This study aims to determine the benefits of student-centred teaching methods for students’ cognitive and practical improvement and the mediating effect of deep learning on the relationship between them. We developed a scale of student-centred teaching for the Chinese context using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis. Data were collected from 976 students from 16 large classes in a university in Mainland China. Results showed that the student-centred teaching method positively predicted student’s use of a deep learning approach and self-reported ability improvement in large classes, and deep learning had a mediating effect on the relationship between the student-centred teaching method and self-reported ability improvement. This finding suggests that even in large classes, teachers can also use a student-centred method to promote students’ use of a deep learning approach and improve their cognitive and practical abilities.

This study aimed to determine whether learning engagement plays a mediating effect on the relationship between family capital and students’ higher education gains in mainland China. We used family capital, learning engagement, and higher education gains as measures and analyzed data using a structural equation model. Data were collected from 1334 students at a Chinese university. The results show that family cultural capital had the most significant effect on students’ learning engagement, while economic capital also played a positive role, and social capital had no significant impact. Learning engagement played a mediating role in the relationship between cultural capital and higher education gains, as did the relationship between economic capital and higher education gains. However, learning engagement did not have a mediating effect on the relationship between social capital and higher education gains. Our results show that we should focus on the importance of students’ learning engagement, improve the cultural capital of disadvantaged groups, and provide financial support for students from low-income families.