Education

In October, the HSE Institute of Education fellows presented a wide range of research initiatives at the annual World Education Research Association (WERA) conference in João Pessoa, Brazil.

When the COVID-19 pandemic upended daily life, it didn’t just close schools and offices—it redrew the map of family life. A study by Mikhail Goshin, Dmitry Grigoryev, Pavel Sorokin, and Polina Bochkareva, published in Frontiers in Psychology, explores how parenting styles and extracurricular activities (ECA) shaped children’s ability to adapt, stay creative, and take charge of their lives during those tumultuous years. The findings shed light on how lockdowns quietly rewired the dynamics between parents and children—and, in many cases, helped young people discover unexpected forms of independence.

Three decades ago, China set out to build universities that could rival the world’s best—and it succeeded. Now, one of its leading scholars says the same model that powered that rise is holding it back. At ICHE Conference 2025, Professor Rui Yang called for a rethink of how knowledge—not just output—should drive the future.