During global COVID-19 outbreak, universities in many countries were closed, and students experienced the exclusive online learning as never before. This study aimed to examine the mediating role of Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) in the effects of university students’ technostress caused by remote learning on three dimensions of learning burnout, namely emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and academic inefficacy, and possible moderating role of gender, ICT competence, and course load in the indirect effects of university students’ technostress on their learning burnout mediated by IU. Altogether 801 Chinese students from 72 universities voluntarily participated in this study by filling out an online questionnaire consisting of Technostress Survey, Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey, and Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-12. The participants reported relatively low technostress, learning burnout with a moderate level of IU during online learning. Structural equation modelling showed that: 1) technostress positively predicted IU, emotional exhaustion, and academic inefficacy; 2) IU partially mediated the effects of technostress on emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and academic inefficacy. 3) ICT competence moderated the indirect effects of technostress on emotional exhaustion via IU while moderating effects of gender and course load were not found.

STEM education is closely related to national development strategies, attracting attention from most countries and regions. With 30 years of development, STEM education has been implemented in K-16 educational systems around the world. This chapter briefly presents the development of STEM education in China at both secondary and tertiary levels. Chapter sections include highlighting data, relevant national policies, and latest research. This chapter also proposes excellence indicators for STEM education and applies them to measure the performances of STEM education in 10 selected countries. The best practices and inspiring stories sections share the Chinese experience of tackling the global challenge of attracting young talented researchers. It shows that secondary STEM education focuses on integrating new technology with maker education and actively utilizes new media and intelligent technology. Meanwhile, university STEM programs encourage young researchers to engage in innovative STEM research. Keywords STEM education STEM graduates STEM talents development STEM education policies STEM research literature

Vocational education, the form of education most closely aligned with the working world, has become a strategic choice for countries worldwide. This chapter provides an overview of vocational education in China. This chapter first selects representative data and excellence indicators to illustrate the basic features and developmental trends of secondary vocational education in China compared to major global counterparts. Secondly, it shares the Ministry of Education’s efforts in promoting the digitization and standardization of Vocational education and local governments’ initiatives in fostering industry-education integration. The compelling cases are presented to show vocational education and its roles in fostering personal growth and societal advancement. The chapter also shares narratives of exemplary “dual qualified” teachers and their contributions to teaching, research, and service. In addition, this chapter reviews the recent research trends of vocational education research in China in the past 5 years and the key policies shaping China’s vocational education. Overall, the Chinese government has established a relatively comprehensive vocational education system. This chapter also discusses some challenges, such as funding constraints, teacher shortages and qualifications, the property rights of digital resources, infrastructure needs for industry-education integration, and the stigma of vocational education.

In recent years, an increasing number of studies have focused on exploring the roles of students' scientific epistemological beliefs (SEBs) in science learning. These studies revealed that students' SEBs might affect their knowing process. This study employed the theory of Knowledge Integration (KI) to unpack the knowing process of science learning, and further explore the relations between students' SEBs and their performance of knowledge integration. Fifty-four Chinese students of Grade 8 in one middle school in Beijing were employed to attend Newton Scooters, a unit on the topic of energy conversion and conservation in the Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE). Students' SEBs and performance of knowledge integration were assessed through revised questionnaires. The pre-and post-test results indicated that students' performance of knowledge integration about energy conversion and conservation improved significantly through the unit. The finding showed a significant correlation between students' SEBs and their KI. The more sophisticated SEBs students had, the better they performed in knowledge integration. Moreover, students who were aware of the importance of experiments performed better in the critique activities, while those who believed the scientific knowledge was uncertain performed better in the construction activities.