helicopter parenting, and fixed mindset of intelligence in adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 52, 2196–2213.
• Ching, B. H.-H., & Li, X. Y. (2024). Early fraction relational reasoning uniquely predicts later algebraic thinking in children: A longitudinal study. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 79, Article 102300.
• Ching, B. H.-H., Tan, Li., Li, X., Li, J., & Chen, T. T. (2025). The relation between spontaneous focusing on numerosity and mathematics performance: A meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 37, 1–44.
• Han, X. N., & Lin, X. (2025). A survey of teacher beliefs of the nature, learning, and teaching of mathematics vocabulary. Teachers and Teaching. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2025.2450673
• Lam, S. F., Vong, K. I. P., & Wei, B. (2025). The malaise of preserving a minority language in multilingual homes in southwest China: A family language policy perspective. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2025.2451042
• Lin, X., Peng, P., Song, X. W., & Liu, Q. L. (2025). Examine the longitudinal association between prior and subsequent mathematics using meta-analytic structural equation modeling. Educational Psychology Review, 37(2), 1–41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-10030-6
• Lin, X., & Powell, S. R. (2023). Exploring academic and cognitive skills impacting retention and acquisition of word-problem knowledge gained during or after intervention. Child Development, 94(6), e362–e376. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13970
• Liu, X., Hu, B. Y., Chen, M., Ren, L., Zhang, X., & Chen, Y. (2025). Joint developmental trajectories of home numeracy activities in China: The predictive role of parental beliefs of children’s math skills. Learning and Individual Differences, 120, 102680. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2025.102680
• Rao, N., Zhou, J., & Sun, J.(Ed.) (2017). Early childhood education in Chinese societies. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer
• Sun, J., Zhang, Y., Guo, Q., Liang, M., Li, Z., & Zhang, L. (2024). Latent classes of early childhood development and their predictors in low- and middle-income countries: Results from multiple indicator cluster surveys 2010–2020. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 68, 65–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2024.04.006
• Sung, M. C., Wang, Y., & Vong, K. I. P. (2024). Multiple voices and multiple interests: Students’ lived experiences and understanding of university internationalisation. Asia Pacific Education Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-024-09947-4
• Wang, S., Cao, H., Zhou, N., * (2025). Family socioeconomic status predicts adolescents’ career adaptability through their self-efficacy on career goal setting and exploration: Testing the moderating roles of relationship quality with teachers, parents, and peers. Journal of Counseling Psychology. Advanced Online Publication.
• Wang, Y., Zhang, J., & Mao, Y. (2024). Harmonizing mathematics: Unveiling the impact of music integration on academic performance–A meta-analysis. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 52, 101554.
• Zhang, Y., Zhang, J., & Wang, Y. (2024). The relationship between attachment insecurity and pathological narcissism: A three-level meta-analysis. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 16, 953–977.
• Zhang, X., & Zhou, M. (2024). Factors affecting university students’ intention to use mobile apps for intercultural competence development: A mixed-method approach. Education and Information Technologies, 29(6), 6991–7026.
• Zhang, X., & Zhou, M. (2023). Information and digital technology-assisted interventions to improve intercultural competence: A meta-analytical review. Computers & Education, 194, 104697.
• Zhang, X., Zou, X., Hu, B. Y., & Wang, Z. (2025). Early home numeracy activities and children’s third-grade symbolic and nonsymbolic math skills: A 5-year longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 61(6), 1166–1179. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001934
• Zhang, X., & Zhou, M. (2024). Factors affecting university students’ intention to use mobile apps for intercultural competence development: A mixed-method approach. Education and Information Technologies, 29(6), 6991–7026.
• Zhang, X., & Zhou, M. (2023). Information and digital technology-assisted interventions to improve intercultural competence: A meta-analytical review. Computers & Education, 194, 104697.
• Zhou, N. (2024). Perceived parental career expectation and adolescent career development: The mediating role of adolescent career-planning and goal-setting self-efficacy and the moderating role of perceived parent–adolescent career congruence. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 71(6), 621–632. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000736

• Cao, H., Zhou, N., * Wang, Y., & Liu, Y.* (2025). Parental social comparison shaming hinders Chinese adolescents’ presence of life meaning through thwarting satisfaction of need for competence, especially for those endorsing reciprocal filial piety. Child Development, 96(5), 1700–1717.