Improving Preschool Parenting Practice for a More Equitable Parent Engagement: Findings from a Resource-exhausted City in China

Abstract

How to improve preschool parenting practice for a more equitable parent engagement is still a challenge for families and schools, especially for parents in undesirable social and economic environment. We approach this challenge through a case study of H city,  one of the third batch of resource-exhausted cities, in Heilongjiang Province, China. Through analysis of 765 parents’ responses, we find that parents, in such circumstance, appear overprotective of their children. Children of authoritarian parenting have lower psychological bearing capacity, weaker sense of responsibility and self-control. Considerable number of preschoolers have a serious problem of procrastination.