Teaching Styles, Family Education and Student Achievements: Evidence from China

This study analyzes the relationship between teaching styles and student achievement across cognitive, non-cognitive, and subject-specific performance. The empirical strategy leverages on within-school, between-class variation by the random assignment of students to teachers. Results indicate that modern teaching styles are associated with significant improvements in both cognitive and non-cognitive abilities overall, while the effects of traditional teaching styles are relatively limited. Moreover, the effects of teaching styles are different across various subjects. Heterogeneity analyses indicate that female students and those from urban and high-income families experience greater improvements in cognitive abilities under modern methods, whereas traditional methods are more effective in fostering non-cognitive abilities among male students and those from rural or low-income families. Further analyses reveal that family education significantly moderates the relationship between teaching methods and student outcomes. Parents' participation and involvement (e.g., academic tutoring, parent-child communication, companionship, and parental educational expectations) amplify the positive effects of modern methods on cognitive abilities. Under traditional teaching practices, parental companionship and expectations also exert significant positive moderating effects on students' English study. These findings highlight that student achievements are shaped not only by teaching practices, but also by the family education. It is therefore essential to adopt teaching approaches that are aligned with student characteristics and family involvement, which in turn strengthens school-family coordination and promotes better educational outcomes.