Research Student Profiles

Mr CHEN, Xueliang

Human Communication, Learning, and Development

Programme of Study: PhD

Field of Study: Children's Early Language and Literacy Development; Educational Psychology

Research Topic: The relationship between home science activities and preschool children's science literacy and science engagement

Email Address: cxliang@connect.hku.hk

Office: Room 548, Meng Wah Complex


About Me:
I am interested in the following three areas of research: (1) the psychology of learning (i.e., how people learn and why some are more efficient and effective learners than others); for this line of research, I focus primarily on learning within STEM domains; (2) technology-enhanced learning (i.e., how technology can be leveraged to improve learning processes and outcomes, such as ICT, social media, and AI); and (3) the application of psychometrics and advanced statistical methods to improve assessment of learning processes and outcomes (e.g., Rasch, IRT, CDM, SEM, growth curve models). I am actively looking for potential collaborators. So feel free to drop an email at cxliang@connect.hku.hk if you are also interested in any of these research topics.


Current Research:
Development of science literacy among preschool-aged children


Primary Supervisor: Professor ZHANG, Xiao

Co-supervisor(s): Professor DE LA TORRE, Jimmy


Research Outputs:
Chen, X., & Xiao, Y. (2024). Pathways to digital reading literacy among secondary school students: A multilevel analysis using data from 31 economies. Computers & Education, 218. DOI: [10.1016/j.compedu.2024.105090]

Xiao, Y., Chen, X., Jin, Y., & Hew, K. (2024). Player types in gamified learning: Conceptualization, validation, and profiling. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 1-19.

Aryadoust, V., Min, S., & Chen, X. (2024). Investigating differential item functioning across interaction variables in listening comprehension assessment. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 80.

Chen, X., Yang, Y., & Zhang, X. (2024). Validating a measure of growing pattern understanding in Chinese preschool children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 67, 24-33.

Chen, X., & Hu, J. (2021). Pathways linking parental support to adolescents’ reading proficiency: A social cognitive theory perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 12.

Hu, J., Peng, Y., Chen, X., & Yu, H. (2021). Differentiating the learning styles of college students in different disciplines in a college English blended learning setting. Plos One, 16(5).

Chen, X., & Hu, J. (2020). ICT-related behavioral factors mediate the relationship between adolescents’ ICT interest and their ICT self-efficacy: Evidence from 30 countries. Computers & Education, 159.

Chen, X., & Hu, J. (2020). Exploring linguistic science: Language use, complexity, and interaction. Language in Society, 49(2), 314-315.

Chen, X., & Hu, J. (2021). Going global: The successful link of IELTS and Aptis to China’s Standards of English language ability (CSE). International Journal of English Linguistics, 11(1), 1-9.

Chen, X., & Hu, J. (2019). A corpus-based study of Hillary Clinton’s and Donald Trump’s linguistic styles. International Journal of English Linguistics, 9(3), 13-22.

Chen, X., & Hu, J. (2019). Evolution of US presidential discourse over 230 years: A psycholinguistic perspective. International Journal of English Linguistics, 9(4), 28-41.