Feature events

On December 16, over 240 educators, parents, and education enthusiasts convened at a School-Family-Society Collaborative Education Forum at Shanghai Open University. Co-organized by the NYU Shanghai Center for Applied Social and Economic Research (CASER), the forum aimed to commemorate the 130th anniversary of the birth of Madame Soong Ching Ling, the Honorary President of the People’s Republic of China. Soong’s legacy was built on her dedication to the welfare of women and children. 

At the event, NYU Shanghai CASER signed an agreement with the China Welfare Institute Development Research Center and released their first joint research achievement, the Blue Book on Chinese Family Education and Child Development. The book systematically reviews the theory and practice of Chinese family education. It utilizes data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) and the Shanghai Urban Neighborhood Survey (SUNS) to comprehensively analyze the financial investment of Chinese families in education, family roles and parental involvement, parenting beliefs and models, as well as the impact of families and parenting behaviors on child development.

NYU Shanghai Chancellor Tong Shijun spoke, paying tribute to the collaboration. NYU Shanghai and NYU Sociology Professor and CASER Director Wu Xiaogang presented the background of the Blue Book and shared some findings at the forum.

_{Chancellor Tong Shijun (left); Professor Wu Xiaogang (right)}

“Family education and child development can have profound impacts on economic development and social stability. In China, this issue is closely related to the country’s future and has attracted wide attention,” Wu said. “Since its establishment, CASER has listed education and child development as one of our key research focuses.” 

In 2021, CASER launched the “Shanghai Early Education Development Survey” (SEEDS) project and over the past two years, has established collaborations with various stakeholders and promoted SEEDS throughout China, facilitating interdisciplinary and interregional comparative research.

Going forward, he said, CASER plans to work closely with the China Welfare Institute Development Research Center to jointly promote the SEEDS to establish the first comprehensive database in China on child development and education, family, and community in a metropolitan context. The two will also collaborate on data analysis, report writing, research conferences, and continuous efforts to promote the knowledge transfer of research findings into parenting practice and social policy.

“The Blue Book on Chinese Family Education and Child Development is our first joint publication,” Wu said. “We hope this book will further advance the construction of parenting science in the Chinese context and contribute to family education and scientific parenting practices.”

On October 18th, over 60 scholars and students convened at NYU for a thought-provoking event exploring the transformation of Americans’ social attitudes during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Co-sponsored by the NYU Shanghai Center for Applied Social and Economic Research and the NYU Center for Advanced Social Science Research, the event served as a retrospective on the first joint social survey conducted between NYU Shanghai and NYU Washington Square. The event was held in honor of the inauguration of 17th President of NYU Linda G. Mills, who was in attendance, along with NYU Shanghai leadership, including Chancellor Tong Shijun, Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Lehman, and Provost Joanna Waley-Cohen.

_{From left to right: Professor Mike;, Professor Wu;, NYU Shanghai Provost Joanna;, NYU President Linda G. Mills, NYU Shanghai Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Lehman, Dr. Song Xi, Dr. Patrick J. Egan, and Dr. Huang}

Two leading scholars of the project, NYU Shanghai & NYU Sociology Professor Wu Xiaogang and NYU Sociology Professor Mike Hout presented selected findings from the “Life Experience and Community during COVID-19 in the US” project. The findings included Americans’ change in policy preference, trust in governments, attitudes towards China and Chinese Americans, and how these were intertwined with the rise in partisan politics in the United States.

LECC-US is a three-wave panel survey of nationally representative adult Americans that asked questions about their health and infection, subjective well-being, social attitudes, and experiences during and after the pandemic at three points in time, beginning in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2020, 4,407 people participated in the first wave interview. In March 2021, 3,439 agreed to be interviewed again, and in July 2023, 3001 people completed a third-wave interview. The surveys were implemented by this at University of Chicago.

_{Geographic distribution of the sample (by zip code) across the United States (Wave 1)}

“Over the past three years or so, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on every facet of American society,” said project leader Wu, the founding director of Global Professor of Social Science and professor of sociology at NYU Shanghai and Arts and Science faculty member at NYU. “A comprehensive understanding of social and political dynamics during and after the pandemic is urgently needed. As far as we know, this is the first time a China-based research institution got involved in the collection of first-hand data in the United States.”

_{Professor Wu}

“To understand the causes of opinion change, it is necessary to re-interview the same groups of persons,” said project co-leader Mike, professor of sociology, director of NYU’s Center for Advanced Social Science Research, and a member of US National Academy of Sciences. “We are very proud that the project has been able to successfully track a high proportion of people originally interviewed in 2020 over the three years.”

_{Professor Mike}

The data offers valuable insights into the evolution of; the COVID-19 pandemic and its social and political ramifications from 2020 to 2023 in the United States. In the early years, the pandemic rapidly spread, followed by an increase in vaccination rates. By 2023, the pandemic showed signs of waning, allowing for a gradual return to normalcy for the US economy and society, despite some enduring changes.

Statistics showed that the pandemic took a severe toll on American adults’ mental health and left a profound impact on their social lives. Additionally, the role of neighborhood communities emerged as crucial in the fight against COVID-19, and this has persisted even as the pandemic recedes. There was a noticeable shift in Americans’ preferences concerning pandemic prevention measures and the balance between personal privacy and freedom. Simultaneously, trust in both federal and state governments declined, more so for those on the left of the political spectrum.

The survey revealed that Americans’ attitudes toward China became increasingly negative over the three waves of the survey, reaching a historical low in 2023. The percentage of those who held “somewhat unfavorable” or “very unfavorable” views of China increased from 74.6% in 2020 to 77.9% in 2023, and the increase was seen mainly from those leaning towards the Democrat side. On the other hand, attitudes toward Chinese Americans remained largely favorable (83.0% held very favorable or somewhat favorable views), but such favorable views were affected by negative views of China. Indeed, Chinese Americans were seen as least favorable compared to other Asian American ethnic groups.

_{Panel Q&A with the audience}

NYU Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Patrick J. Egan, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and Professor in Seton Hall University School of Foreign Relations and Diplomacy Dr. Huang Yanzhong, and University of Pennsylvania Associate Professor of Sociology Dr. Song Xi were invited as the panelists for the event. They lauded the merits of the designs and data quality, and discussed how domestic partisanship and international events had shaped Americans’ public opinion.

For the Executive Summary of the Report, please visit

The Social Impact of COVID-19 in the United States: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study Executive Summary.

For more information about the project, please visit

Life Experience and Community during COVID-19 in the United States (LECC-US) – CASER | NYU Shanghai.

The “China Speaker Series” is designed to cultivate a research-focused environment that encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and promotes dynamic exchanges of ideas on contemporary China’s economy, politics, society, and culture. Esteemed scholars from around the globe are invited to either the NYU campus (Washington Square) or to online platforms to lead and engage in pivotal discussions about recent developments in China studies.

The China Speaker Series is funded by the Ni Qiaoying Memorial Fund of NYU Shanghai Foundation.