Mengchen Li, Xiao Cai, Min Jiang, Siyu Yang
Journal of Psycholinguistic Research , (Under review) (2025)
Under review. This study examines L2 Mandarin learners’ tonal processing using mismatch negativity (MMN), showing weakened and delayed neural responses relative to native listeners.
Mengchen Li
SAGE Open , 15(3) (2025)
Access to quality education is crucial for children from different social strata to achieve upward mobility. Understanding how family income differences translate into disparities in academic achievement is increasingly urgent amidst rigid social stratification. This study focuses on families from various income levels, exploring the relationship between parental income and children’s academic performance. Through in-depth interviews with parents and grounded theory analysis, it identifies four core categories: “economic resource endowment” “cultural capital” “emotional attitudes” and “social resources.” This study finds that high-income parents can provide high-quality educational resources, foster a positive family environment, offer ample emotional support, and integrate social networks. These factors contribute to their children’s academic development. Conversely, low-income parents often lack these advantages, hindering their children’s academic performance. However, the study reveals this relationship is not deterministic, as evidenced by cases of academic success in low-income families and underperformance in high-income ones. This underscores the importance of cultural capital and personal motivation alongside economic factors. This study constructs a multidimensional impact model of parental income levels on children’s academic achievement, revealing how income disparities create educational inequalities. Addressing these disparities requires collaborative efforts from the state, society, schools, and families to create a more equitable educational environment. This study enriches research on the factors influencing educational attainment and offers guidance for promoting educational equity.
Mengchen Li
Proceedings of the 2024 4th International Conference on Education, Language and Art (ICELA 2024), Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research , 813–822 (2025)
Higher education is a crucial pathway for social mobility and economic growth. College access for low-income students has thus gained major attention. This study examines U.S. policies supporting college readiness for children from low-income backgrounds. Findings show these policies effectively expand educational opportunities. They establish support systems, implement long-term tracking, and promote cross-sector collaboration. The impact appears in higher college enrollment rates. Policies also shift educational perceptions and improve intergenerational mobility among low-income families. However, the burden of complexity in policy implementation and systemic imbalances in resource allocation limit their effectiveness. To address these issues, this study suggests two main strategies: creating a differentiated empowerment framework and developing streamlined, transparent policy designs. These measures aim to improve policy impact through institutional innovation. Findings offer theoretical and practical insights to rebuild educational support systems, promote educational equity, and advance social mobility.