Link

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=LHXL1QEAAAAJ

Introduction

Dr. Si Chen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She holds a position as the co-Principal Investigator of the Collaborative for Early Rural Education in China (CEREC Lab), an initiative based at the Harvard Graduate School of Education that focuses on enhancing educational outcomes in rural areas of China.

Dr. Chen’s academic and research career is dedicated to exploring the dynamic language and literacy environments of young children, both in school settings and in their everyday lives. One of the core areas of Dr. Chen’s research involves the rigorous evaluation of randomized literacy interventions in China, with a particular focus on rural early childhood education settings. Her studies aim to ascertain the efficacy of these interventions and to derive insights that can inform policy and practice, ultimately improving literacy outcomes for children in underserved communities.

Dr. Chen’s work is characterized by a commitment to evidence-based research and a deep understanding of the socio-cultural factors that influence educational practices and policies. Her findings have been published in several high-impact scholarly journals, contributing valuable knowledge to the field of educational psychology, and helping to shape effective educational strategies in diverse linguistic and cultural landscapes. Dr. Chen has been honored as a National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow in United States.

Research Interest

• Optimizing language and literacy learning environments to foster young children's development
• Designing and evaluating evidence-based literacy interventions tailored for rural early childhood education in China
• Promoting equitable, high-quality educationalopportunities for children from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, especially in under-resourced rural communities
• Bridging research and practice by translating empirical findings into effective pedagogical approaches and informing early childhood education policies and programs
• Employing interdisciplinary approaches that synthesize perspectives from developmental psychology, education, linguistics, and machine learning

Courses Taught

Recent Publications

1. Chen, C., Chen, S., Haste, H., Selman, R. L., & Schneps, M. H. (2023). Romantic Transfer from Thermodynamic Theories to Personal Theories of Social Control: A Randomized Controlled Experiment. Education Sciences, 13(6), 599.

2. Chen, S., Zhao, J., De Ruiter, L., Zhou, J., & Huang, J. (2022). A burden or a boost: The impact of early childhood English learning experience on lower elementary English and Chinese achievement. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25(4), 1212-1229.

3. Chen, S., Zhao, C., Chen, C., Wu, Z., Snow, C. E., & Lu, M. (2022). Does one more year matter? Dosage effect of the One-village-One-preschool intervention in rural China. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 15(2), 217-242.

4. Chen, S., Chen, C., & Wen, P. (2022). Parental anxiety, endorsement of literacy learning, and home literacy practices among Chinese parents of young children. Reading and Writing, 35(4), 825-852.

5. Chen, S., & Wolf, S. (2021). Measuring the quality of early childhood education in low-and middle-income countries. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 774740.

6. Chen, C., Chen, S., Wen, P., & Snow, C. E. (2020). Are screen devices soothing children or soothing parents? Investigating the relationships among children's exposure to different types of screen media, parental efficacy and home literacy practices. Computers in Human Behavior, 112, 106462.

Recent Projects

• Sustainable Model of Early Reading and Literacy Development in Rural Children: Integration of Family, Community, and School (2024-2027)
• Looking back to look ahead: Systematically investigating the lasting impact of national early childhood programs on rural Chinese students up to 18-year-old (2024-2028)
• Automatic analysis of emotional support in child-adult interaction and its application in high-quality development of rural children (2023-2028)
• Empower the Preservice Early Childhood Education Teachers in High Poverty Regions in China: A Randomized Controlled Trial (2022-2026)
• OEES: The Oslo Early Education Study. A Collaborative and Knowledge-building Project (2021-2025)