Jiawen
Wu

I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. My research examines parenting practices and children's STEM education, with a focus on how parents' involvement shapes children's math engagement, motivation, and skill development.

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Portrait of Jiawen Wu wearing a forest-green blazer in a softly lit university library.
Biography

About me

I am a developmental psychologist and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. I received my BS in Psychology from Fudan University in 2019, followed by an MS in Psychology in 2021 and a PhD in Psychology in 2025 from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where I also completed a minor in Quantitative Psychology.

My research examines how children learn to engage with difficult things: how they develop motivation, confidence, curiosity, and the willingness to persist, and how these processes are shaped by the people and environments around them.

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Research

Research Projects

I study how children become motivated, capable, and independent learners—and how parents, learning environments, and emerging technologies can support or constrain that development.

Project 1

Home Learning Environment: when parent’s involvement becomes pressure?

Central questionWhy do some learning contexts elicit constructive parental support while others produce pressure or control?
Project 2

Inside Parent–Child STEM Interactions

Central questionHow do cognitive and motivational forms of parent support jointly contribute to children’s engagement?
Project 3

How Families Shape Children's Learning in the AI Era

Central questionHow do parents’ AI experiences and beliefs—and their alignment with adolescents’ beliefs—shape young people’s learning, reliance, and future readiness?
Project 4

Human-in-the-Loop Behavioral Coding

Central questionWhich behavioral codes can be supported reliably by machine coding while preserving contextual human judgment?
Publications

Published Papers

2026

Parents' involvement in children's math learning: Motivational resources matter

Wu, J., and Pomerantz, E. M.

Child Development Perspectives, aadag004.
2025

The role of parenting in children's math learning: A dual-pathway model

Pomerantz, E. M., Wu, J., and MacDonald, C.

Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 69, 193-221.
2024

Cognitive and motivational numeracy parenting practices: Implications for children's numeracy engagement during early elementary school

Wu, J., Oh, D. D., Hyde, D. C., and Pomerantz, E. M.

Developmental Psychology, 60(4), 680.
2022

Parents' daily involvement in children's math homework and activities during early elementary school

Wu, J., Barger, M. M., Oh, D., and Pomerantz, E. M.

Child Development, 93(5), 1347-1364.
2022

Parents' responses to children's math performance in early elementary school: Links with parents' math beliefs and children's math adjustment

Barger, M. M., Wu, J., Xiong, Y., Oh, D. D., Cimpian, A., and Pomerantz, E. M.

Child Development, 93(6), e639-e655.
2022

Parent-reported stress and child behavior for 4-year-old children with unilateral or mild bilateral hearing loss

Fitzpatrick, E. M., Wu, J., Olds, J., Na, F., Gaboury, I., and others.

Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 27(2), 137-150.
2021

Differential associations between parents' versus children's perceptions of parental socialization goals and Chinese adolescent depressive symptoms

Zhou, Z., Li, M., Wu, J., and Li, X.

Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 681940.
2017

Sibling relationships: Forms, causes and consequences

Chen, B. B., Zhao, Y., Han, W., Wang, Y., Wu, J., Yue, X., and Wu, Y.

Advances in Psychological Science, 25(12), 2168.
Teaching & Mentoring

Teaching and mentoring

Taught

Psychology 216: Child Psychology

Instructor of record at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Prepared to teach

Development, research design, and quantitative methods

Child and adolescent development, lifespan development, research methods, statistics, behavioral coding, multilevel modeling, structural equation modeling, and longitudinal design.

40+

Undergraduate and graduate students mentored

Research and thesis mentoring from question development through analysis and communication.

Explore teaching & mentoring
Handwritten thank-you note from Olivia and Azhura expressing appreciation for Jiawen's guidance throughout their undergraduate research experience.
A thank-you note from undergraduate researchers Olivia and Azhura.
Contact Me

Let's Connect

I’d love to connect and chat about parenting, children’s STEM learning, AI conquering the world 😂, or potential research collaborations. I’m also currently exploring new career opportunities, so if you come across a position that you think might be a good fit, I’d be genuinely grateful if you sent it my way!

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