BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.18, No.1, 2024, BECE 1904 

 

 

 

 

Does the Double Reduction Policy Alleviate Parental 

Education Anxiety? An Empirical Study Based on a 

Survey of 29 Provincial Administrative Regions in 

China 

By Qi, Z, Fang, J. & Ren, S. 
Correspondence to: Zhanyong Qi, Shan’xi Normal University, China. E-mail: 

qizhanyong@snnu.edu.cn  

ARENTAL education anxiety has long been a pervasive social issue in 

China. To shape a legitimate educational ecology to alleviate parental 

education anxiety, the Chinese government released the “Double Reduction 

Policy” in 2021. Effective governance of education anxiety necessitates a 

thorough understanding of the status quo of parental education anxiety and 

its contributing factors. This article is an in-depth investigation of the effects 

of various factors on parental education anxiety including policy-related fac-

tors at the macro level, school-related factors at the meso level, and parent- 

and student-related factors at the micro level. 

Research Findings: 

 The Double Reduction Policy has considerably lowered the levels 

of education anxiety in Chinese parents. Nevertheless, the focuses 

of their anxiety remained the same, namely, child academic results 

and school progression (school choice). 

 There was intra-group heterogeneity in parental education anxiety 

regarding gender, occupation, home economic status, child educa-

tion phase, child grade ranking, etc. 

 Policy-, school-, parent- and student-related factors all had signifi-

cant impacts on parental education anxiety. Parents with higher 

economic status, lower educational expectations, and lower fre-

quency of homework tutoring had lower levels of education anxie-

ty. Those having children with lower grade rankings, higher fre-

quency of contact from teachers, and negative perceptions of the 

Policy had higher levels of education anxiety. 

 Female parents tend to have higher levels of education anxiety than 

their male counterparts. Parents in urban areas had higher levels of 

education anxiety than those in rural areas. Parents with children at 

the junior secondary level had higher levels of education anxiety 

than those with children at the primary level. Parents having their 

children carry on participating in off-campus subject-based sup-

P 

mailto:qizhanyong@snnu.edu.cn


 

Vol.18, No.1, 2024, BECE 1905 

plementary tutoring after the release of the Double Reduction Poli-

cy had higher levels of education anxiety. 

 Based on their research findings, the authors put forward the fol-

lowing suggestions: 

 The government should improve publicity of the Double Reduction 

Policy and strengthening its regulation of the off-campus training 

market while also increasing investment in education to support 

balanced development of educational resources in urban and rural 

areas. 

 It is important to establish a public school-supported home educa-

tion counseling service system to facilitate home-school communi-

cation. 

 It is imperative to help parents to improve their education ideas and 

discern those impractical educational expectations to reduce their 

education anxiety. 

 
Source: Chinese Journal of Distance Education, 44(4):28-46.