I mainly study Western and East Asian sociocultural learning models, children's related learning beliefs and achievement, and parental socialization. My research involves preschoolers, schoolchildren, and college students. I have studied children in the U.S. (including Chinese immigrant children), China, Taiwan, UK, and Russia. In recent years, I have expanded my research and writing to the East Asian and Western self and affect as influenced by their respective cultures' philosophies, values, and practices.

1. Consultant with Co-PIs Daphna Buchsbaum, Brown University and William Cunnginham, University of Toronto for the project funded by Templeton World Charity Foundation: “Is it sometimes rational to believe things that aren’t true? Evaluating a normative standard for when beliefs should and shouldn’t change” (2023-2025).

2. Project Title: European American and Chinese Immigrant Children's Learning Beliefs and Related Socialization at Home
Project Period: March, 06-May, 2013
Principal Investigator: Jin Li, Ed.D. Jin_Li@Brown.edu, 401-863-9326
Funding Agencies: The Foundation for Child Development ($163,570) and the Spencer Foundation ($670,186) with a total of $833,756

The purpose of this longitudinal study (following children from 4-6) is to document (1) what learning beliefs (BLs) European American (EA) and Chinese immigrant (CI) children develop and how children are socialized at home in this development, (2) how they come to hold their learning beliefs, (3) how CI children adapt to both home and mainstream socialization, and (4) how children's beliefs influence their actual learning and achievement.

Children's capacity to learn develops early on, as do their BLs. BLs concern children's ideas about why they need to learn, how they should learn, whether they like learning, and who can help them learn. However, traditional research focuses much more on children's ability, school readiness, and teaching while paying little attention to children's own beliefs. BLs must also be studied in order to improve children's learning.

Children's BLs are not innate but develop as a result of their interactions with their social world. Because of caregivers' cultural/ethnic backgrounds, this socialization process also differs from group to group. Research shows that EA and Chinese children develop very different BLs. For example, when asked to talk about learning, EA children focus much more on the mind such as thinking, exploration, creativity, and verbal communication. Chinese children emphasize social and moral self-improvement along with developing personal virtues such as diligence, persistence, and concentration. Children from both cultures start to express such beliefs as young as four years of age. The older they are, the stronger their beliefs become.

Despite this research, we know little about how children come to hold different BLs during the crucial preschool years. Neither do we know how their caregivers socialize them at home. Moreover, virtually no research exists on CI family socialization in this area. Yet, CIs are the largest and fastest growing Asian American group. CI children are growing up in America, a culture that is vastly different from their parents' culture. In their socialization process, CI parents are likely to face acculturative challenges, and their children are also likely to experience cultural clashes. Finally, most research on CIs focuses on well-educated and middle-class population; little research exists on low-income families. Available research indicates that low-income CI preschoolers are far less prepared for school than their middle-class peers. This study seeks to address these research gaps. Our intention is to identify factors that promote positive development as well as factors that hinder such development in these two cultural and SES groups of children.

This study uses a longitudinal design. We followed three groups, middle-class EA, middle-class and low-income CI children (100/group with a total of 300) as well as their mothers for three consecutive years starting with children at age 4. We collected data with ten sets of instruments from the children themselves, their mothers, mother-child interactions, teachers, and children's school records. Empirical methods included children's achievement tests, story completion, parent interviews, mother-child conversations, mother-teaching-child, mother diary, mother survey, and teacher ratings of children's learning and social adjustment. We have been analyzing our data with mixed methods.

Currently, I have two collaborative projects with other researchers to analyzed my data:

1) Continuous collaboration with Ran Wei, Ph.D. Harvard Medical School on analyzing my video data focusing on the types of questions European- and Chinese-American mothers and their children ask during their free play (2021-Present).

2) Continuous collaboration with Jiayi Liu, doctoral candidate in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Michigan State University on analyzing my data on my Chinese American mother-child conversations about learning with a focus on maternal emotional socialization of preschool children (2023-).

3. Project Title: The Meanings of Learning, Achievement, and Motivation: A Study of Achievement Beliefs and Behaviors in Three Cultural Contexts
Project Period: May, 03-April, 06
Principal Investigator: Janine Bempechat, Ed.D., Wheelock College, Co-PIs: Jin Li, Ed.D. and Susan Holloway, University of California, Berkeley
Funding Agencies: William T. Grant Foundation ($470,000)

The purpose of this collaborative project was to understand how low-income high school students from European-, African-, Latino-, and Chinese-American backgrounds as well as their peers in England and Russia make meaning in their daily home and school life, how they interact and learn from their parents, teachers, and peers. We interviewed each of the 352 students three times. The first time they were interviewed about their daily home life including educational aspirations their parents convey to them, family-child communication, peer interactions outside school, and home monitoring for schoolwork. The second interview was on students' perceptions of key concepts such as "good student," "poor student," "good teacher," "not so good teacher," "smartness/intelligence," and "hard work." The third interview consisted of focus group discussions with 3-5 students per group about students' experiences at school. In addition, we used the experience sampling method (randomly signaling each student 7 times a day with a preprogrammed watch) to collect data on their daily activities in and outside school, their preference for activities, and their emotions. We also collected students' achievement data from school.

Currently, we focus our data analyses on variations within each ethnic group between high and low achieving students with mixed methods. We have analyzed a portion of the data and have published a number of journal articles. As we analyze more data, we will publish more research results.

4. Project Title: Beliefs About Learning Among Children and Parents in Taiwan and the United States
Project Period: May, 03-April, 06
Principal Investigator: Jin Li, Co-PI: Heidi Fung, Ph.D., Academia Sinica, Taiwan
Funding Agencies: Chang Ching-Kuo Foundation ($51,000)

This study focused on early elementary schoolchildren with three components: (1) children's learning-related self-concepts, (2) parental socialization of learning beliefs, and (3) parents' emotional reactions to children's learning attitudes, behavior, and achievement. For (1), we collected children's stories about themselves at home vs. at school. For (2) we recorded mother-child conversations about good learning attitudes/behavior vs. less desirable attitudes/behavior. For (3) we assessed emotional reactions to children's learning attitudes and achievement by mothers and fathers and their respective socialization strategies. Currently we have completed some data analyses of all three components. We have found that children's self-concepts are constructed in the nexus of three key dimensions: domain (home life vs. school learning), self-construal orientation (autonomy vs. relatedness), and cultural values (e.g., emphasis on social competence vs. moral self-improvement in school). We have also found the two cultures' mothers socialize their children differently. European American (EA) mothers focus on fostering their children's self-confidence and pride; Taiwanese mothers emphasize continuous self-improvement. Finally, EA parents' affects are pride for their children's good learning attitudes/achievement, but sadness and anger at teachers for poor attitudes/achievement. Taiwanese parents' affects are relief for good attitudes/achievement but shame/guilt at themselves and anger at their own children for poor attitudes/achievement. We have published a number of journal articles and chapters on our data and will continue to analyze and publish more results.

5. Project Title: Teaching as a Natural Cognition: Chinese Mothers and their Young Children
Project Period: December, 03-November, 05
Principal Investigator: Sidney Strauss from Tel Aviv University, Co-PI: Jin Li
Funding Agencies: The Spencer Foundation ($35,000)

Our goal was to investigate how indigenous (less influenced by the West) children (ages 3-8) from rural China develop their natural cognitive ability of teaching and how their mothers engage in teaching their young children household skills. We were interested in children's emergent understanding of other children's minds and their mothers' assumptions about their children's cognitive capacities. We taught each child a novel board game and asked the child to teach a peer. We then asked each child's mother to teach her child a household skill. Both sessions were videotaped. We have transcribed and translated all data. We have also developed our coding schemes and analyzed some data. Our findings show that Chinese rural children are similar to Israeli children with regard to the developing sequence of their teaching cognition. However, differences in the styles of teaching were observed in both the children and their mothers.

6. Project Title: Culture and Speaking
Project Period: 2007-2012
Principal Investigator: Jin Li

This project aims at understanding how culture may influence people's speaking. The West emphasizes verbal communication and self-expression, but East Asia values action more than speaking. We have collected words and phrases from adults that refer to speaking in English and Chinese. These terms are rated by participants for their degree of positivity and negativity. We also present people with different types of persons juxtaposing speaking and action. People from different cultural backgrounds indicate the degree to which they like each type of person. Finally, we present participants with scenarios that occur routinely in daily life. Some scenarios depict characters who are self-expressive whereas other scenarios show characters who are not. We use mixed methods to analyze our data.

Consultant for the research project “Is it sometimes rational to believe things that aren’t true? Evaluating a normative standard for when beliefs should and shouldn’t change.” PIs: Daphna Buchsbaum, Brown University and William Cunnginham, University of Toronto. 2023-25. $200,000

Major grant from the Spencer Foundation for a 4-year longitudinal study on European American and Chinese immigrant children's learning beliefs and socialization. 2007-13. $670,186.

Young Scholars Award from the Foundation for Child Development for a 2-year longitudinal study on Chinese immigrant children's learning beliefs and related home socialization. 2006-2008. $163,570.

Grant from Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for a 2-year collaborative research project on beliefs about learning among school children and parents in Taiwan, China, and the U.S. 2003-05. $51,000.

Small Grant from the Spencer Foundation for a 1-year collaborative research research project on how Chinese rural mothers spontaneously teach their preschool children and how young children teach each other. 2003-04. $35,000.

Major Grant from William T. Grant Foundation for a 2-year collaborative research project on adolescents' meaning making of learning and achievement in the U.S., UK, and Russia, 2002-04. $470,000.

Salomon Faculty Research Award from Brown University for two research projects on children's beliefs about learning among U.S. and Chinese college students and young children, 2002. $6,000.

Small Grant from the Spencer Foundation for a 1-year project on U.S. and Chinese preschoolers' understanding of learning (PUL), 2001-02. $35,000.

Salomon Faculty Research Award from Brown University for a 2-year research project on conceptions of learning among U.S. college students, 1999-01. $10,000.

Student Research Grant based on merit for dissertation from Harvard Institute for International Development and International Education Office of Harvard Graduate School of Education, 1996. $3,000.

Peer-Refereed Articles

Yamamoto, Y., Li, J., *Yang, H.-Y., & Zhang, I. (in press). Parental guidance and respect for authority: Low-income and middle-SES Chinese American preschoolers’ perceptions of parental support for learning. Early Childhood Research Quarterly.

Li, J. (2023). Confucian affect (qing 情) as the foundation for mutual care and moral elevation. Journal of Confucian Philosophy and Culture, 40, 39-73. doi: 10.22916/jcpc.2023.40.39

Yamamoto, Y., Li, J., & Bempechat, J. (2022). Reconceptualizing parental involvement: A sociocultural model explaining Chinese immigrant parents’ school-based and home-based involvement. Educational Psychologist, doi: 10.1080/00461520.2022.2094383

Bempechat, J., Cheung, A., & Li, J. (2022). Academic socialization from an “informed distance:” Low-income Chinese American adolescents’ perceptions of their immigrant parents’ educational messages. Teachers College Record, 1-27. doi: 10.1177/01614681221093022

Bempechat, J., Cheung, A., & Li, J. (2021). A qualitative analysis of educational messaging: Case studies of four low-income Chinese American youth. Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research, 15, 173–190.

Li, J., & Fung, H. (2020). Culture at work: European American and Taiwanese parental socialization of children’s learning. Applied Developmental Science. doi: 10.1080/10888691.2020.1789351

Li, J., & Yamamoto, Y. (2019). Western and East Asian sociocultural learning models: Evidence from cross-cultural and immigrant groups. Asian Journal of Social Psychology. doi: 10.1111/ajsp.12384

Vu, K. T. T. Cheah, C. S. L., Zhou, N., Leung, C. Y. Y., Li, J., & Yamamoto, Y. (2018). Understanding when and where European American and Chinese American mothers express warmth and control. Parenting: Science and Practice, 18(4), 259-277. 10.1080/15295192.2018.1524244

Kim, S.-J., Holloway, S., & Bempechat, J., & Li, J. (2018). Explaining adolescents’ affect: A time-use study of opportunities for support and autonomy across interpersonal contexts. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(8), 2384–2393 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1092-6

Li, J., Yamamoto, Y., Kinnane, J., Shugarts, B., & Ho, C. (2018). From learning beliefs to achievement among European American and Chinese immigrant preschool children. Child Development. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13055

Li, J. (2017). The advice of Mencius. Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Autumn/Winter, 17-19.

Fung, H., Li, J., & Lam, C. K. (2017). Multi-faceted discipline strategies of Chinese parenting. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 41(4), 472-481. doi: 10.1177/0165025417690266

Bempechat, J., Li, J., & Ronfard, S. (2016). Relations between cultural learning beliefs, self-regulated learning, and academic achievement for low-income Chinese-American adolescents. Child Development. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12702

Yamamoto, Y., Li, J., & Liu, J. L. (2016). Does socioeconomic status matter for Chinese immigrants’ academic socialization? Family environment, parental engagement, and preschoolers’ outcomes. Research in Human Development, 13(3), 191-206. doi: 10.1080/15427609.2016.1194706

Li, J. (2016). Humility in learning: A Confucian perspective. Special Issue on developing virtue: Empirically-informed perspectives from East and West. Journal of Moral Education, 1-19. doi: 10.1080/03057240.2016.1168736

Cheah, C., Li, J., Zhou, N., Yamamoto, Y., & Leung, C. (2015). Understanding Chinese immigrant and European American mothers’ expressions of warmth. Developmental Psychology, 51(12), 1802-1811. doi: 10.1037/a0039855

Mistry, J., Li, J., Yoshikawa, H., Tseng, V., Tirrell, J., Kiang, L., Mistry, R., & Wang, Y. (2016). An integrated conceptual framework for the development of Asian American children and youth. Child Development, 87(4), 1014–1032. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12577

Li, J. (2016). Inexhaustible source of water: The enduring Confucian learning model (有源之水難涸也: 百折不衰的儒家學習模式). Education Research Monthly (教育学术月刊), 2, 33-41.

Li, J. (2015). Play or learn: European-American and Chinese kindergartners’ perceptions about the conflict. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 1-18. doi: 10.1111/bjep.12086

Holloway, S. D., Park, S., Jonas, M., Bempechat, J., & Li, J. (2014). My mom tells me I should follow the rules, that’s why they have those rules:” Perceptions of parental advice giving among Mexican-heritage adolescents. Journal of Latinos and Education, 13, 262–277. doi: 10.1080/15348431.2014.887468

Li, J., Fung, H., Bakeman, R., Rae, K., & Wei, W.-C. (2014). How European American and Taiwanese mothers talk to their children about learning. Child Development, 85, 1206-1221. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12172 

Van Egmond, M., Kühnen, U., & Li, J. (2013). Mind and virtue: The meaning of learning, a matter of culture? Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 2, 208-216. doi: 10.1016/j.lcsi.2013.06.002

Bempechat, J., Ronfard, S., Mirny, A., Li, J., & Holloway, S. D. (2013). “She always gives grades lower than one deserves:” A qualitative study of Russian adolescents’ perceptions of fairness in the classroom. Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research, 7, 169-187.

Park, S., Holloway, S. D., Arendtsz, A., Bempechat, B., & Li, J. (2012). What makes students engaged in learning? A time-use study of within- and across-individual predictors of emotional engagement. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41(3), 390-401. doi:10.1007/S10964-011-9738-3

Yamamoto, Y., & Li, J. (2012). What makes a high-quality preschool? Similarities and differences between Chinese immigrant and European American parents’ views. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27, 306-315. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2011.09.005

Bempechat, J., Li, J., Neier, S., Gillis, C., & Holloway, S. D. (2011). The homework experience: Perceptions of low income youth. Journal of Advanced Academics, 22(2), 250–278. doi:10.1177/1932202X1102200204

Li, J., Yamamoto, Y., Luo, L., Batchelor, A., & Bresnahan, R. M. (2010). Why attend school? Chinese immigrant and European American preschoolers’ views and outcomes. Developmental Psychology, 46(6), 1637-1650. doi: 10.1037/a0019926

Li, J., Holloway, S. D., Bempechat, J., & Loh, E. (2008). Building and using a social network: Nurture for low-income Chinese American adolescents’ learning. In H. Yoshikawa & N. Way (Eds.), Beyond families and schools: How broader social contexts shape the adjustment of children and youth in immigrant families (pp. 7-25). New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development Series. R. W. Larson & L. A. Jensen (Series Eds.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. doi:10.1002/cd.220

Holloway, S. D., Mirny, A. I., Bempechat, J., & Li, J. (2008). Schooling, peer relations, and family life of Russian adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 23(4), 488-507. doi: 10.1177/0743558407311938

Bae, S., Holloway, S. D., Bempechat, J., & Li, J. (2008). Mexican-American students’ perceptions of teachers’ expectations: Do perceptions differ depending on student achievement levels? The Urban Review, 40, 210-225. doi:10.1007/S11256-007-0070-X

Sobel, D., Li, J., & Corriveau, K. (2007). “It danced around in my head and I learned it:” What children know about learning. Journal of Cognition and Development, 8(3), 1-25. doi:10.1080/15248370701446806

Li, J. (2006). Self in learning: Chinese adolescents’ goals and sense of agency. Child Development, 77(2), 482-501. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00883.x

Li, J. (2005). Mind or virtue: Western and Chinese beliefs about learning. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(4), 190-194. doi: 10.1111/j.0963-7214.2005.00362.x

Li, J., Wang, L.-Q., & Fischer, K. W. (2004). The organization of Chinese shame concepts. Cognition and Emotion, 18(6), 767-797. doi:10.1080/02699930341000202 

Li, J., & Wang, Q. (2004). Perceptions of achievement and achieving peers in U.S. and Chinese kindergartners. Social Development, 13(3), 413-436. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2004.00275.x

Li, J. (2004). Learning as a task or virtue: U.S. and Chinese children explain learning. Developmental Psychology, 40(4), 595-605. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.40.4.595 

Li, J. (2004). “I learn and I grow big:” Chinese preschoolers’ purposes for learning. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28(2), 116-128. doi:10.1080/01650250344000325

Li, J., & Yue, X. -D. (2004). Self in learning among Chinese children. In M. F. Mascolo & J. Li. (Eds.), Culture and developing selves: Beyond dichotomization. New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development Series (pp. 27-43). W. Damon (Series Ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. doi:10.1002/cd.102

Li, J. (2003). The core of Confucian learning. American Psychologist, 58, 146-147. doi: /10.1037/0003-066X.58.2.146

Li, J. (2003). U.S. and Chinese cultural beliefs about learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(2),258-267. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.95.2.258

Wang, Q., & Li, J. (2003). Chinese children's self-concepts in the domains of learning and social relations. Psychology in the Schools, 40 (1), 85-101. doi: 10.1002/pits.10071 

Li, J. (2002). A cultural model of learning: Chinese “heart and mind for wanting to learn.” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33(3), 248-269. doi: 10.1177/0022022102033003003

Li, J., & Li, J.-M.. (2002). "The cow loves to learn:" The hao-xue-xin learning model as a reflection of the cultural relevance of Zhima Jie, China's Sesame Street. Early Education and Development, 13(4), 379-394. doi:10.1207/s15566935eed1304_3

Li, J. (2002). Models of learning in different cultures. In J. Bempechat & J. Elliott (Eds.), Achievement motivation in culture and context: Understanding children's learning experiences, New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development (pp. 45-63). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Williams, W. M., Blythe, T., White, N., Li, J., Gardner, H., & Sternberg, R. J. (2002). Practical intelligence for school: Developing metacognitive sources of achievement in adolescence. Developmental Review, 22, 162-210. doi: 10.1006/drev.2002.0544

Li, J. (2001). Chinese conceptualization of learning. Ethos, 29, 111-137. doi: 10.1525/eth.2001.29.2.111

Li, J. (1997). Creativity in horizontal and vertical domains. Creativity Research Journal, 10(2-3), 107-132. doi: 10.1207/s15326934crj1002&3_3 

Li, J., & Gardner, H. (1993). How domains constrain creativity: The case of traditional Chinese and Western painting. American Behavioral Scientist, 37(1), 94-101.

 

Books

Li, J. (in press). The self in the West and East Asia: Being or Becoming. Polity. Book project supported by the Berggruen Institute, LA, CA. Anticipated publication year: 2024.

Li, J. (2015). 文化溯源—东方与西方学习理念 [Cultural Foundations of Learning: East and West] (S. Chang, Trans. from English into Chinese). Eastern China Normal University Press.

Li, J. (2015). КУЛЬТУРНЫЕ ОСНОВЫ ОБУЧЕНИЯ Восток и Запад [Cultural Foundations of Learning: East and West] (A. Apollonov and T. Kotelnikova Trans. from English into Russian).  Издательский дом Высшей школы экономики [National Research University and Higher School of Economics, Russia].

Li, J. (2012). Cultural foundations of learning: East and West. New York: Cambridge University press. [This book’s Chinese translation will appear in Spring, 2015; its Russian translation is in progress].

Williams, W., Blythe, T., White, N., Li, J., Sternberg, R. J., & Gardner, H. (1996). Practical intelligence for school. HarperCollins. 

 

Chapters

Yamamoto, Y., Li, J., & Bempechat, J. (in press). A cultural model of family-school relations: East Asian immigrant parents’ involvement in children’s education. In M. Williams-Johnson (Ed.), Critical Analysis of Parental Involvement in School: Working with Families across Sociocultural Context. Routledge.

Li, J. (2021). A life worth pursuing: Confucian ritual propriety (禮) in self-cultivation. In M. A. Peters, T. Besley, & H.-J. Zhang (Eds.), Moral education and the ethics of self-cultivation (pp. 93-107). Springer.

Yamamoto, Y., Li, J., Li, A, LaFave, R., & Reichling, C. (2021). Raising humble learners: Asian immigrant families’ socialization and children’s school experiences. In M. J. Strickland & L. Roy (Eds.), Composing storylines of possibilities: Immigrant and refugee families navigating school (37-53). Information Age.

Yamamoto, Y., Li, J., Bao, H., & Suh, W. (2020). Demand and direct involvement: Chinese American and European American preschoolers’ perceptions of parental involvement in children’s schooling. In H. Chu & B. Thelamour (Eds.), Conceptual and methodological approaches to navigating immigrant ecologies (pp. 199-218). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50235-5_11

Li, J., & Fung, H. (2^nd ed.). (2020). 由親子對談窺探關於學習信念的文化詮釋框架: 台灣與美國學童之比較 [Cultural interpretive frame for mother-child conversations about learning: Comparing European American and Taiwanese dyads. In F.-W. Liu (Ed.), 同理心、情感、與互為主體 [Empathy, affect, and intersubjectivity] (pp. 261-298). Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica.

Li, J. (2020). Confucian self-cultivation: A developmental perspective. In R. Ames & P. Hershock (Eds.), Human beings or human becomings: Who we are and who we need to be (91-120). University of New York Press.

Li, J. (2020). The cultural framing of development. In M. F. Mascolo & T. Bidell (Eds.), Handbook of Integrative Psychological Development: Essays in Honor of Kurt W. Fischer (pp. 308-322).  Routledge/Taylor & Francis.

Bempechat, J., Jimenez-Silva, M., Li, J., & Holloway, S. D. (2018). “Classes where kids learn/don’t learn a lot:” A study of Mexican American adolescents’ voices. In S. Jones & E. Sheffield (pp. 55-76). Why kids love (and hate) school: Reflections on difference. Meyers Education Press.

Li, J. (2016). The indispensable role of culture in shaping children’s learning beliefs. In R. B. King & A. B. I. Bernardo, The psychology of Asian learners: A festschrift in honor of David Watkins (pp. 37-51). Springer Asia.

Li, J. (2015). Rediscover Lasting Values: Confucian Asian Cultural Learning Models in the 21st Century. In G.-P. Zhao & Z.-Y. Deng, (Eds.), Re-envisioning Chinese education: The meaning of person-making in a new age. Routledge.

Li, J., & Fung, H. (2014). 由親子對談窺探關於學習信念的文化詮釋框架: 台灣與美國學童之比較 [Cultural interpretive frame for mother-child conversations about learning: Comparing European American and Taiwanese dyads. In F.-W. Liu (Ed.), 同理心、情感、與互為主體 [Empathy, affect, and intersubjuctivity]. Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica.

Li, J., Fung, H., & Chen, E. C.-H. (2013). Taiwanese parent-child conversations for moral guidance: Uncovering the ubiquitous but enigmatic process. In C. Wainryb & H. Recchia (Eds.), Talking about right and wrong: Parent–child conversations as contexts for moral development (pp. 71-97). Cambridge University Press.

Li, J. (2013). Cultural models, children’s beliefs, and parental socialization: European American and Chinese learning. In L.-X. Jin & M. Cortazzi (Eds.), Researching cultures of learning: International perspectives on language learning and education (pp. 267-284). Palgrave Macmillan.

Yamamoto, Y. & Li, J. (2012). Quiet in the eye of the beholder: Teacher perceptions of Asian immigrant children. In C. Garcia Coll (Ed.), The impact of immigration on children’s development. Contributions to Human Development, Vol. 24. (pp. 1-17). Karger.

Bempechat, J., Mirny, A., Li, J., Wenk, K.A., & Holloway, S. D. (2011). Learning together: The educational experiences of adolescents in Moscow. In McInerney, D.M., Walker, R.A., Arief, G., & Liem, D. (Eds.), Sociocultural theories of learning and motivation: Looking back, looking forward (pp. 283-307). Information Age Press.

Li, J. (2010). Cultural frames of children’s learning beliefs. In L. A. Jensen (Ed.), Bridging cultural and developmental psychology: New syntheses in theory, research and policy (26-48). Oxford University Press.

Cheah, C. S. L., & Li, J. (2009). Parenting of young immigrant Chinese children: Challenges facing their social emotional and intellectual development. In E. L. Grigorenko & R. Takanishi (Eds.), Immigration, diversity, and education (pp. 225-241). Routledge.

Li, J. (2009). Learning to self-perfect: Chinese beliefs about learning. In C. Chan & N. Rao (Eds), Revisiting the Chinese learner: Psychological and pedagogical perspectives (pp. 35-70). Comparative Education Research Centre (CERC), University of Hong Kong and Springer Press.

Li, J. (2009). Self -development. In R. A., Shweder, T. R. Bidell, A. C. Dailey, S. D. Dixon, P. J. Miller, & J. Modell (Eds.), The child: An encyclopedic companion (pp. 873-876). University of Chicago Press.

Li, J., & K. W. Fischer. (2007). Respect as a positive self-conscious emotion in European Americans and Chinese. In J. L. Tracy, R. W. Robins, & J. P. Tangney (Eds.), The self-conscious emotions: Theory and research (pp. 224-242). Guilford. 

Li, J. (2006). Respect in children across cultures. In D. W. Shwalb & B. J. Shwalb (Eds.), Respect and disrespect: Cultural and developmental origins. New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development Series (No. 114) (pp. 81-89). R. W. Larson & L. A. Jensen (Series Eds.). Jossey-Bass.

Mascolo, M. F., & Li, J. (Eds.). (2004). Culture and developing selves: Beyond dichotomization. New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development Series. W. Damon (Series Ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Mascolo, M. F., & Li, J. (2004). Editors’ notes. In M. Mascolo & J. Li (Eds.), Culture and developing selves: Beyond dichotomization. New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development Series (pp. 1-7). W. Damon (Series Ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Li, J., & Fischer, K. W. (2004). Thoughts and emotions in American and Chinese cultural beliefs about learning. In D. Y. Dai & R. Sternberg (Eds.), Motivation, emotion, and cognition: Integrative perspectives on intellectual functioning and development (pp.385-418). Erlbaum.

Li, J, & Yue, X. -D. (2004). Self in learning among Chinese adolescents. In M. F. Mascolo & J. Li. (Eds.), Culture and developing selves: Beyond dichotomization (New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development Series No. 104) (pp. 27-43). Jossey-Bass.

Li, J. (2004). A Chinese cultural model of learning. In L.-H. Fan, N.-Y. Wong, J.-F Cai, & S.-Q. Li. (Eds.), How Chinese learn mathematics: Perspectives from insiders (pp. 124-156). World Scientific.

Li, J. (2004). High abilities and excellence: A cultural perspective. In L. V. Shavinina & M. Ferrari (Eds.), Beyond knowledge: Extracognitive aspects of developing high ability (pp. 187-208). Erlbaum.

Mascolo, M. F., Fischer, K. W., & Li, J. (2003). The dynamic construction of emotions in development: A component systems approach. In N. Davidson, K. Scherer & H. Goldsmith (Eds.), Handbook of affective science (pp. 375-408). Oxford University Press.

Mascolo, M. F., Li, J., Fink, R., & Fischer, K. W. (2002). Pathways to excellence: Value presuppositions and the development of academic and affective skills in educational contexts. In M. Ferrari (Ed.), The pursuit of excellence in education (pp. 113-146). Erlbaum.

The President's Award for Excellence in Faculty Governance, Brown University, 2024

One of scholars in the field invited to host a Breakfast/Lunch with Leaders at the conference of the Society for Research in Child Development, 2023.

The Xiaojia Ge Lifetime Achievement Award from the SRCD Asian Caucus, 2021.

One of the six leading developmental scientists of color who have made critical research contributions featured in the video Why Developmental Science? by the Society for Research in Child Development, 2019.

The Erin Phelps Award, 2017 by the Society for the Study of Human Development (SSHD) as the best article in two years for my co-authored journal article: Yamamoto, Y., Li, J., & Liu, J. L. (2016). Does socioeconomic status matter for Chinese immigrants’ academic socialization? Family environment, parental engagement, and preschoolers’ outcomes. Research in Human Development, 13(3), 191-206. doi: 10.1080/15427609.2016.1194706.

Inaugural Fellow to study philosophy and culture at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 2015-2016 and Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University, China, 2016-2017, sponsored by the Berggruen Institute of Philosophy and Culture.

Guest Faculty Member at the newly founded and highly competitive Schwarzman Scholars Program (http://schwarzmanscholars.org/program/) for training international leaders for the 21st century, Tsinghua University, China, 2016-2018.

The University Lecturer by Cornell University to deliver a lecture to the whole university campus, March, 2013: Rediscover lasting values: Western and East Asian cultural learning models in the 21st century.

Invited lecture among 300 world-renowned scholars at Beijing Forum 2011 (北京論壇), Beijing, China: Rediscover Lasting Values: Cultural Treasure Trove of Learning in the 21^st Century [再發現長存價值:  21世紀學習的文化寶庫]. 2011.

Commencement address to the graduating class, Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany: Cross-Cultural Learning in a New Era. 2009. 

One of the three nationally selected recipients for the Young Scholars Award from the Foundation for Child Development for a 2-year longitudinal study on Chinese immigrant children’s learning beliefs and related home socialization. 2006-2008. $163,570.

Invited by the Chinese Ministry of Education to give a series of lectures at four major Chinese universities, summer, 2005.

One of 30 scholars in the field invited to participate in the Lunch with Leaders program at the biannual conference of the Society of Research in Child Development, April, 2005.

Distinction for my doctoral qualifying paper: “Creativity in Horizontal and Vertical Domains.” Harvard Graduate School of Education, 1994.

Award for Excellence in German Studies, Guangzhou Institute of Foreign Languages, from German Academic Exchange Service (Der Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst). West Germany, 1981.

Asian Association of Social Psychology
International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development
Society for Research in Child Development
Asian Association of Social Psychology

Human development in general, culture and child development, social contexts for learning and development, moral development and education, and educational psychology.