The Impact of Parental Education on Children's Cognitive Ability-An Empirical Study Based on the China Education Panel Survey_Vol. 3 No. 1 (JHET 2026)_Journal of Higher Education Teaching (ISSN: 3005-5776)

Home > Journal of Higher Education Teaching (ISSN: 3005-5776) > Vol. 3 No. 1 (JHET 2026) >

The Impact of Parental Education on Children's Cognitive Ability-An Empirical Study Based on the China Education Panel Survey

Download PDF

DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jhet.202615120

Author(s)

Yaru Wang

Affiliation(s)

School of Education and Science, Xinxiang University, Xinxiang, Henan, China

Abstract

This study explores parental education’s impact on children’s cognitive ability and its mechanisms using 2014-2015 CEPS data and descriptive statistics/regression analysis. Results show that parental education has a significant positive impact on children's cognitive ability, with no significant differences between parents. Regarding heterogeneity, the positive effect is stronger for girls than for boys; the impact is most pronounced for children with average cognitive abilities, while the impact is weaker for those with lower or higher cognitive abilities. There are no significant differences in the impact between urban and rural areas. Mechanism analysis suggests that parental education influences children's cognitive ability through educational expectations (educational level requirements and children's own educational expectations) and educational investment (parent-child companionship), with the mediating effects of these three factors varying in proportion. academic performance requirements and parent-child activities do not have a significant mediating effect. Policies and parents can promote basic educational informatization, cognitive-level-based support, reasonable educational expectations and high-quality parent-child interaction.

Keywords

Parental Education; Cognitive Ability; Group Differences; Educational Expectations; Educational Investment

References

[1] Peng, P., Wang, T., Wang, C., & Lin, X. (2019). A meta-analysis on the relation between fluid intelligence and reading/mathematics: Effects of tasks, age, and social economics status. Psychological Bulletin, 145(2), 189. [2] Hanushek, E. A., & Woessmann, L. (2008). The role of cognitive skills in economic development. Journal of economic literature, 46(3), 607-668. [3] Zhang, Z., Liu, H., & Choi, S. W. (2020). Early-life socioeconomic status, adolescent cognitive ability, and cognition in late midlife: Evidence from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. Social Science & Medicine, 244, 112575. [4] Liu, T., Zhang, X., & Jiang, Y. (2020). Family socioeconomic status and the cognitive competence of very young children from migrant and non-migrant Chinese families: The mediating role of parenting self-efficacy and parental involvement. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 51, 229-241. [5] Rohde, N., Trivedi, P., Tang, K. K., & Rao, P. (2023). Cognitive and non-cognitive traits and the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic inequality. Journal of Economic Psychology, 97, 102635. [6] Wen Leiling, Ju Jialin (2023). Research on the impact of the original family on adolescent mental health. Advances in Psychology, 13(6), 2276-2282. [7] Zheng Heyang (2023). Family socioeconomic status, lifestyle and residents' mental health - an empirical analysis based on CGSS2021. Advances in Psychology, 13(7), 3037-3044. [8] Kaplan, G. A., Turrell, G., Lynch, J. W., Everson, S. A., Helkala, E. L., & Salonen, J. T. (2001). Childhood socioeconomic position and cognitive function in adulthood. International journal of epidemiology, 30(2), 256-263. [9] Liu, J., Cheng, M., & Wu, C. (2025). Parental Education Level and Child Cognitive Ability: An Analysis Based on Evidence from the China Education Panel Survey. Best Evidence in Chinese Education, 19(1), 1923-1926. [10] Zheng Lei, Qi Xiang, & Hou Yuna. (2018). The intergenerational influence of family on children’s education: theory, methods and evidence. Social Development Research, (3), 177-202. [11] Wu Jia, Han Xiao, & Lin Jiada. (2019). Intergenerational impact of parental working hours: An analysis based on the cognitive and non-cognitive abilities of children from urban and migrant populations. Collection, 3. [12] Xiao Suowei. (2014). “Strict mother and kind grandmother”: intergenerational cooperation and power relations in child rearing. Sociological Research, (6), 148-171. [13] Baker, M., & Milligan, K. (2016). Boy-girl differences in parental time investments: Evidence from three countries. Journal of Human capital, 10(4), 399-441. [14] Wen Zhonglin, & Ye Baojuan. (2014). Mediation effect analysis: Method and model development. Advances in Psychological Science, 22(5), 731. [15] Liu, J., Cheng, M., Wei, X., & Yu, N. N. (2020). The Internet-driven sexual revolution in China. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 153, 119911. [16] Gu Tianzhu, Ma Jianfu, & Sun Rou. (2021). Investment in children’s education: which is more important, money or time? Journal of Education. [17] Huang Liang. (2016). An empirical study on the impact of parental involvement in school education on junior high school students’ cognitive performance: An analysis based on baseline data from the China Education Panel Survey. Educational Science Research, (12), 53-59. [18] Phillipson, S., & Phillipson, S. N. (2012). Children’s cognitive ability and their academic achievement: The mediation effects of parental expectations. Asia Pacific Education Review, 13, 495-508. [19] Zhou Mi, Sun Xiaotong, Kang Zhuang, & Huang Li. (2019). The impact of parents’ educational expectations on rural children’s cognitive ability: an empirical study based on CFPS panel data. Journal of Hunan Agricultural University (Social Science Edition), 20(4), 57-62. [20] Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J. C. (1990). Reproduction in education, society and culture (Vol. 4). Sage.