{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T04:30:45Z","timestamp":1786681845952,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786665600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between eighth-grade students\u2019 mathematics homework types and their combinations and their Mathematics Academic Performance (MAP) in the context of China\u2019s \u201cDouble Reduction\u201d policy, emphasizing the chain mediating role of mathematics homework interest and learning interest. A total of 18,202 eighth-grade students completed a cross-sectional survey administered in a mixed online\u2013offline mode. We adopted a mediation analysis method with multicategorical independent variables, using Practice Homework (PH) as the reference category. The results showed that homework combinations containing Test-Preparation Homework (TPH) tend to improve MAP through direct effects, while homework combinations including Applied\/Project-Based Homework (APH)\u2014in particular PH\u202f+\u202fAPH\u2014are more likely to enhance students\u2019 interest and improve MAP indirectly. In addition, homework interest and learning interest mediated the link between specific homework types (and their combinations) and MAP, primarily through a sequential chain mediation pathway in which homework interest predicted learning interest, which in turn predicted MAP. These findings clarify the mechanisms through which homework design\u2014considering both types and combinations\u2014relates to students\u2019 MAP in a \u201cDouble Reduction\u201d policy context, offering practical guidance for educators on assigning homework that enhances learning motivation and academic performance.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1815534","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T04:22:26Z","timestamp":1786681346000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["How mathematics homework types relate to mathematics academic performance via interest? A chain mediation analysis in the Chinese context"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Mucheng","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University","place":["Beijing, China"]},{"name":"China Education Innovation Institute, Beijing Normal University","place":["Zhuhai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yueyang","family":"Shao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"China Education Innovation Institute, Beijing Normal University","place":["Zhuhai, China"]},{"name":"Joint Education Institute of Zhejiang Normal University and University of Kansas, Zhejiang Normal University","place":["Jinhua, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jian","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"China Education Innovation Institute, Beijing Normal University","place":["Zhuhai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","volume-title":"Academic Resilience: What Schools and Countries do to Help Disadvantaged Students Succeed in PISA (OECD Education Working Papers No. 167)","author":"Agasisti","year":"2018"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"391","DOI":"10.1007\/s10648-006-9033-0","article-title":"Connecting with learning: motivation, affect, and cognition in interest processes","volume":"18","author":"Ainley","year":"2006","journal-title":"Educ. 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