Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050766

Authors: Audrey Amrein-Beardsley Jessica Holloway Steven Lewis Courtney Stone

Debates over teacher evaluation and teacher effectiveness have largely focused on methodological refinement, particularly the technical adequacy of value-added models (VAMs). Far less attention has been paid to the validity of the evidentiary foundations on which these systems rest. In this theoretical synthesis of validity theory related to use, interpretation, and consequences, we argue that validity must be treated not as a technical property of measures alone, but as an interpretive, political, and governance-laden construct that precedes legitimate policy use. We examine achievement tests as the primary evidentiary base for teacher effectiveness claims, highlighting persistent misalignments between test purposes, interpretations, and high-stakes uses. We then show how VAMs extend rather than resolve these foundational validity problems by amplifying weak inferential links between student test scores and judgments of teacher quality. Drawing on contemporary validity theory, we emphasize the centrality of interpretation–use arguments and consequential validity in accountability contexts. We conclude by outlining what a validity-first approach to teacher evaluation would require and why unresolved validity questions represent ethical and political failures in education policy.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050765

Authors: Zhi Ma

Research on language teacher emotional labour has expanded substantially, and recent scholarship includes both psychological and sociopolitical accounts of teachers’ emotional lives. However, within the 2020–2025 literature mapped in this review, leadership and institutional conditions are not always foregrounded with the same analytical specificity as teacher-focused constructs such as burnout, resilience or regulation. To examine this pattern, the study combines bibliometric mapping of 103 records with a focused interpretive thematic synthesis of 14 studies situated in or directly relevant to secondary school contexts. The bibliometric results show a field organised mainly around emotional labour, burnout, identity and teacher psychology vocabularies, with leadership and policy terms less prominent at the keyword level. The thematic synthesis identifies three recurrent school-level mechanisms through which emotional labour is discussed: accountability and governance, micropolitical recognition and exclusion, and support arrangements that shape how emotional burdens are shared or individualised. Across the 14 studies, non-native English-speaking teacher (NNEST) positioning and racialisation are most visible in studies that explicitly foreground legitimacy and marginalisation, but less visible in more generic studies of support or accountability. The review concludes that future research and practice would benefit from more clearly specifying institutional mechanisms and examining how secondary school conditions and NNEST positioning shape teachers’ emotional labour.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050764

Authors: Katrine von Bornemann Dorte Moeskær Larsen Maiken Westen Holm Svendsen Keith Devlin Connie Svabo

This study investigates how structural alignment between mathematics teaching and vocational welding practice can support student engagement and strengthen the perceived relevance of mathematics. The research examines an interdisciplinary intervention in Danish vocational education, where mathematics and welding teachers collaboratively designed modules linking trigonometric calculations to practical workshop tasks. Using Cultural–Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), the mathematics classroom and the welding workshop are analysed as interacting activity systems. The analysis draws on video observations, field notes, and interviews with teachers and students. The findings show that interdisciplinary collaboration reorganised relations between classroom and workshop practices by aligning artefacts, division of labour, and shared objectives across learning environments. Students reported improved understanding of how mathematics is applied in vocational practice, increased precision in workshop tasks, and more positive attitudes towards mathematics.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050763

Authors: Pontso Moorosi

Research on school leadership preparation and development on the African continent has been growing significantly in recent years. A close examination of this literature reveals a deficit bias that presents leadership preparation as inadequate leading to perceptions of ineffective leadership practice. In this literature, leadership preparation is understood as the formal training of school principals and those who hold similar positions of authority. The paper argues that this conception is premised on Western models that center individualism and the hierarchy of leadership and is incongruent with the socio-cultural realities within the African context. Within this contextual dissonance, leadership learning is narrowly conceptualized and is thus constraining to the applied context. The paper adopts a critical post-structural analysis to make a case for a dialogical and transformative approach to leadership preparation and development. It draws upon Global South philosophies of Paulo Freire—a South American philosopher whose approach to leadership development centers dialogue, critical consciousness and continuous engagement; Sophie Oluwole, a Nigerian philosopher from the Yoruba tribe, whose philosophy centers cultural acceptance that promotes dialogue and continuous criticism; and the Ubuntu-centered philosophy of Mogobe Ramose, which encourages critical dialogue between knowledge systems. The constant engagement and dialogue espoused in the three philosophical stances allow for contestation and fluidity that serve as bedrocks for healthy and trusting environments for leadership development, permitting a more nuanced understanding of how leadership is learned. The proposed approach politicizes leadership learning and recognizes it as contextual, collectivist and contested. The paper thus advances a radical way of thinking about school leadership preparation and development, which arguably holds better prospects for leadership that is more responsive, inclusive, and sustainable.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050762

Authors: Maria Luz Espino Clark R. Coffman Corinna A. Most

Self-efficacy—one’s belief in their ability to take the actions necessary to succeed—is a critical determinant of student success and retention, particularly during the transitional first two years of undergraduate study. Learning communities that incorporate peer mentors have been identified as promising structures for fostering self-efficacy, yet the mechanisms by which intentional peer mentoring within structured career development contexts shapes students’ self-efficacy beliefs remain underexplored. This study examined the following research questions: (1) How does participation in a career-focused Learning community course shape first- and second-year STEM students’ sense of self-efficacy regarding academic and career decision-making? (2) In what ways do peer mentors and peer support networks within the learning community contribute to students’ self-efficacy development? (3) How do students describe feeling empowered—or not—to pursue their career goals as a result of this experience? Using a mixed-methods design that combined pre- and post-course surveys, semi-structured focus groups, and phenomenological one-on-one interviews, we investigated the self-efficacy development of first- and second-year STEM students (N = 53) enrolled in a semester-long learning community course at a large, predominantly White public institution in the Midwest. Of these, 25 students completed both the pre- and post-course Career Self-Efficacy surveys and were included in matched statistical analyses. Three major findings emerged: (1) the learning community class environment created a space where self-efficacy was prioritized and developed; (2) peer support groups and peer mentors positively impacted students’ self-efficacy; and (3) students felt empowered by the experience in pursuing their chosen career goals. These findings have practical implications for the design of learning communities in STEM, highlighting the value of intentional peer mentoring structures and career-focused activities as tools for promoting student confidence, retention, and long-term academic success.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050761

Authors: Claire Brindley Rachel Arthur Jonathan Bennett Mehdi Hajilo Wesley James Karen Matthews

A substantial proportion of U.S. third graders cannot read at grade level. However, few models in the literature are known to be effective in ameliorating third-grade reading deficits, where learning to read shifts to reading to learn. This study presents findings from an evaluation of Literacy Fellows, a one-year, intensive, small-group reading intervention designed for third graders lacking decoding skills needed for comprehension. The study sample included 484 third-grade students from low-income, predominantly Black school districts, 120 of whom scored below the cutoff on a standardized, beginning-of-the-year reading test and were assigned to the Literacy Fellows intervention. The analytical sample draws on cohorts from the 2015–2016, 2016–2017, and 2017–2018 academic years. The effectiveness of Literacy Fellows was investigated using a quasi-experimental regression discontinuity design. The results indicate an improvement of 68 scale points (12 percentile rank points) on a third-grade reading test designed to determine readiness for entering the fourth grade for intervention students. The findings have policy implications for third-grade reading interventions that help foster grade-proficient reading, reduce equity gaps in reading success, and offer actionable suggestions, including the implementation of daily small-group, decoding-focused instruction for struggling third-grade readers in low-income school districts.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050760

Authors: Shota Shirasaka Takahisa Imagawa Shuichi Enokida

Discrepancies among feedback sources are typically treated as measurement errors, yet they may serve as catalysts for deeper professional reflection. This exploratory, single-group mixed-methods study, conducted in one Japanese teacher education context, examined how three-point comparison feedback (3PCF)—the simultaneous presentation of automated video-based evaluation, peer evaluation, and self-evaluation—relates to pre-service teachers’ reflection on nonverbal teaching behavior in microteaching. Drawing on Hattie and Timperley’s feedback model and the concept of cognitive conflict, 27 participants received 3PCF on multiple nonverbal behaviors and completed written reflections analyzed using an ordinal coding scheme, keyword detection, and text mining. Quantitative analysis revealed that agreement between automated and peer evaluation was strongly item-dependent (e.g., voice volume: r = 0.853; facial expression: r = 0.164). Qualitative analysis showed that discrepancies were associated with multi-layered reflection; as exploratory, prompt-sensitive indicators, keyword detection suggested that 67% of participants recognized gaps between self-perception and external evaluations, 41% reasoned about why sources diverged, and 70% formulated specific behavioral improvement plans. Text mining further identified distinct reflection patterns, suggesting multiple cognitive pathways. These findings, based on a single cohort, suggest that structured comparison across feedback sources can reframe evaluation discrepancies as educational resources associated with reflective and actionable responses in teacher education.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050759

Authors: Ana Salomé de Jesus Luísa Carvalho Ricardo Pocinho Cristóvão Margarido Eva María Torrecilla Sánchez

The development of social-emotional competencies in children is increasingly important for helping them respond to the demands of contemporary society, and recent research has also highlighted its association with academic performance. In this context, mindfulness has emerged as a valuable approach to fostering these competencies. Given its well-documented benefits, mindfulness has also attracted growing interest in educational settings. This article presents findings from a doctoral study conducted in Portugal, in which the Sentir@Ser program, designed to promote social-emotional competencies through mindfulness practices, was developed, implemented, and evaluated. The study addressed the following research question: What are the effects of a program designed to promote social-emotional competencies through mindfulness practices on primary school students’ levels of affect, self-compassion, and mindfulness-related competencies, and how do these effects vary according to gender, grade level, and family structure? A total of 72 students, from first to fourth grade, participated in the study. Pre- and post-intervention assessments examined affect, self-compassion, and mindfulness-related competencies. The results showed overall improvements across the assessed domains following the intervention, with no significant differences according to gender, grade level, or family structure. These findings suggest that the Sentir@Ser program may be a useful approach to promoting students’ social-emotional competencies. However, further research is needed to optimize its effectiveness and impact.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050758

Authors: Zsuzsanna Pálffy Zoltán Horváth Lívia Ablonczy-Mihályka

Universities are increasingly expected to contribute to societal and environmental challenges, yet the concept of the fourth mission remains fragmented and weakly operationalized in the literature. This study aims to develop a measurement framework for the fourth mission of universities. The research adopts a theory-driven qualitative design based on a systematic literature review, synthesizing contributions on community engagement, social innovation, sustainability and institutional embeddedness. Building on this synthesis, the study develops a three-level conceptual model that integrates an institutional framework, core fourth mission processes and transformative impact domains. The core processes are structured around community engagement, co-creation and social innovation, and knowledge diffusion and local application, while the model explicitly links these processes to societal challenges and environmental sustainability outcomes. Furthermore, the model is operationalized through a structured indicator system applicable in document-based analysis, supported by a four-point scoring scale capturing the depth of institutionalization. An illustrative pilot test was also conducted using the example of one university faculty. The study contributes by clarifying the boundaries of the fourth mission and offering an operational framework that shifts attention from output-based measurement to universities’ transformative societal roles.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050757

Authors: Zhijun Zheng Sheila Degotardi Emilia Djonov

As the number of multilingual children attending early childhood settings continues to grow, there has been an increasing focus on how to support their language learning experiences in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. This article proposes an ecobehavioural model for supporting multilingual infants’ language development in ECEC settings, which is inspired by and builds on Vygotsky’s cultural–historical approach, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory and Ford et al.’s ecobehavioural model of early language development. By integrating these theoretical approaches, this conceptual article examines different levels of factors that impact the quality and quantity of educators’ language input and interactions with multilingual infants in ECEC rooms. This paper introduces an ecobehavioural model comprising four levels: Level 1 focuses on the quality and quantity of educators’ interactions with multilingual infants; Level 2 on educators’ knowledge and practices of supporting multilingualism in ECEC; Level 3 on the environments and resources of supporting multilingual infants’ learning in ECEC; and Level 4 concerns the policies that inform professional development and interventions to support multilingual infants in ECEC. The new model helps us understand how to support the quantity and quality of educators’ language input and interactions with multilingual infants under the age of two in ECEC in a dynamic and holistic way. It can also be used to describe the current research gaps and identify directions for future research, practices and policy on supporting multilingual young children in ECEC settings.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050756

Authors: Mary Woolley Thomas Breeze Katie Clemmey Vivienne John Emily Sayers Robert A. Bowie

As the 2022 Curriculum for Wales becomes embedded in schools, this paper shares findings of a self-report survey from over 300 secondary school teachers on the nature, content and frequency of their curriculum conversations with other teachers. This new curriculum framework, grouping subjects together into Areas of Learning and Experience [AoLEs] enables disciplinary, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary learning. Teachers reported on perceived factors affecting the quality of their dialogues and perceived opportunities for deepening interdisciplinary dialogue. Descriptive analysis shows teachers reported more conversations with other teachers in the same subject, more conversations about content taught rather than the purpose of teaching it and fewer conversations about how their subject relates to other subjects. Crucially, surface-level conversations were reported as more common than deeper conversations. The findings reveal processes and possibilities of curriculum policy enactment at the level of teacher professional discourse. Teacher–teacher dialogue, as a way of becoming aware of the purpose of other subjects and becoming more articulate in describing the purpose of one’s own, is highlighted as a necessary phase before teachers engage in collaboration. Deeper dialogue is proposed as a necessary precondition of deep and meaningful interdisciplinary collaboration.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050755

Authors: Fiorucci Bevilacqua

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) and Generative AI (GenAI) based on large language models (LLMs) is reshaping teaching practices, assessment criteria, and ethical questions regarding authenticity, source reliability, and educational responsibility. Understanding teachers’ attitudes toward AI is crucial for identifying acceptance, resistance, and professional development needs. This study aimed to adapt and validate, for the Italian context, the questionnaire developed by Alsudairy and Eltantawy for assessing teachers’ attitudes toward AI in education, and to explore attitudinal differences according to selected socio-professional variables. A convenience sample of 682 in-service teachers from different school levels and Italian regions completed the 36-item questionnaire on a 3-point Likert scale. Exploratory factor analysis suggested an interpretable two-factor structure, although some items showed weak, non-salient, or cross-loadings. A confirmatory factor analysis conducted on a refined 32-item ordinal model supported a correlated two-factor solution with good global fit indices. However, the strong correlation between the two latent factors and the presence of selected weak indicators suggest that further refinement and cross-validation are needed. Educational attainment was the only socio-professional variable significantly associated with attitudes toward AI, although the effect size was small. Post hoc analyses showed a significant difference between teachers holding a postgraduate Master’s degree and those holding only a high school diploma, whereas other differences should be interpreted as descriptive trends. Taken together, these findings provide preliminary support for the Italian adaptation of the instrument and offer initial insight into the role of professional characteristics in shaping teachers’ attitudes toward AI in educational settings.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050753

Authors: María Isabel Amor Pedro J. Armenteros-Ortiz Alejandro Escudero-Contreras

Substance use among university students is a complex phenomenon influenced by sociodemographic, contextual, and psychosocial factors, with direct implications for wellbeing and social-emotional learning. This study examined the relationships between sociodemographic variables, substance use, and psychosocial dimensions, using a combined descriptive and correlational analysis. The sample comprised 924 students from different fields of study at the University of Córdoba (Spain): Social and Legal Sciences (65.59%), Engineering and Architecture (3.35%), Arts and Humanities (12.88%), Health Sciences (8.98%), and Sciences (9.09%). Variables assessed included substance use, frequency of use, leisure activities, social function, perceptions and prejudices, intrinsic factors, and behaviour. Results showed significant associations between substance use and leisure activities and intrinsic motivation, as well as interrelationships among psychosocial dimensions. The results also indicated that sociodemographic variables have a limited explanatory role; sex and family context emerged as relevant predictors for certain dimensions. These findings highlight the need to address substance use from a multidimensional perspective that integrates developmental, motivational, and contextual factors, with implications for the design of educational strategies and prevention programmes focused on wellbeing and social-emotional learning in higher education.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050754

Authors: Arantza Rico Igone Palacios-Agúndez Lur Moragues-Saitua Gloria Rodríguez-Loinaz

Species literacy and awareness is in decline among both primary students and their teachers. This is of particular concern in the context of the current unprecedented collapse in global biodiversity that threatens our wellbeing and our ability to cope with other global challenges. In this article we present a Teaching–Learning Sequence (TLS) about biodiversity implemented with Prospective Primary Teachers (PPT) designed to address this problem. The development of the TLS, centred on-campus organic learning gardens, deployed an iterative process of design, implementation, evaluation and refinement. This application of Design-Based Research methodology ultimately produced a didactic unit. We evaluated the TLS against both quantitative and qualitative criteria, including student’s learning outcomes. The results show that the inquiry-centred TLS contributed to conceptual and procedural learning gains, particularly regarding invertebrate identification. Additionally, the participating PPTs reported a closer connection to and awareness of nature and biodiversity. However, specific knowledge, especially around plant taxonomy, remained low. The paper concludes by identifying a number of limitations that are being taken into account for future refinement. Specifically, activities aimed at imparting a deeper understanding of habitats, and improving knowledge on the identification and classification of living beings will be included in future iterations.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050748

Authors: Heidi Flavian

The fundamental purpose of education—preparing new generations to be contributing members of society—remains constant, yet achieving this has become increasingly complex amid multifaceted technological, cultural, economic, and social transformations. Educational leaders worldwide continuously seek innovative pedagogical models addressing diverse learner needs and rapid societal changes. However, this article challenges the assumption that educational quality requires constant novelty, arguing that solutions lie in the innovative integration of established pedagogical theories developed over the past 150 years by scholars such as Dewey, Vygotsky, Piaget, Feuerstein, Gardner, Freire, and others. The article’s primary objective is to encourage education leaders and teacher educators to reconceptualize innovation by prioritizing pedagogical integration over continuous adaptation to rapidly expanding domain-specific knowledge and emerging technologies. Accordingly, this article employs a conceptual synthesis of major pedagogical approaches to equip educators with theoretical foundations and practical tools to foster learner independence, critical thinking, and holistic development across cognitive, emotional, and social domains. It will also promote inclusion through a practical framework integrating pedagogical theories, addressing diversity from a dual perspective, recognizing that both teachers and learners bring unique characteristics, strengths, and needs. Moreover, developing independent learners requires empowering teachers to cultivate unique professional methodologies grounded in integrated pedagogical understanding, so that a shift from innovation-centered to integration-centered teacher education may serve as a sustainable path toward educational quality and academic excellence.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050752

Authors: Wai-Chung Ho

As Hong Kong approaches 1 July 2027—the 30th anniversary of its return to the People’s Republic of China—questions of cultural belonging and political identity remain salient. This study examined how local, national, and global identities have been constructed and hierarchically organized through post-handover school music education. Drawing on qualitative discourse analysis of policy documents and government-approved junior secondary music textbooks, the analysis examined how these orientations are articulated and mediated in the curriculum. The findings showed that local identity is sustained through heritage canonization, Cantonese repertoire, and affective attachment. Additionally, national identity is reinforced more programmatically through Putonghua repertoire, patriotic theming, civilizational narratives, and the legally codified status of the national anthem. Finally, global identity is cultivated through structured multicultural exposure, including Western art music and international popular genres. Together, these orientations form calibrated layering, through which music education functions as cultural governance by stabilizing multiscalar belonging.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050751

Authors: Ana Moraga-Pumarino Vesnia Ortiz-Cea Sonia Salvo-Garrido Erwin Huaiquimilla-Cona Agustín Araneda-Ramos

International literature has documented a sustained increase in female representation in higher education; however, less is known about how this process unfolds in segmented and highly privatized systems such as Chile’s. Evidence also remains limited on how gender parity varies across institutional types and disciplinary fields. This study examines the evolution of the Gender Parity Index (GPI) in Chilean universities between 2010 and 2024, disaggregating trends by institutional subsystem and field of knowledge. Using administrative data from the Higher Education Information System and a longitudinal panel of 49 universities, the analysis combines descriptive indicators and mixed-effects models to identify long-term trajectories. The results show a sustained increase in female participation in first-year enrollment, total enrollment, and undergraduate graduation. Institutional patterns differ markedly: increases are strongest in non-traditional private universities, more gradual in state universities, and relatively stable in traditional private institutions. At the disciplinary level, persistent horizontal segregation remains evident, with female overrepresentation in education, health, and social sciences, and male predominance in technology-related fields. These findings provide novel longitudinal evidence on gender stratification in Chilean and Latin American higher education and underscore the need for institutionally differentiated gender equity policies aligned with Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050750

Authors: Diana R. Beltran Rachael D. Robnett

The current research employs a mixed-methods approach to examine associations among mentoring, academic belonging, and the imposter phenomenon (i.e., persistent self-doubt) among undergraduate women. Participants were 383 women who were undergraduates in an introductory psychology course at a public university in the Southwestern United States. Approximately half of the sample reported that they had either an academic or non-academic mentor. Quantitative analyses revealed that women with mentors had lower levels of imposter feelings and higher levels of academic belonging compared to those without mentors. Qualitative analyses explored whether and how women discussed their imposter experiences with their mentors. Using a deductive approach informed by feminist research on empowerment, thematic analysis revealed two key themes: combatting imposter phenomenon at the individual level and acknowledging imposter phenomenon as a shared experience. Together, these themes provide new insight into how mentors can help women cope with imposter experiences. The current study highlights novel associations between mentoring and women’s academic experiences. The findings also indicate that academic and non-academic mentors can both play a helpful role in enhancing women’s academic experiences and alleviating feelings of inadequacy.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050749

Authors: Mengxue Li Wenlan Zhang Jiaxin Cheng

PBL design and implementation remain challenging, despite its prominence in 21st-century curriculum reforms. Teachers often reduce it to superficial thematic activities or product showcases, rather than facilitating students’ authentic inquiry and meaningful learning. To better support in-service teachers in integrating PBL into disciplinary instruction, this study examines the experiences of 25 primary school teachers in Shenzhen, China, who participated in a 12-month professional development program. Utilizing in-depth interviews and focus groups, the study indicates a journey from initial concerns to gradual recognition of PBL and identifies three key teaching competency barriers: limited cognitive understanding of PBL, difficulties adapting to PBL implementation, and negative perceptions of PBL outcomes. Crucially, the findings reveal enabling factors that counterbalance these challenges, which are sustained expert scaffolding and practice-oriented teacher collaboration. These findings contribute to understanding the trajectory of professional growth in PBL and offer evidence-based strategies for optimizing the design of practice-oriented teacher development programs, particularly in contexts balancing examination pressures with pedagogical innovation.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050747

Authors: Maiken Winther Lykke Brogaard Bertel Jette Egelund Holgaard

Grasping the complex field of interdisciplinary collaboration in education has been an ongoing topic of interest in both research and teaching practice. Research highlights several elements such as common goals (boundary objects), interdependency, shared mental models, trust, mutual respect, reflexivity, epistemological transparency, awareness of discipline specific routine behaviors, quality of communication, stability and construction of the team. However, research also agrees that interdisciplinary collaboration is complex and that educational attempts to create these settings often fail in practice. Further, the literature heavily focuses either on the actors’ involvement and actions within the interdisciplinary context or on the structural elements of said context, giving less attention to the interplay and interconnectedness between actors and structures in interdisciplinary collaboration. By introducing the concept of relational space, interdisciplinary collaboration is provided with a holistic approach to understanding the complex system students encounter when participating in an interdisciplinary collaborative space. Through a reconceptualization of Löw’s sociological model within education, this article expands the literature with an integrated perspective of interdisciplinary collaboration in education including both structural and interpersonal elements. By analytically bringing together actors and institutions, the Interdisciplinary Collaborative Space in Education (CO-SPACE) framework enables an examination of interdisciplinary collaboration as a relational participation space. This approach highlights interdisciplinary collaboration as a multidimensional system, including multiple interacting layers and aspects. Institutional structures, social goods and people all influence the “prefixed” space, affecting how students interpret and place themselves and others within the established participation space, in turn determining access possibilities and how power unfolds. The analysis particularly brings attention to the emergence of sub-spaces, temporal dynamics, and knowledge-related access asymmetries.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050746

Authors: Zrinka Fišer Luka Pongračić

Higher education institutions (HEIs) play a significant role in shaping young people’s perceptions, thus making European and civic education a valuable asset in promoting European Union (EU) values. Previous research suggests that socio-political and socio-economic developments in the Western Balkans may influence educational aspirations and language learning goals. In this context, English learning motivation increasingly appears to be driven by instrumentality-promotion orientations. During the 2024/2025 academic year, 141 students from Croatian and Serbian universities took part in research aimed at determining the relationship between their self-perceived knowledge of the EU and their motivation to use English to ensure better education and EU job market competitiveness.Students in both countries consider English an important asset for future education and employability. At the same time, they perceive themselves as insufficiently informed about the EU, suggesting possible disparities in access to civic and EU-related knowledge. The findings tentatively suggest that HEIs may benefit from reconsidering aspects of their civic and EDE policies, particularly in terms of ensuring equitable access to EU-related knowledge and fostering inclusive pathways toward global readiness.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050745

Authors: Marie Barnard Tess Johnson Allison Ford-Wade Breanna Wade Quest Whalen Erin Dehon Murrell Godfrey Rachel Scott Sarah K. Mason Caroline E. Compretta

Project SCORE (Student-Centered Outcomes Research Experiences) is a community-engaged after school science education program designed to address persistent inequities in health, education, and biomedical career access among Mississippi youth. Grounded in youth participatory action research and leveraging near-peer mentoring (NPM), the program engages teens in public health education, research skill development, and mentored inquiry led by undergraduate and graduate health sciences students. Program components include weekly workshops during the academic year and a one-week residential summer campus experience focused on health literacy, scientific thinking, research communication, and college-readiness. An evaluation assessed implementation and short-term outcomes. Pre/post survey data indicate increases in STEM self-efficacy, career interest in STEM careers, and public health communication skills. Students reported strong engagement, belonging, and program satisfaction, and summer participants described an enhanced interest in college and health science careers. The lessons learned highlight the importance of robust NPM support, flexible program adaptation, and strong community partnerships. Early findings demonstrate that Project SCORE is a feasible, acceptable, and replicable model for engaging historically excluded youth in STEM and public health through community-based, student-centered research experiences.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050744

Authors: Liron Levy-Nadav Tamar Shamir-Inbal Ina Blau

Despite widespread claims that Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) will transform education, longitudinal empirical evidence on its pedagogical integration remains limited. This study examines how GenAI use shapes teaching and learning practices over time. Using a mixed methods longitudinal design, the study draws on 34 semi structured interviews conducted at two time points, six to eight months apart, with 17 secondary school teachers who independently adopted GenAI tools. The analysis was triangulated with 212 GenAI-supported teaching and learning activities. A theory-driven classification based on the SAMR framework was combined with inductive thematic analysis and quantitative pre-post comparisons. The findings, based on a thematic analysis of teacher discourse, reveal differentiated trends in opportunities and challenges. Opportunities related to fostering creativity increased over time, whereas efficiency, workload reduction, and teacher empowerment remained stable. Concerns regarding content quality and inherent biases showed a marginal increase, while references to prohibited or improper use declined. Regarding teaching and learning activities, a significant increase was observed in teaching-related uses of GenAI over time. In addition, a significant increase was identified at the Modification level, indicating a shift toward more advanced forms of pedagogical redesign, particularly through the development of personalized materials, AI-supported instructional planning, and adaptive feedback practices, while learning activities at higher levels remained comparatively stable. Taken together, these findings position the SAMR as a dynamic framework for examining longitudinal patterns of GenAI integration and suggest that GenAI currently accelerates instructional innovation more than it fundamentally restructures student learning paradigms.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050743

Authors: Maria Kosogorova Oksana Ilina Sona Antonyan Manasi Singhal Jenya Brodskaia Anna Mirny Anjie Chen Matthew Chen Rohan Danda Samuel Gurevich Anran Liu Alice Ma Matthew Macera Lielle Rifkin Chiara Sardi Rogines Tarun Venkatesh Larry Ludlow

This study examines behavioral predictors of academic success among seventh graders enrolled in the Russian School of Mathematics, a rigorous extracurricular mathematics program. Using a comprehensive set of engagement and homework indicators available for the online portion of our classes, multiple regression models were applied to explore how persistence, time management, and participation predicted performance across three curriculum levels, namely Accelerated, Advanced, and Honors. Accelerated and Honors students exhibited similarly strong work habits but required different types of instructional support. Advanced-level students were further distinguished into “progressing” and “plateaued” groups, each with unique behavioral profiles. Across levels, several habits such as starting homework promptly, revisiting unsolved problems, and providing detailed work were consistently associated with higher achievement. These findings highlight the value of differentiated instruction and targeted feedback, particularly in mixed-ability classrooms. By identifying the behaviors most closely linked to success, this work offers actionable insights for fostering self-regulated learning in middle school mathematics.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050742

Authors: Lineo Mphatsoane-Sesoane Loyiso Currell Jita Molaodi Tshelane

Despite ongoing curriculum and assessment reforms, secondary school Accounting education in many Global South contexts continues to reflect limited pedagogical transformation and weak curriculum coherence. In Lesotho, policy frameworks such as the Curriculum and Assessment Policy and the Lesotho General Certificate of Secondary Education advocate learner-centred, competence-based teaching; however, classroom enactment remains uneven, procedurally focused, and examination-driven. While instructional leadership is widely promoted as a lever for educational improvement, existing research largely conceptualises it as a formal, school-level function. This study examines how teacher instructional leadership mediates the enactment of curriculum policy in Grade 11 Accounting classrooms. Guided by Integrated Curriculum Theory, a qualitative multiple-case study design was employed across three secondary school contexts—urban, peri-urban, and rural. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews with Accounting teachers and principals, classroom observations, and document analysis, and were analysed thematically using cross-case synthesis. The findings indicate that instructional leadership is primarily enacted as a practice-based, classroom-embedded process through which teachers interpret curriculum policy, sequence Accounting concepts, and align pedagogy and assessment. Where such leadership was supported and legitimised, curriculum coherence and conceptual learning were strengthened; where leadership was structurally constrained, curriculum enactment remained fragmented and compliance-driven. Contextual conditions significantly shaped the scope and sustainability of instructional leadership practices. Based on these findings, the study proposes a Sustainable Curriculum Management Model for Grade 11 Accounting that positions teacher instructional leadership as the central mechanism linking policy intentions, pedagogical practice, and assessment.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050741

Authors: José Gabriel Soriano-Sánchez Rocío Quijano López Diego Airado Rodríguez

Background: Science anxiety constitutes a relevant emotional variable in initial teacher education, given its impact on motivation, academic identity, and future teaching self-efficacy. While several instruments have been developed to assess science anxiety, few tools have been specifically adapted to the university context of pre-service teachers. Objective: To adapt and validate the psychometric properties of the Abbreviated Science Anxiety Scale in pre-service teachers, in order to assess anxiety toward experimental sciences and derive implications for science education. Methods: A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with 210 students enrolled in early childhood and primary education degrees at the University of Jaén, with a mean age of 20.85 years (SD = 2.26). Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure (learning and evaluation) explaining 63.40% of the variance, with high reliability (α = 0.89; ω = 0.91). Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit for the two-factor model. Women reported significantly higher levels of anxiety than men. No significant relationship was found between anxiety and academic achievement. Cluster analysis identified two differentiated profiles associated with academic orientation (Sciences vs. Humanities) and science anxiety levels. Conclusions: The adapted scale, named the Brief Experimental Science Anxiety Scale for Pre-Service Teachers (BESAS-PST), demonstrates adequate psychometric properties and constitutes a valid and reliable instrument for assessing anxiety toward experimental sciences in initial teacher education. These findings extend previous research on domain-specific academic emotions by demonstrating that science anxiety can be reliably assessed in teacher training contexts, providing a tool for future research and evidence-based interventions aimed at strengthening scientific self-efficacy among pre-service teachers.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050740

Authors: Pedro Juan Roig Salvador Alcaraz Katja Gilly Cristina Bernad Carlos Juiz

Active learning methodologies have been widely reported to improve academic performance in STEM education. This paper presents a case study on the implementation of a combination of such methodologies in a college course devoted to computer networking fundamentals. The study begins in 2018, when the course was taught in a traditional manner, namely through lectures and written exams. From that point onward, different active learning methodologies were gradually introduced in both teaching and assessment, leading to an overall enhancement of academic performance. Regarding the former, classes are now delivered according to the flipped classroom methodology. With respect to the latter, assessment consists of a weighted combination of seven types of activities, including individual self-learning exams, team-based problem sets, individual computer-based exams, team-based escape rooms, project-based learning, case-based learning, and challenge-based learning. The results obtained over a six-year period reveal a significant improvement in three different ratios: the Attend-to-Register ratio, the Pass-to-Register ratio, and the Pass-to-Attend ratio. Additionally, feedback provided by students positively evaluates the combination of active learning methodologies implemented in the course.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050739

Authors: Kyung Hee Kim

Measurement is fundamental to scientific inference, yet educational and psychological research often relies on instruments that are shortened, partially administered, or otherwise modified without evidence that the resulting scores remain valid. This article examines measurement fragmentation, defined as the use of selected parts, abbreviated forms, or derivative versions of an instrument as though they were interchangeable with the validated form. The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) are used as a case example because their strong full-version psychometric foundation and frequent fragmented use in published research make the consequences of non-equivalent measurement unusually visible. The full TTCT is supported by stronger reliability and validity evidence than fragmented TTCT uses, whereas derivative forms such as the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults have weaker support. When these non-equivalent forms are treated under a single instrument label, apparent theoretical inconsistency and attenuated meta-analytic estimates may reflect measurement artifacts rather than properties of creativity itself. The article concludes that stronger educational and psychological research requires explicit reporting of test versions, version-specific reliability and validity evidence, and closer editorial scrutiny of altered measurement procedures.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050737

Authors: İmren Akmaz Genç Miray Dağyar

The study aimed to systematically analyze studies published between 2013 and 2025 on the second-grade primary school EFL curriculum in Türkiye. The study identified the strengths and weaknesses of the components of the English curriculum and examined the suggestions proposed regarding implementation issues. In order to answer the research questions, 27 studies were analyzed using content analysis, and their methodological characteristics were reviewed. The analysis revealed that the objectives constituted the strongest component of the second-grade English curriculum, whereas the assessment component was the weakest. The problems with the curriculum implementation include the incompatibility of the curriculum with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages, insufficient class hours, teachers’ inclusion of reading and writing skills even though they are not included in the learning outcomes, individual differences between students, students’ unpreparedness for foreign language learning, inadequate instructional materials, and parents’ lack of interest in foreign language education. The findings revealed that, while the curriculum is well-structured in terms of its objectives, its effectiveness is hindered by persistent challenges in assessment and implementation. This underscores the importance of improving the alignment between curricular intentions and instructional practices, highlights the need for targeted improvements in assessment practices, and offers practical insights for ongoing curriculum development efforts.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050738

Authors: Naadira Adamjee CP van der Vyver Melese Shula

The article reports on the development and validation of an instrument to measure the well-being of public-school principals in Gauteng, South Africa, based on a specific theoretical framework. Adopting a quantitative, post-positivist paradigm, data were gathered from 207 principals selected by means of a census sample from various school types and socioeconomic backgrounds. The instrument included structured questions that evaluated job demands, job resources, and aspects of personal well-being. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed strong construct validity, revealing four contextual factors: support from the school community, support from the department, resource availability, and support from students and parents. Additionally, four dimensions of personal well-being were identified, namely professional, emotional, physical, and work-related well-being. Reliability analysis showed internal consistency across all scales. The findings indicated that principals’ well-being is influenced by the interplay between workplace demands and available resources, aligning with the theoretical principles of the JD–R theory. This study thus offers a reliable, contextually relevant measurement instrument that can be employed for further research, policy development, and leadership support initiatives. By providing an empirically validated instrument tailored to the South African context, it lays a practical foundation for monitoring principal well-being and guiding targeted interventions aimed at enhancing leadership sustainability, organizational effectiveness, and educational improvement.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050736

Authors: Gadhaun Aslam Idalis Villanueva Alarcón

Teacher empathy in classroom promotes student-centered instruction, enhances students’ motivation and improves overall students’ performance but how is empathy incorporated in a classroom? In this study, a systematic literature review was conducted that analyzed thirty-three (33) articles between 2016 to 2024 to explore empathetic teaching practices that engineering faculty have utilized for undergraduate engineering students in the United States. For this purpose, two main research questions were drafted, a review protocol was established, search was conducted, results were screened, the quality of articles was analyzed, synthesis of articles took place and findings were collated. The results of the review were categorized into three sections. These sections include specific empathetic practices utilized by engineering faculty, ways in which the teaching practices were incorporated, and challenges that were faced by faculty while implementing those practices. The findings of the review reveal evidence-based insights into the integration of these teaching practices in the field of engineering. It also reflects the need to support engineering faculty in their professional development leading to effective pedagogical practices and fostering positive learning environments.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050735

Authors: Carlos Vaz Joaquim Sousa Rute Bastardo Emanuel Peres Manuel J. C. S. Reis

Periods of crisis often accelerate digital transformation in higher education institutions, forcing the rapid adoption of educational technologies such as learning management systems, digital assessment platforms, and video conferencing tools. While existing research has extensively examined emergency responses, less attention has been given to how these technologies evolve from short-term solutions into sustained institutional infrastructures that support long-term organizational learning and digital capability development. This study investigates how educational technologies were mobilized and selectively institutionalized during a crisis-driven disruption in a higher education institution. Using a longitudinal institutional case study based on operational platform data, assessment records, support service logs, and institutional documentation, the study analyzes patterns of resistance (limited digital embedding), accelerated adoption, and post-crisis consolidation of digitally mediated practices across teaching, assessment, and academic support activities. The findings show that educational technologies evolved from peripheral instructional tools into core institutional infrastructures supporting teaching, assessment, academic coordination, and content management. These processes fostered organizational learning and contributed to the development of sustained digital capabilities and institutional resilience. Based on these findings, the study proposes an empirically grounded Institutional Digital Transformation Model that conceptualizes crisis-driven digital transformation as a phased process linking technology adoption, organizational learning, and institutional resilience. The model offers a conceptual and practical framework for understanding and guiding sustainable digital transformation in higher education institutions.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050734

Authors: Minseong Kim Tami L. Knotts Nancy D. Albers Karen E. James

Online learning environments often lack nonverbal cues that support relational communication between instructors and students, making it difficult to establish emotional connection and trust. This study examines how emojis, as affective visual cues, influence instructor credibility, emotional attachment, trust, and responsible behavior in asynchronous online education. A scenario-based experiment was conducted with 297 undergraduate students who were randomly assigned to view an instructor email either with or without emojis. Participants subsequently evaluated the instructor’s credibility (expertise, trustworthiness, and likeability), as well as their emotional attachment, trust, and anticipated responsible behavior. The results indicate that emojis significantly enhance perceived likeability, which in turn fosters emotional attachment and trust. These relational mechanisms subsequently promote students’ responsible behavior. In contrast, expertise and trustworthiness do not independently produce significant effects on emotional attachment or trust. These findings highlight the central role of relational warmth in shaping student responses in digitally mediated learning environments. Overall, the study demonstrates that subtle affective cues can strengthen instructor–student relationships and encourage responsible engagement in asynchronous online contexts.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050733

Authors: Marianne Jacquet Gwenaëlle André

The increasing presence of racialized and immigrant students and educators challenges school institutions to critically examine whose knowledge, leadership, and practices are recognized, legitimized, and valued. Within this context, the integration of immigrant and racialized professionals becomes critical and raises questions about equity, representation, and the reproduction—or disruption—of racial hierarchies. Institutional ethnography is used to analyze how ethnocultural diversity is addressed by three school principals of immigrant origin as well as on a systemic level. The findings highlight how these leaders navigate, negotiate, and reshape leadership practices within normatively white Francophone minority institutions, illuminating both the constraints imposed by institutional norms and the varied ways leaders mobilize their positionality to enact change. As such, the study reveals contrasting conceptions of leadership as modeling. Hélène leads by example, seeking to inspire teachers and students by embodying an alternative leadership, which might be labeled as “quiet leadership”. By contrast, Sylvain and Armand lead primarily through rules, structures, and institutional alignment. As such, their leadership may be labeled legitimate and uncontestable. The study suggests that transformation is negotiated differently depending on leaders’ socialization, institutional positioning, and perceived freedom to act.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050732

Authors: Christopher Nikulin Camilo Pérez Zócimo Campos Cristián Valdés Leonardo Madariaga Bravo Aiur Retegi-Uria

This study examines the implementation of a design thinking-informed framework in early-stage STEM education, focusing on students perceived cognitive workload during project formulation. The proposed framework integrates elements from design thinking and project structuring tools to support early-stage project-based learning. An exploratory case study was conducted with 99 undergraduate students from engineering and management programs. The NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) was used to assess perceived cognitive workload across six dimensions following a structured instructional session. Results indicate that the activity was experienced within a moderate range of cognitive workload, suggesting that the framework can be implemented without introducing excessive cognitive demand. Correlation analysis revealed significant associations among workload dimensions, particularly between temporal demand, mental demand, and frustration. These findings provide initial evidence regarding the feasibility of implementing structured design thinking-informed approaches in early-cycle STEM education. The study provides empirical evidence on perceived cognitive workload during the implementation of a structured framework in early-stage project-based learning.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050731

Authors: Ivona Vasileska Nikola Vukašinović Vanja Čok

Computer-aided design (CAD) courses require students to develop both procedural skills and higher-order modeling competencies. This 10-year repeated cross-sectional study (N = 1952 students, 2013–2023) examined how replacing mandatory graded homework and the structured practice and feedback mechanisms it provided with optional short instructional videos affected performance. Using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, interrupted time-series models, and student-level regression with clustered standard errors, we analyzed outcomes across pre-intervention (homework), post-intervention (video), and COVID remote-instruction periods. Results show that although homework and video instruction produced equivalent performance on basic modeling tasks (PE1), the homework period was associated with significantly higher performance on complex modeling tasks (PE2) and modestly higher final grades. The video-based period was associated with elevated failure rates, particularly for complex exams, whereas COVID period introduced temporary grade inflation that masked these effects. Findings indicate that while instructional videos effectively support basic procedural learning, structured homework with feedback remains essential for developing advanced modeling competencies. The results highlight the importance of aligning self-learning methods with task complexity and suggest that a combined approach may best support student success in CAD education.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050730

Authors: Mary Adu-Gyamfi Sarah D. Reid Angie Zapata

How might immigration experiences be complexified and nuanced in elementary settings? This article highlights how fourth-grade students engaged in a picturebook exploration guided by a critical social educator, Kara, centered on immigration and refugee narratives for an integrated social studies and English language arts unit. The unit spanned ten days within the sixty-minute daily literature block. We show how Kara and her 19 students engaged in exploration across 25 justice-oriented picturebooks depicting diverse immigration and refugee experiences. Kara wove various strategies together to encourage students to share their own immigration stories, connect with authors’ stories, and deepen their understanding by noticing themes such as “hard work does not always pay off,” “crossing invisible (linguistic) borders,” and “making new friends.” The students’ engagement led to deepening understandings and connections to a variety of immigration stories. Throughout this article, we illustrate how Kara and her students engaged in theme generation and exploration in ways that moved away from a single narrative of immigration and toward more humanizing, varied conceptions of immigrant experiences.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050729

Authors: Yu-Chun Kuo Yu-Tung Kuo

This study aimed to investigate pre-service teachers’ perceptions of coding, including their acceptance of coding and their experiences of using a block-based tool to code. With a focus on acceptance and affective factors, we examined the influence of proposed factors on pre-service teachers’ intention to adopt coding, as well as the relationships of acceptance factors. Participants were pre-service teachers from a university in the northeastern United States. Data were collected using an online survey. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were performed to analyze the data. The results indicated that pre-service teachers’ affective experiences significantly influenced their intention to code. Pre-service teachers’ perceived ease of use and usefulness significantly predicted their intention to code. Gender and coding skills played an important role in pre-service teachers’ intentions for coding adoption. Overall, pre-service teachers’ experiences with the coding activity were positive, leading to more positive changes in their perceptions of coding than negative changes.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050728

Authors: Tiphanie Okorie Aloysius Nwabugo Maduforo Handel Wright Tya Collins Malinda Smith Shirley Anne Tate Alleson Mason Véronique Church-Duplessis George Frempong Caitlin McClurg Alphonse Ndem Bukola Salami

Black children and youth in Canada often hold high educational aspirations; however, systemic biases, deficit-based perceptions, and structural barriers limit their opportunities. These challenges, linked to anti-Black racism, migration-related disruptions, and socioeconomic inequities, contribute to lower engagement, underrepresentation, and reduced access to equitable educational resources. This scoping review examines these intersecting factors to inform equity-focused policy and practice. Following the Arksey and O’Malley framework and reported according to PRISMA-ScR guidelines, this review analyzed 96 studies published from database inception to May 2024, including 55 qualitative, 37 quantitative, and 4 mixed-methods studies. Bibliometric analysis was used to summarize study characteristics, while a thematic synthesis guided by intersectionality identified patterns in barriers, experiences, and interventions. Findings indicate that Black children and youth face persistent barriers, including systemic racism, disproportionate disciplinary practices, and Eurocentric curricula, with inequities further shaped by intersections of race, immigration status, and socioeconomic position. At the same time, mentorship, sponsorship, and community networks support academic resilience. Reported interventions include anti-racism training for educators and school stakeholders, culturally responsive curricula, mentorship initiatives, mental health supports, and financial aid. Advancing equity for Black children and youth in Canada requires systemic reform, culturally responsive pedagogy, and intersectionality-informed policies. Future research should prioritize participatory and longitudinal designs to generate evidence on effective and scalable strategies that foster educational opportunity and well-being.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050727

Authors: Guoguo Ke Ao Liang

The globalisation of higher education has intensified international student mobility and reshaped national postgraduate education systems worldwide. As one of the largest contributors to global outbound student flows, China faces persistent challenges related to the governance, structure, and social recognition of professional postgraduate education. This study examined postgraduate education decision-making by integrating consumer behaviour theory and social network theory. The study used quantitative methods to analyse how the perceived quality of educational services and perceived educational value influence intentions to pursue professional postgraduate education, and how social networks condition these relationships. The data were collected from 459 junior and senior undergraduate students in Guangzhou, China, using the convenience sampling method. The results mainly indicate that perceived educational value mediates the relationship between perceived service quality and postgraduate intention (the indirect effect of perceived value: B = 0.175 ***), while social networks significantly strengthen the association between perceived value and intention (B = 0.153 *). From an international education perspective, these findings suggest that students’ postgraduate intentions function as policy feedback reflecting how leadership strategies and institutional management are experienced within globalised higher education systems. The study concludes that postgraduate education reform cannot rely solely on enrolment expansion or structural adjustment but requires coordinated governance approaches that address students’ interpretations of educational value and credential legitimacy.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050726

Authors: Mary Lynne Derrington Amany Saleh Matthew Murphy

This qualitative descriptive study examined how school leaders in Arkansas and Tennessee, as part of their teacher supervision responsibilities, encourage and support teachers’ reflection as a key component of professional growth. Drawing on supervision and reflection literature, the research focused on what leaders do to move away from simply checking evaluation criteria boxes and instead work alongside teachers to drive meaningful improvement. Data were collected from interviews with 16 school leaders across both states and analyzed for common patterns. The findings revealed three key themes: (1) purposeful questioning and reflective dialogue help develop teacher agency; (2) leadership strategies such as building trust and modeling vulnerability foster reflective practice; and (3) challenges include time constraints, veteran teacher resistance to change, and lack of trust in the evaluator’s feedback. The findings indicate that leaders view reflection as essential to shifting supervision from monitoring to partnership. Effectiveness, however, depends on intentionally creating non-evaluative contexts and embedding reflection in school routines. This study offers practical insights for reframing supervision as a collective, growth-oriented process within instructional leadership.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050725

Authors: Cep Ubad Abdullah Sherly Rahmawati Wayne Cotton Louisa R. Peralta

Professional competency frameworks are important for aligning educational outcomes with workforce needs. While multiple frameworks exist across sectors, the underlying research-informed design principles guiding their development remain fragmented. This systematic review synthesises methodological approaches and proposes research-informed design principles used in developing professional competency frameworks across diverse professions, identifying common patterns and informing future framework design. A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA 2020 and SWiM guidelines. Searches across major academic databases yielded 3656 records. After screening, 47 studies met inclusion criteria. Data extraction focused on methodological processes and development activities. Thematic analysis was used to generate a set of design principles: (1) Foundational Inquiry and Evidence Gathering; (2) Consensus-Building and Collaborative Validation; and (3) Framework Development and Iterative Refinement. The development of competency frameworks is inherently cyclical, interdisciplinary, and iterative, blending empirical inquiry with collaborative validation. The identified research-informed design principles offer a transferable blueprint applicable across sectors, from healthcare to education and other industries. Thus, it is strongly recommended that future studies use these initial research-informed design principles to inform competency development. The systematic review has been registered with Open Science Framework (OSF).

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050724

Authors: Balikci Aydin Rakap

The increasing number of children with disabilities served in inclusive preschool classrooms has heightened the need for instructional approaches that support learning during naturally occurring classroom activities and routines. Embedded instruction (EI) is a naturalistic teaching approach that allows teachers to provide systematic learning opportunities for children with disabilities within everyday classroom contexts. This study examined the effects of two professional development approaches, Supporting Early Education through Embedded Instruction (SEED-EI) workshops and SEED-EI workshops combined with practice-based coaching, on preschool teachers’ implementation of EI and the learning outcomes of children with disabilities. A randomized controlled design was used with 36 preschool teachers and 36 children with disabilities. Teachers were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: business-as-usual (BAU), SEED-EI workshops, or SEED-EI workshops plus coaching. Results indicated that teachers who participated in the SEED-EI interventions implemented EI practices more frequently and with greater accuracy than teachers in the BAU condition, with the highest levels observed among teachers who received coaching. Children whose teachers participated in the intervention conditions demonstrated greater improvements in target behaviors, particularly in the coaching condition. Findings highlight the importance of sustained, job-embedded professional development supports for improving the implementation of evidence-based instructional practices in inclusive preschool classrooms.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050723

Authors: Paul Shing-fong Chan Joseph Kawuki Mythily Subramaniam Elizabeth Broadbent Esther Yuet Ying Lau Kelvin Fai Hong Lui

Student well-being, encompassing mental, social, cognitive, and behavioral domains, is increasingly compromised by academic stress, social isolation, and sedentary lifestyles. Horticulture-based interventions (HBIs), involving plant-based activities, have shown potential in promoting holistic health across populations. Nevertheless, no systematic review has synthesized global evidence for its effects on students. This systematic review aimed to evaluate HBI’s impact on students’ well-being, synthesizing global evidence to inform educational and therapeutic practices. This systematic review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251250712). Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched PubMed, Web of Science, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and APA PsycInfo from inception to 30 June 2025. Keywords were used to search for related articles. Fifteen studies (n > 2000 students, aged 5–18 years) from South Korea (n = 8), Taiwan (n = 3), Chinese Mainland (n = 1), Hong Kong, China (n = 1), Italy (n = 1), and the United States (n = 1) were included for analysis. Results showed that HBI has the potential to enhance emotional/psychological well-being (e.g., stress reduction, mood improvement), social well-being (e.g., peer relations, social skills), cognitive and education benefits (e.g., attention, academic attitudes), and physical and overall health benefits (e.g., physical activity, quality of life). HBI may contribute to multifaceted student well-being, particularly emotional and social domains. This systematic review provides a reference for educators to integrate horticultural programs into the curriculum. Government and school policies may consider funding school gardens. Future randomized controlled trials with diverse populations are needed to address limitations like small samples and geographic bias.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050722

Authors: Xinqun Yuan Le Yu Yue Cao Zhou Zhong

Within the context of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), this study draws on a Web of Science dataset (n = 815, 1991–2025) and employs a mixed approach combining scientometric mapping with framework analysis and tool comparison. It systematically reviews the knowledge structure, methodological evolution, and tool genealogy of Campus Sustainability Assessment (CSA). The results reveal a paradigmatic shift from an operations-oriented focus to a whole-of-institution and impact-oriented perspective. Representative tools can be grouped into five categories by purpose—improvement-oriented, ranking and benchmarking, education and curriculum, standards and certification, and policy advocacy and recognition—and can be mapped onto the four domains of governance, academics, operations, and engagement in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Synthesizing quantitative and qualitative evidence, three systemic shortcomings are identified: excessive reliance on self-reporting with limited verification, insufficient evidence of learning outcomes and key competencies, and weak interoperability of indicators across educational stages and frameworks. Looking ahead, four actionable research pathways are proposed: (1) assessment of key competencies centered on learning outcomes with stronger curriculum–practice alignment; (2) policy–indicator interoperability and vertical integration grounded in SDGs and national or sectoral standards; (3) stakeholder co-design enabling an assessment–improvement loop; and (4) remote-sensing-based multi-scale monitoring and data governance. The contribution of this study lies in advancing a unified four-domain framework under a process–outcome–impact evidence chain, while suggesting cross-stage and cross-tool alignment and complementarity. This provides methodological support and an implementation roadmap for shifting CSA from measuring performance to empowering improvement.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050721

Authors: Richard Böhme

Digitainability is increasingly invoked at the intersection of sustainability and digital transformation. In education, however, the two discourses are still often negotiated separately. This conceptual paper addresses that gap by focusing on educational debates across Germany, Austria and Switzerland (the DACH region) and by developing a conceptual–synthetic argument based on a purposive reconstruction of key reference texts. It argues that sustainability-related educational aims—particularly SDG target 4.7—remain conceptually under-specified when digitality is primarily understood as a toolkit rather than a socio-technical condition. It also contends that the digital transformation in education can only be assessed and shaped responsibly when sustainability and justice are treated as integral to the analysis and design of educational processes. Against this backdrop, the paper develops the Digitainability Framework as a heuristic for reflection, analysis, and design. The framework proposes a double perspective: sustainable digitality (the design of ‘onlife’ environments) and sustainability under conditions of digitality (the negotiation of sustainability-related conflicts in media-shaped, increasingly platformised publics). Across both perspectives, the framework makes explicit four intersecting framings—cultural, power-related, discursive, and agent-related—while keeping sustainability in view across its social, ecological, and economic dimensions. A brief example illustrates the framework’s potential.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050720

Authors: Alina Roman Dana Rad Ion Albulescu Cristian Stan Evelina Balaș Sonia Ignat Anca Egerău Tiberiu Dughi Alina Costin Cristina Gavriluță Georgeta Pânișoară Csaba Kiss Otilia Todor Gavril Rad

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly embedded in students’ learning practices, yet little is known about how AI engagement evolves from an external technological aid into an agentic component of self-regulated learning. This study applies psychological network analysis to examine the structural relations among students’ knowledge of AI, perceived value and perceived cost of AI, intention to use AI, and three core self-regulated learning processes—forethought, performance control, and self-reflection—across different levels of AI use frequency. The study was conducted on a sample of 673 university students and early-career graduates. Networks were estimated using EBICglasso for the full sample and separately for low-, moderate-, and high-frequency AI users. Across all models, a stable two-system organization emerged, consisting of an AI appraisal subsystem (knowledge, value, cost, intention) and a self-regulation subsystem (forethought, performance control, self-reflection). However, the connectivity between these subsystems differed systematically by usage frequency. Among low-frequency users, perceived cost was more prominently positioned within the appraisal subsystem, suggesting that cost-related concerns may be more salient in lower-frequency use contexts. In contrast, in the moderate- and high-frequency groups, performance control appeared more centrally positioned at the interface between appraisal and self-regulation, suggesting stronger alignment between AI-related appraisals and performance-level regulatory processes in these groups. Students’ knowledge of AI displayed context-dependent structural roles across networks, consistent with a variable relational position across use-frequency groups. Overall, the findings suggest that AI appraisal and self-regulated learning form partially distinct but interconnected subsystems, and that their configuration may vary across AI use-frequency groups. Because subgroup comparisons were descriptive and formal stability analyses were not conducted, these findings should be interpreted as exploratory. The results do not support causal or developmental inference and require replication using bootstrapped stability analyses and formal network comparison procedures.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050719

Authors: Burhan Ozfidan Dina Abdel Salam El-Dakhs Nermine Galal Ibrahim

It is widely acknowledged that academic writing constitutes a challenge for EFL learners. This is why areas like the use of writing strategies, writing motivation and writing anxiety have attracted extensive attention in the literature. However, the interplay between these three areas has not been researched sufficiently, particularly among Arab learners. The present study bridges this gap by examining the use of writing strategies by Saudi EFL learners and the relationship between the learners’ use of these strategies and their writing motivation and writing anxiety. A total of 206 Saudi EFL learners responded to a questionnaire that assessed how they used writing strategies, as well as their writing motivation and anxiety. Using descriptive statistics, the results showed that the Saudi EFL learners use most writing strategies moderately or to a high extent. It was also found that students generally experience a high degree of motivation and a moderate degree of anxiety while writing. The Pearson Correlation analysis indicated that students’ use of writing strategies is somewhat positively correlated with their writing motivation and negatively correlated with their writing anxiety. Additionally, multiple regressions revealed that the use of writing strategies was predicted by both writing motivation and writing anxiety, although prediction by the writing motivation was more prominent. The results are discussed in reference to the relevant theories and pedagogical implications and future research directions are proposed.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050718

Authors: Alfred M. Limbere Joseph DiNapoli Steven Greenstein

Understanding rate of change requires reasoning about measurable quantities and how one quantity changes relative to another. To support this kind of reasoning, teachers should develop the ability to notice students’ quantitative and covariational reasoning. This study examines how preservice teachers (PSTs) attend to, interpret, and respond to students’ quantitative and covariational reasoning in video-based analyses of water-filling rate-of-change tasks. Drawing on relevant research, professional noticing is examined through the lenses of quantitative reasoning and covariational reasoning. Using a design-based qualitative approach, secondary PSTs participated in structured analyses of students’ problem-solving discussions related to rate of change. Data were collected across eight semi-structured sessions. This study reports qualitative analyses from two sessions (Sessions 1 and 2) that focused on rate of change. Findings show that PSTs’ initial attending shifted from perceptual task features (e.g., pouring speed, references to time) toward identification of measurable quantities, recognition of coordination between height and volume, and comparison of equal volume increments. PSTs’ interpretations progressed from recognizing secondary-variable coordination to identifying direct covariation, and their instructional responses became more targeted and content-specific. However, challenges persisted in interpreting students’ informal and visually mediated covariational reasoning. This study contributes to research on professional noticing by integrating quantitative and covariational reasoning as analytic lenses and highlighting implications for teacher preparation in calculus education.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050716

Authors: Lindsay K. Crawford Kimberly Arellano Carmona Shweta Srinivasan

Writing-intensive courses help undergraduate students develop disciplinary knowledge and communication skills, yet many students, particularly first-generation college students and those writing in a second language, enter these courses with low confidence and high writing anxiety. Writing self-efficacy, or students’ beliefs about their ability to succeed as writers, is associated with motivation and academic success, but less is known about how instructional practices shape its development. This qualitative study examined how students experienced instructional practices in a writing-intensive public health course and how these experiences influenced writing self-efficacy. Data were collected through a focus group with six undergraduate students and analyzed using a deductive thematic approach guided by Bandura’s four sources of self-efficacy. Students identified scaffolded assignments, opportunities for revision, and explanatory feedback as key facilitators of writing self-efficacy. Supportive classroom relationships, including proactive instructor outreach and consistent feedback, also appeared to foster confidence. Barriers included linguistic challenges, limited academic role models, and negative experiences with writing support services. These findings suggest writing self-efficacy may develop through the interaction of structured instructional practices and supportive classroom environments.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050717

Authors: Sara Gutierrez Diaz Souleymane Fall Joseph E. Quansah

Microcredentials have become a valuable educational pathway for individuals seeking to build relevant, in-demand skills. These concise, stackable courses are intended to demonstrate real-world skills to potential employers. A literature review was conducted to examine existing microcredential programs, including their types, benefits, and challenges. This review focused on the potential of various microcredential programs to enhance educational and employment opportunities, especially for individuals from Racial Groups with Small Populations (RGSP). This study explored the possibility of microcredentials in geospatial and data science to advance careers and bridge skill gaps. A brief survey was also conducted among Tuskegee University students to understand preliminary perceptions, needs, preferences, and benefits associated with microcredential programs. The responses indicate a varying level of familiarity with geospatial and data science disciplines. Among the students surveyed, affordability, course content, career advancement opportunities, flexible schedules, and online delivery were identified as key factors influencing enrollment decisions in microcredential programs. This review showed that most microcredential programs found are likely to be offered by large institutions. Given the persistent disparities and relatively low employment rate in geospatial and data science fields for RGSP learners, this report explores how microcredentials may provide opportunities for skill development and enhance economic mobility.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050714

Authors: Yitong Liu Fayyaz Hussain Qureshi

Private higher education now accounts for approximately 33% of global enrolment, yet comparative empirical research on quality assurance (QA) systems in this sector, particularly across contrasting governance regimes, remains limited. This study examines the operational logic and effectiveness of QA mechanisms in Chinese and UK private higher education through a comparative analysis grounded in primary case study data (China) and systematic secondary literature review (UK). Drawing on a single institutional case study of a Chinese private university with a 40-year history, the study analyses the ‘Four Promotions’ developmental QA philosophy and compares it systematically with the UK’s market-driven accountability model. The findings reveal three principal patterns: (1) the Chinese model prioritises developmental assessment, employing government-led evaluation to drive institutional construction, reform, management, and quality strengthening; (2) the UK model prioritises accountability and consumer protection, but faces documented challenges in regulatory coherence and quality coverage across a highly heterogeneous private sector; and (3) both models exhibit convergence trends towards greater balance between developmental and accountability orientations. To interpret these patterns, this study constructs a Culturally Adaptive Quality Assurance Framework (CAQAF), which advances existing frameworks by operationalising cultural context as a set of analytically distinct, comparable dimensions. The CAQAF offers both a theoretical contribution to cross-cultural QA research and practical guidance for nations seeking to develop quality assurance systems that are globally connected yet locally grounded.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050715

Authors: Nadeia R. Al Alawi Serigne Gningue Adeeb M. Jarrah Hanan Shaher Almarashdi

The current study examined the perceptions of elite high school students in the United Arab Emirates about their experiences in learning and acquiring mathematical concepts and skills through the ALEKS system that stands for Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces. ALEKS is an e-assessment and tutoring platform that facilitates the teaching and learning of mathematics for students in Grades 5–12 using versatile and personalized teaching functions. Eight participants of equally mixed gender participated in the study, four Grade 9 and four Grade 10 students. A qualitative research design in the form of one-to-one semi-structured interviews was used to have a deeper understanding of students’ ALEKS experiences, identify the challenges encountered while studying with it, and pinpoint the benefits and advantages of using ALEKS. Results showed that participating students frequently used ALEKS because of two main factors, including rewards promised by teachers and immediate feedback and feeling of immediate achievement provided by the platform. Challenges related to ALEKS were language barriers among the Arabic-speaking students studying in English, a lack of human interaction and support, time management issues, and the necessity for supplementary resources. Multiple advantages were also found, most noticeably how the ALEKS individualized adaptive learning environment helped participants gain more knowledge of mathematical concepts and develop their mathematics skills. Recommendations for mathematics teachers and policymakers include allowing students to utilize ALEKS in small groups in school, aligning ALEKS themes and topics with textbooks learning goals and objectives, giving systematic and personal guidance for increased independent use at home, and making bilingual editions and Arabic-language assets (e.g., tutorial videos) available.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050713

Authors: Ana S. Domenech Antonio Alex-Amor

Courses in electromagnetism and related technical subjects are often dominated by lecture-heavy instruction and complex mathematical concepts, which can make it difficult for students to stay engaged. This is particularly problematic in today’s hyper-digitalized society, where constant screen exposure and shortened attention spans challenge traditional learning methods. While computer-based tools and hands-on laboratories offer some pedagogical improvements, they often fall short in terms of interactivity, dynamism, adaptiveness, and student engagement. In an effort to enrich the learning experience and boost student motivation, we have created a gamified learning activity for the undergraduate course “Radiocommunications”—commonly referred to as Antennas and Propagation in other institutions— implemented in the form of a question-based board game. The activity, carried out over three academic years, is fully aligned with the course syllabus and encourages active learning, healthy competition, and collaborative problem-solving. Custom-made materials—including a game board, 270 question cards, wildcards, and incentive-based rewards—were developed specifically for this purpose. The qualitative results from a student survey, together with statistical evidence from hypothesis testing, suggest that the activity enhances conceptual understanding, helps students connect ideas across related subjects, and contributes to a more motivating and enjoyable learning experience.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050712

Authors: Rachel Sparks White Kristie S. Gutierrez James K. Ferri

Convergence education promotes learning experiences that integrate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to address complex real-world problems. However, secondary teachers often report limited access to professional development (PD) and curricular resources that support transdisciplinary instruction. This exploratory case study examines how four secondary teachers (three chemistry; one engineering) made sense of a transdisciplinary PD model, Convergence Research in STEM and Tradition (CReST), that leverages cultural heritage artifacts (Renaissance frescoes) as boundary objects to connect chemistry, engineering, world history, and technology. Teachers participated in a four-day immersive PD experience in Firenze (Florence) and Pisa, Italy, that included site-based learning, interaction with conservation scientists, and structured reflection. Data included daily reflective journals during the PD and semi-structured interviews following the experience, focused on teachers’ reflections on CReST and its implications for their instructional thinking. Using inductive thematic analysis, we identified patterns in teachers’ meaning-making about convergence instruction and the pedagogical possibilities the artifact opened for their classrooms. Findings indicate that (a) the fresco and associated conservation practices functioned as shared reference points for cross-disciplinary connections; (b) teachers reported shifts toward problem-centered, artifact-anchored pedagogy; and (c) sustained collaboration and shared tools were viewed as necessary for extending learning beyond the immersive experience. These findings indicate early, self-reported shifts in instructional planning, including artifact-based entry tasks, problem-centered instruction, and integration of real-world conservation practices. Implications are offered for designing science teacher PD that uses boundary objects to support coherent, culturally grounded STEM integration.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050711

Authors: Pamela Soto-Ramirez Marigen Narea Maria Francisca Morales Alejandra Caqueo-Urízar

The Teachers’ Beliefs and Intentions Questionnaire (TBIQ) assesses educators’ beliefs and intentions regarding the importance of sensitive interactions with young children. Understanding these beliefs is particularly relevant in contemporary educational contexts where teacher–child interactions are viewed as central to children’s learning and development. Despite its use in several countries, there is no validated Spanish version available. This study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and psychometrically validate a Spanish version of the TBIQ for early childhood education settings in Chile. Following international guidelines for cross-cultural adaptation, the questionnaire was translated into Spanish and administered to early childhood teachers and assistant teachers working in public early childhood education centers. The original two-factor structure (Beliefs and Intentions) was tested using confirmatory factor analyses with robust estimators for ordinal data. Results supported the two-factor model after removing six items with low factor loadings and indicated excellent model fit. Both scales demonstrated high internal consistency. However, measurement invariance across educator roles could not be established, and cross-group comparisons should be interpreted with caution. Despite this limitation, the Spanish version of the TBIQ demonstrates adequate validity and reliability and offers a brief and accessible instrument for research and for the assessment of educators’ beliefs and intentions regarding interaction quality in early childhood education.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050710

Authors: Brooke Heller Krishna Pakala Patrick R. Lowenthal Anne Hamby Eric Jankowski

Engineering programs in the United States continue to struggle with high attrition and limited diversity. This study investigates an unconventional solution: a narrative-based intervention where students write and perform their own engineering stories to build resilience and improve retention. While engineering curricula typically emphasize technical rigor, this research explores how a storytelling intervention influenced undergraduate students’ perceptions of their sense of belonging, professional identity, and persistence. The intervention, implemented across six semesters in diverse engineering disciplines, engaged students in developing and performing personal stories about their engineering journeys. Utilizing inductive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 17 participants, we investigated how the narrative process influenced student perceptions. Results: Participants reported that the intervention positively influenced their identity development. Most participants reported a strengthened or reaffirmed intention to remain in the field. Our findings suggest that storytelling provided students with a structured way to discuss struggle, connect with peers, and see themselves more clearly as part of engineering. Those shifts may matter for retention, especially for students who otherwise feel isolated.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050708

Authors: Gabjung Yoon Jiyoung Lee

Despite growing emphasis on democratic citizenship education in South Korea, limited research has examined the social and psychological factors influencing children’s democratic citizenship—defined here as awareness of and willingness to engage in societal issues as responsible community members. This study examines the relationship between parent–child communication and democratic citizenship, focusing on the mediating roles of growth mindset and peer relationships among South Korean elementary school students. A total of 212 students in grades four to six completed a cross-sectional survey assessing parental communication, democratic citizenship (operationalized as civic awareness and community engagement), growth mindset, and peer relationships. Serial-multiple-mediation analysis was conducted to evaluate the mediating effects of growth mindset and peer relationships. The results indicated that positive parent–child communication was associated with higher levels of democratic citizenship and that growth mindset and peer relationships jointly mediated this relationship in a serial manner. These findings highlight the importance of fostering open parent–child communication, encouraging a growth mindset, and promoting positive peer relationships to enhance democratic citizenship development in children. Given the cross-sectional design, causal inferences should be interpreted with caution, and longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these relationships.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050709

Authors: Fuhui Tong Shifang Tang Zhuoying Wang Beverly J. Irby Kara L. Sutton-Jones Rafael Lara-Alecio Cindy Guerrero Raquel Granados Aguilar

In this study, we examined the psychometric properties (reliability, validity, and underlying factor structure) and measurement invariance of a researcher-developed instrument: Motivated Strategies for Science Learning (MSSL). Data were collected from 2765 fifth-grade students across [state withheld] school districts. Results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses suggested satisfactory psychometric properties of MSSL. We further identified strong evidence to support configural, metric, scalar, and strict invariance across school location groups (i.e., rural and non-rural), confirming that the instrument can accurately capture the construct of science learning motivation among fifth-grade students from both rural and non-rural Texas schools. The study provides the first step toward measuring Texas rural and non-rural school students’ motivation and strategies for science learning. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050707

Authors: Claudia Zbenovich Anila Ruth Scott-Monkhouse

The paper explores the implementation of inclusive, student-centered pedagogies in an internationally co-taught EAP course. Designed within the Erasmus+ W.I.D.E. framework, the course brought together students from Italy and Israel to collaboratively work on academic conference presentations delivered in English as a lingua franca. The study employs an Action Research and Case Study approach, allowing iterative cycles of planning, implementation, observation, and reflection to inform pedagogical decisions. This embraces three intersecting priorities in contemporary higher education: preparing students for global academic participation, fostering inclusive and supportive learning environments, and cultivating intercultural competence in digitally mediated settings. More specifically, drawing on a project-based teaching framework, the study examines how students are socialized into academic discourse through delivering presentations, engaging in intercultural dialogue, and developing cross-curricular soft skills. Our findings suggest that project-based work in small multicultural teams can support both autonomy and cooperation, while contributing to the development of critical thinking, mediation and confidence in public speaking, essential for participation in international academic communities. The findings also point to the potential role of responsive and compassionate pedagogy in digital collaboration. The study offers a practice-informed model that may be adaptable to similar contexts for bridging EAP and international research practices, highlighting implications for intercultural academic communication, virtual mobility, and inclusive language education.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050706

Authors: Todd Cherner Mags Donnelly

The rapid proliferation of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools has created an urgent need for instruments to evaluate their educational value as teachers, faculty, administrators, and instructional designers consider adopting them. While rubrics exist to assess mobile applications and virtual reality tools, no comparable instrument has been developed specifically for large language models (LLMs) and AI media generators. The authors reviewed existing evaluation rubrics for edtech and GenAI tools, with edtech meaning digital tools that support ethical teaching to improve student learning and GenAI referring to neural networks that simulate human interactions by contextualizing relevant content based on learning needs. Grounded in Waks’ framework, the resulting Edu-GenAI Rubric comprises multiple dimensions organized into five domains: the Instrumental, Technical, Hedonic, Use, and Beneficial values. Dimensions include accuracy, productivity, personalization, citation, user interface, user experience, sharing, storage, and ethical dimensions encompassing data privacy, data transparency, guardrails, fair use, and algorithmic discrimination. The Edu-GenAI Rubric offers decision-makers with a preliminary, theory-informed instrument for evaluating GenAI tools in educational contexts that can be applied to institutional adoption decisions, developer benchmarking, and future research.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050705

Authors: Yangyang Deng Ka Po Wong Jin Yau Tsou Yuanzhi Zhang

Academic stress is prevalent among university students and affects their evaluation of educational environment quality, fairness, and supportiveness. Based on the challenge–hindrance stressor framework and transactional stress-coping model, this study explores how challenge and hindrance stressors (HSs) shape perceived decent education (DE), focusing on the mediating role of artificial intelligence use (AIUSE) and moderating effect of interpersonal interaction (II). Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze survey data from 520 university students, the results show that both stressors positively predict AIUSE, which in turn improves perceived DE and mediates the stressor-DE relationship. II negatively moderates the AIUSE–DE link: the positive effect weakens as II increases. Moderated mediation analysis indicates that the indirect effects via AIUSE are only significant at low II levels. These findings highlight AI-enabled learning as an adaptive coping strategy and the necessity of integrating technological and interpersonal resources to enhance student well-being in higher education.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050704

Authors: Pasquale Onorato Filippo Faita Alessandro Salmoiraghi

This study proposes an innovative instructional approach to promote scientific literacy by integrating the Nature of Science and the Nature of Scientific Inquiry with experimental practice and the history of physics. The aim is to foster a deep understanding of how scientific knowledge is constructed and to promote informed trust in science. Using an explicit and reflective methodology, the intervention combines experimental activities with historical reflection. The core of the learning sequence is the experimental reconstruction of Galileo’s studies on falling bodies, based on the historical manuscript folio 116v, an original document that provides the empirical evidence for the law of falling bodies, illustrating the transition from raw experimental data to mathematical formalization. Through this activity, students engage with key epistemic aspects of scientific practice, including the management of uncertainty—distinguished into statistical/aleatory and structural/epistemic forms—the probabilistic nature of scientific knowledge, the predictive power of models and theories, and the underdetermination of scientific theories. Additional themes addressed include the role of thought experiments, the importance of communicating results for scrutiny and validation, the function of models as mediators between theory and phenomena, and the process of de-idealization. The study also challenges the persistent myth of a single, linear “scientific method,” highlighting instead the theory-laden character of scientific inquiry and the central role of the scientific community. This dimension is explored through the historical comparison between Galileo and Mersenne, which illustrates elements of the scientific ethos and the role of peer review as a mechanism for the correction and refinement of knowledge. The results obtained with pre-service teachers, with whom this instructional sequence was implemented, indicate that this contextualized approach facilitates the overcoming of a view of science as a set of absolute truths. Instead, it promotes a more mature understanding of science as a dynamic, provisional, and self-correcting human enterprise, while equipping future citizens with the critical tools necessary to navigate the challenges of the twenty-first century.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050703

Authors: Dan Li Dee C. Ray Xin Zou

Research self-efficacy (RSE) is significantly associated with research interest, scholarly productivity, and professional development. It is particularly critical in counselor education, a field centered on improving human well-being and advancing evidence-based practice. However, RSE is often conceptualized primarily as an intrapersonal construct, with its relational and contextual dimensions underexplored. In this study, we examined doctoral counseling students’ quantitative research self-efficacy (QRSE) within the context of a quantitative research course. We employed a convergent mixed-methods case study design to investigate QRSE development over one semester. Four qualitative themes emerged: (a) QRSE is associated with professional development level; (b) QRSE is domain- and topic-specific; (c) QRSE is shaped by curriculum design and instructor characteristics; and (d) QRSE is dynamic and evolving rather than static. Quantitative results demonstrated a fluctuating yet overall upward trend. The qualitative and quantitative findings largely converged, with qualitative data extending beyond the quantitative measures. We propose a preliminary conceptual cubic model representing four interconnected dimensions of QRSE: personal, contextual, relational, and temporal. This study offers an exploratory, multidimensional framework for understanding how these factors may jointly shape QRSE development and provides implications for research training in counselor education.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050702

Authors: Maria Budmiger Rebecca Theiler Regula Grob Markus Rehm Markus Wilhelm

In the face of intensifying socio-ecological crises, there is a growing debate about how processes of societal transformation can be shaped. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), particularly in its transformative orientation (ESD 3), is widely regarded as a key lever in this context. While ESD 3 gets increasingly differentiated in educational theory, its disciplinary grounding remains insufficiently specified. This article addresses this gap by examining which structural characteristics of sustainability issues must be exhibited to enable individual and societal transformation. Drawing on Integral Sustainability Science, sustainability-related transformation processes are differentiated along internal (the meaning-making and culture domain) and external dimensions (the behavior and systems domain), integrating both factual systemic interrelations and normative perspectives of meaning and interpretation. On this basis, sustainability issues are characterized by internal and external complexity as well as controversiality. These features are brought together in the 3C Framework for Sustainable Learning and extended by the dimension of individual and collective contingency. As societal transformation unfolds through social negotiation processes under conditions of (double) contingency, transformative education aims to foster a deeper understanding of sustainability issues and to enable learners to perceive themselves as part of societal transformation processes and to participate in collective negotiations under conditions of uncertainty.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050701

Authors: Agus Basuki Sesya Dias Mumpuni Muhammad Andi Setiawan Muhammad Azril Fajar

Inclusive education requires not only classroom-level adaptations but also coordinated interdisciplinary practices that strengthen the institutional conditions supporting diverse learners. However, counselor–teacher collaboration in many schools remains informal and episodic, limiting its potential contribution to an inclusive school climate. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a 12-week Structured Counselor–Teacher Collaboration (SCTC) program designed as a cyclical and replicable interdisciplinary model. A multi-site cluster quasi-experimental design with matched non-equivalent control groups was implemented in 12 public inclusive junior secondary schools in Yogyakarta, Indonesia (6 intervention; 6 control), involving 360 teachers (n = 180 per condition) and 24 school counselors as facilitators. Teachers completed the 35-item Inclusive School Climate Scale (ISCS) at pre-test and post-test. Data were analyzed using two-level linear mixed-effects modeling (teachers nested within schools) with pre-test scores as covariates. Results showed that the intervention significantly improved inclusive school climate compared with routine practice (B = 0.41, p < 0.001), yielding a moderate-to-large adjusted effect (Hedges’ g = 0.76). Dimension-level models indicated the largest gains in collaborative professional culture and perceived belonging. Implementation fidelity was high (82–91%). These findings suggest that institutionalizing structured counselor–teacher collaboration can serve as a promising approach for enhancing inclusive school climate in secondary school contexts.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050700

Authors: Carolyne do Nascimento Araújo João Pedro Mello Viana Almeida Junior Vagner Pereira da Silva

Entering higher education brings about changes in students’ daily lives, which tend to reduce their participation in leisure-time physical activities. This situation requires university administrators to incorporate such activities into governance and planning mechanisms, such as the Institutional Development Plan, which is understood as a symbolic commitment (i.e., a rhetorical agenda). This study aimed to analyze the attention given to leisure-time physical activities in the Institutional Development Plan at a Brazilian higher education institution. It is a qualitative, exploratory, and documentary study based on a thematic analysis of the Institutional Development Plan of the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (2025–2030). The results indicate that leisure-time physical activities are present in the document, primarily in the form of services intended for students. Most mentions are linked to the strategic axis “Policy for artistic, cultural, and sports development,” with a predominance of actions focused on participation-oriented sports as an end in themselves and, to a lesser extent, on health promotion. It is concluded that leisure-time physical activities are part of the institutional rhetorical agenda, which may favor their implementation as a decision-making agenda throughout the term of the Institutional Development Plan.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050699

Authors: Zoi A. Traga Philippakos Margaret F. Quinn Kate Bentley Adalea Davis

Fidelity of implementation, how closely instructors follow intervention protocols, is critical for translating evidence-based educational programs into meaningful student outcomes. This study examined factors influencing teachers’ fidelity in an asynchronous professional development model targeting multisyllabic reading and spelling. In three Title I elementary schools in the Southeastern United States, 16 educators participated in two implementation cycles. Fidelity was assessed through checklists and daily logs, while contributing factors were analyzed at individual and systemic levels. Findings revealed that while contextual constraints affected fidelity, engagement with professional development and reflective practices supported improvement over time. Furthermore, limited prior training and students’ challenges with decoding strategies affected implementation timing. These insights can strengthen intervention delivery, enhance interpretation of student outcomes, and inform sustainable adoption of evidence-based literacy practices in diverse school settings as fidelity and integrity of implementation are considered.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050698

Authors: Nomthandazo Bhekiswayo Mosia Moeketsi Felix Egara

Mathematics achievement in South African schools continues to be limited by identifiable barriers to instructional improvement, including inadequate technological infrastructure, excessive teacher workloads, and inconsistent institutional support for professional learning. Although data-driven instruction is widely promoted, little is known about how psychological constructs such as instrumental attitudes, perceived control, social norms, and self-efficacy influence teachers’ use of data. This study, therefore, explored mathematics teachers’ perspectives on data use, guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). TPB was selected because, unlike purely cognitive or socio-cultural models, it integrates individual psychological factors, attitudes, perceived control, and self-efficacy with social and contextual influences on behaviour, making it particularly well suited to examining data use within complex, resource-constrained school environments. A qualitative design was employed, involving focus-group discussions with senior-phase mathematics teachers. Data were thematically analysed using NVivo 14, with iterative coding aligned with TPB constructs. Findings revealed that while teachers valued data for diagnosing learning gaps, they perceived data tasks as administratively demanding. Collegial collaboration fostered authentic engagement, whereas hierarchical accountability and limited technological capacity reduced motivation and autonomy. The interaction among attitudes, social norms, and perceived control showed that both belief systems and institutional conditions shape teachers’ behavioural intentions. The study concludes that professional development should strengthen teachers’ data literacy, encourage collaborative learning cultures, and improve infrastructural support to promote effective data-driven mathematics instruction in resource-constrained contexts.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050697

Authors: Matthew Gaydos Chencheng Le Aline Nardo

Approaches to game-based learning often frame games as tools to deliver content efficiently or increase student engagement. Approaches that focus more on games as mediators of educational discourse are currently underexplored. This article presents a framework centered on play for ethical deliberation, or the key elements necessary to create educational ethics games suited for contexts where ethics cannot be taught as content. Rather than teaching for content understanding, designing play for ethical deliberation means creating engaging educational experiences that challenge student players to grapple with wicked problems, engage in ethical deliberation, and reflect on their values. We describe key design elements and present two design cases, intending to guide researchers and designers in creating game-based interventions that can be used in practical contexts by providing theory and design detail sufficient for reproduction and testing. While further research is needed to refine the framework, verify its effectiveness, and test it in other content areas, surveys of students’ engagement from use and preliminary results of their in-class discussion support the framework’s potential.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050696

Authors: Miguel Angel Cancharí-Preciado Nathalí Pantigoso-Leython Gleny Jara-Llanos Félix Colina-Ysea

The reorganization of academic work following the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified debate regarding the effects of work modality on faculty well-being, particularly in Latin American contexts characterized by structural inequalities and digital divides. This study examines the influence of work modality on the integrated well-being of university faculty in Peru. A quantitative, non-experimental explanatory design was employed with a sample of 448 faculty members from public and private universities. Occupational well-being and quality of life were assessed using validated instruments and subsequently integrated into a higher-order construct due to the absence of discriminant validity. Structural relationships were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with bootstrapping (5000 resamples). The results indicate that work modality significantly predicts integrated well-being (β = 0.823; p < 0.001), although the model explains a limited proportion of variance (R2 = 0.168). Comparative analysis revealed that faculty in in-person modality report significantly higher levels of well-being and quality of life than those in virtual modality. These findings suggest that work modality operates as a structural condition shaping faculty well-being and highlight the need for institutional policies that promote balanced and human-centered work designs in higher education.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050695

Authors: Mara-Gabriela Diaconu Alenka Temeljotov Salaj Agnar Johansen

The unprecedented dynamics of global technological development require 21st-century engineers to possess not only deep technical expertise but also a multifaceted set of innovation competencies. While higher education institutions are increasingly committing to fostering a culture of innovation, there is often a lack of conceptual clarity regarding which theories and competencies are most relevant to engineering curricula. This scoping review examines the landscape of innovation theories and innovation competencies in engineering education, identifying the main theoretical perspectives and their implications for curriculum and pedagogical design. Co-occurrence analyses indicate that many studies emphasise competencies such as collaboration, creativity, strategic thinking, and problem-solving. The findings suggest that engineering innovation is a multifaceted phenomenon encompassing the creation of novel and useful products, the adoption of new managerial and organisational practices, and the deliberate development of innovation competencies in both students and professionals. Overall, the review indicates that engineering education must move beyond “black box” technological approaches toward experiential and multidisciplinary models and provides an analytical basis for linking innovation theories with the development of innovation competencies and curriculum design.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050694

Authors: Li Sun Yaoli Zhang

The digital transformation has intensified demands for university teachers to develop technology-enhanced teaching competence, especially under China’s High-Quality Course initiative for blended learning excellence. While existing well-recognized frameworks (e.g., TPACK, DigCompEdu) provide valuable foundational guidance, they inadequately capture the dynamic, ecological processes through which teachers systematically reconstruct curricula and professional identities in blended contexts. This study addresses this gap by proposing an ecological model of competence development, building on the strengths of existing frameworks while capturing the dynamic interplay between teachers, technology, and blended environments. Using a qualitative multiple-case design, we conducted semi-structured interviews with six national recognized exemplary university English teachers. Data were analyzed via Braun & Clarke’s six-phase thematic analysis in MaxQDA. Findings reveal that technology-enhanced teaching competence comprises five co-evolving dimensions: Curriculum Empowerment (systematic course redesign), Role Transformation (shifting from lecturer to learning designer), Environment Integration (orchestrating online-offline spaces), Technology Application (selective tool use), and Competence Spanning (transferring expertise across contexts). These dimensions form an ecological system: when teachers redesign curricula, they simultaneously rethink their professional identities; when they adopt technologies, they reshape classroom environments; and when all four dimensions align, higher-order spanning competence emerges naturally. Theoretically, this ecological model advances beyond technology addition by illuminating relational mechanisms and emergent properties of competence. Practically, it informs a shift from fragmented tool-training to systemic faculty support architectures that honor the complexity of blended teaching transformation.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050693

Authors: Marco Rubén Burbano-Pulles Laura Nathaly Beltrán-Manosalvas

The integration of administrative staff into research processes within higher education institutions (HEIs) remains underexplored, particularly in Latin American contexts. This study aimed to examine the perceptions, motivations, and structural barriers experienced by administrative personnel regarding their involvement in institutional research at the Universidad Politécnica Estatal del Carchi (UPEC), Ecuador. A quantitative, cross-sectional design was employed using a validated Likert-type instrument. Data were collected from 70 administrative employees and analyzed through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), revealing seven latent factors: personal motivation, structural barriers, regulatory knowledge, institutional recognition, contribution to efficiency, training and participation, and institutional vision. The EFA yielded a cumulative explained variance of 54.5%, and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranged from 0.64 to 0.94 across factors, indicating strong internal consistency. Correlation analysis demonstrated moderate to strong associations between motivation and participation (r = 0.65), and between regulatory knowledge and institutional recognition (r = 0.50). Multiple regression analysis revealed that only the institutional recognition factor significantly predicted research participation among administrative staff (β = 0.41, p = 0.004), while other predictors—including motivation and structural barriers—did not reach statistical significance. These findings underscore the need to design inclusive research policies that strategically engage administrative personnel. The study contributes to expanding the discourse on research ecosystems by highlighting the overlooked potential of non-academic actors in institutional scientific output.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050691

Authors: Letebele Mary-Hellen Mphahlele Benjamin Marx Tankiso Moloi

Robotic process automation, data analytics abilities and artificial intelligence, among other technological advances, have increased the volume of data usage and applications. The increase in data is affecting various industries and roles, including accounting. Accountants are now required to collect, analyse, and transform data quickly and efficiently, with fewer errors and more insightful information for decision-making. The literature indicates that, now more than ever, accountants need critical thinking and problem-solving skills to navigate these new roles brought about by the changes in the technological landscape. However, developing these skills in accounting programmes has been challenging due to a lack of alignment in critical thinking. This study aimed to develop an aligned definition of critical thinking in accounting based on interviews with three important stakeholders: academics, professional bodies, and employers. The study employed a two-phase sequential approach, beginning with an SLR of 14 articles, to examine how CT is conconceptualised. Phase 2 employed thematic analysis, yielding seven themes regarding how critical thinking is understood as a process-orientated construct. The results indicate that CT in accounting is defined as a structured and iterative process involving problem definition, data evaluation, data transformation, decision-making, and communication, underpinned by reflective and inquisitive dispositions.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050692

Authors: Roman Chinoracky Natalia Stalmasekova Margita Majercakova Rebecca Neumannova

Historically, technological progress has driven shifts in the labour market, leading to the disappearance of certain jobs while simultaneously creating new roles fueled by the need to work with emerging technologies. The technological advancements of the early 2020s are inherently linked to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the rise in chatbots, whose accessibility and ease of use have become paramount for business development. Given this context, the aim of this study is to analyse frameworks describing the AI competencies of students who will constitute the future workforce. Based on an analysis of existing frameworks, a new framework is formulated through synthesis and operationalized into survey items representing AI-related competencies. These survey items are measured by primary research focused on a sample of undergraduate students at a selected faculty and university. The research provides valuable insights for curriculum development policy by highlighting competencies that students perceive as significant versus those they find less important. Building on these findings, the study offers policy recommendations for curriculum designers. The proposed recommendations enable the creation of educational programmes with relevance to the practical needs of the business sector, increasingly impacted by the emergence of AI.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050690

Authors: Khin Mimi Kyaw Tibor Vidákovich

This study developed and validated a curriculum-aligned instrument to assess preservice primary teachers’ geometric reasoning skills. Addressing the limited availability of domain-specific tools in teacher education research, the study examined preservice teachers’ conceptual strengths and weaknesses across key geometry domains relevant to primary mathematics teaching. A two-phase quantitative research design was employed. In Study 1, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Item Response Theory (IRT) were used to evaluate the psychometric properties of the instrument with a sample of 221 preservice teachers, providing evidence of construct validity and internal consistency. Geometric reasoning was conceptualised as a four-factor structure comprising Conceptualisation of Geometric Properties (GP), Geometric Transformation Reasoning (GT), Reasoning with Representations of Three-Dimensional Objects (RE), and Measurement Reasoning (MS). In Study 2, the validated Geometric Reasoning Test (GRT) was administered to a larger sample of 406 preservice primary teachers from three education colleges in Myanmar. Descriptive statistics and group comparisons were conducted using Welch’s t-tests and Welch’s ANOVA to examine differences by gender, year level, and institution. The findings indicate that preservice primary teachers’ geometric reasoning remains underdeveloped across training stages, highlighting the need for greater emphasis on geometry and spatial reasoning in teacher education.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050688

Authors: Yulia Muchnik-Rozanov Efrat Weinberger

This study examines how levels of emotional awareness are linguistically realized in preservice EFL teachers’ reflective discourse in a foreign language following simulation-based learning (SBL). The data consist of nine semi-structured interviews conducted in English approximately one month after an intercultural simulation workshop. Emotional awareness was assessed using the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS), while linguistic realization was analyzed through an emotionally colored language perspective and a Systemic Functional Linguistics framework. The findings reveal three developmental profiles. Higher emotional awareness was associated with richer emotionally colored language and more frequent hypotactic structures, enabling participants to articulate complex and sometimes conflicting emotional perspectives. Intermediate levels showed more balanced clause organization and greater reliance on repetition as an intensification strategy, reflecting a transitional stage in which the ability to articulate emotionally complex professional experiences is still emerging. Lower levels were characterized by limited emotional vocabulary, frequent repetition, and reduced hypotaxis, indicating an initial stage in which the discursive repertoire has not yet developed. Overall, the findings suggest that emotional awareness and its linguistic realization develop in tandem, and the analysis of these patterns offers insight into preservice teachers’ evolving capacity to process emotionally complex professional experiences in a foreign language.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050689

Authors: Joel Weijia Lai Roman Daniel Hernandez Gagero Lei Zhang Chun Chau Sze Fun Siong Lim

This study explores the effectiveness of an AI-enabled career preparation platform in enhancing undergraduate students’ awareness of their career readiness and skill development. The research was conducted within a localized context at a comprehensive university in Singapore, introduced as part of a career-preparation exercise for internship exploration and selection, allowing students to self-assess their current competencies and identify gaps vis-à-vis industry requirements. Students first evaluate their perceived knowledge of their skills and the deficiencies they need to address. This platform leverages artificial intelligence to help students profile their skills and discover tailored internship opportunities. By uploading their resumes, students receive a personalized skills profile identifying their relevant competencies. The platform then suggests potential career roles and automatically shows skills for development. Using a retrospective pretest-posttest survey with Likert-scale responses, statistical tests revealed significant improvements across all measured areas. The platform was further assessed across two constructs with high internal consistency, reflecting strong user engagement and satisfaction. Lastly, we highlight the potential of AI-driven tools in supporting student career preparedness and offer insights for further platform improvements. The findings from this study are not assumed to generalize directly to other institutional, cultural, or national settings, but instead offer initial context-specific indications of how such tools may support students’ perceived skill awareness and career planning.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050687

Authors: Attila Lengyel Éva Bácsné Bába Fenyves Mező Mező Müller

Hungarian teachers’ reform priorities remain insufficiently mapped, despite their central role in shaping feasible, evidence-based educational change. In a cross-sectional study with 1254 kindergarten, primary, and secondary teachers across Hungary (May 2025), we elicited and analyzed open-ended written responses in which participants identified their top three required reforms. Responses were segmented and coded into 18 mutually exclusive categories via a validated codebook, and prevalence was calculated using respondent-normalized weights. We then examined demographic, well-being, and personality correlates of reform priorities using χ2 tests, Mann–Whitney tests, and multivariable logistic models with Benjamini–Hochberg false discovery correction. Teachers most frequently prioritized competency development and pedagogical reform, followed by curriculum flexibility and system governance. Reform priorities were not random: female teachers were substantially more likely to prioritize inclusion and SEN support, while male teachers more often prioritized governance and depoliticization; older age predicted governance priorities. Lower educational system satisfaction robustly predicted prioritizing curriculum reform, autonomy, and governance restructuring, and anxiety and depression were positively related to curriculum concerns. Conscientiousness predicted prioritizing salary and material recognition. The results indicate that teachers’ reform demands function as systematic, psychologically grounded signals that can guide more targeted, teacher-centerd educational policy in Hungary.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050686

Authors: Raphael Fehrmann

Computational thinking is increasingly regarded as an important component of digital education in primary school. Educational robotics is often discussed as a promising way to introduce computational thinking and promote problem-solving skills, which are key for the future, in early learning settings. However, empirical evidence on the extent to which computational thinking can be systematically fostered in Grade 1 students through short robotics-based instructional units remains limited. This study therefore investigates whether the computational thinking of first graders can be supported through an educational robotics intervention using the intelino Smart Train. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design with an intervention group and a control group was employed. Students completed TechCheck-1 at two measurement points (before and after the intervention) to assess their basic computational thinking skills. The intervention group participated in a six-unit instructional intervention in which they controlled the intelino Smart Train through colour-coded commands. The findings indicate that the participating children already showed comparatively high computational thinking skills at the beginning of the intervention. No significant gender differences were found, and the intervention group did not demonstrate a significant advantage over the control group, which may also be related to ceiling effects. However, both groups showed learning gains across the measurement period. The results suggest that computational thinking can already be meaningfully addressed in Grade 1, but its systematic promotion may require longer-term curricular integration rather than a single short, isolated intervention.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050685

Authors: Fanny Ming Yan Chung

While there has been a recent focus on reforming kindergarten curricula to emphasize a play-based learning (PBL) approach, a lingering dichotomy remains between play-based learning and pedagogical instruction aimed at academic preparation. Early music education is a critical component of the current policy emphasis on arts education and PBL, yet there is scarce research on play-based pedagogy in music education, particularly regarding children’s engagement and the applied instructional models. This study investigates how instructional practices affect children’s behavioral and emotional engagement in musical play. Data were collected at two Hong Kong kindergartens (K1–K3) using classroom observations and the Engagement Check II (ECII) tool. Thematic content analysis revealed three instructional approaches: teacher-directed routines with minimal aspects of play, guided play within structured musical contexts, and open-ended, child-initiated musical play. Analysis of the ECII data revealed high levels of behavioral engagement, with guided-play contexts yielding higher levels of behavioral and emotional engagement compared to highly teacher-directed instructional approaches. Differences in engagement levels during musical play were revealed to be correlated with age. This study highlights the need for culturally responsive music teacher training, supportive school culture, and aligned curriculum and policy implementation.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050684

Authors: Mónica Rodríguez-Díaz Raúl Rodríguez-Ferrándiz

Disinformation is a global challenge that affects areas such as politics, health, economics, and science and is spread rapidly by social media (SM), suggesting the necessity of advancing educational proposals to strengthen critical thinking (CT) and digital literacy (DL). This quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive study identified the self-perception that master’s students (n = 72; at three Spanish universities; October 2024–March 2025) have regarding their DL, along with their CT, in post-truth and fake news settings. A self-administered online questionnaire (53 items) was conducted, covering aspects such as the responsible use of information and platforms, algorithmic perceptions, actions taken to verify this information, and concepts of CT, post-truth, and fake news. The results show that Instagram (97%) and WhatsApp (96%) predominated, with a notable proportion of users (86%) reporting that algorithms influenced them ‘highly’ or ‘moderately’. Despite being aware of disinformation they find on social media (65%) as well as its close link to hate speech (90% who ‘strongly’ or ‘somewhat’ agreed), this knowledge does not fully translate into taking measures to counter it. In fact 61% of respondents report sharing news on at least some occasions, while only 25% are able to identify a professional fact-checking organization. In conclusion, these findings suggest the merit of assessing the prevalence of skills such as Critical Thinking (CT) and strategies like fact-checking among students in other postgraduate education systems. Such assessments could inform the potential promotion of media and digital literacy as cross-curricular skills in education. This approach would help bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and the active verification needed to counter disinformation.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050683

Authors: Amy Been Bennett Rachel Funk Kadian M. Callahan Julia Courtney Wendy M. Smith

Many tertiary mathematics departments are seeking to improve equity in their programs; however, they may struggle to translate these goals for equity into action. This longitudinal, qualitative study focuses on a Networked Improvement Community (NIC) within the mathematics department at a public, doctoral degree-granting university located in the Southeast United States. This NIC worked together for two years (Spring 2023 to Spring 2025) to become more reflective practitioners and critically transform the mathematics program at their institution. We used Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to examine relationships between objects, tools, and outcomes for the NIC. Data included multiple interviews and journals from eleven (n = 11) participants, and was triangulated with observer field notes of monthly NIC meetings. Thematic analysis revealed three pathways that connected NIC members’ individual and collective goals (objects), NIC activities and resources (tools), and NIC members’ perspectives on teaching and students (outcomes). We found that sometimes objects, mediated by tools, led to aligned outcomes, but not always. Specific tools could lead the NIC to adopt a new and collective object (and outcome). In other cases, the lack of the right tool led to unrealized outcomes or even secondary outcomes within the NIC. Ultimately, the critical transformations that NIC members envisioned were not realized; however, the experience of examining student data and discussing with colleagues shaped their thinking about teaching and students in impactful ways that inform faculty development for institutional change efforts on a broader scale. Our findings highlight the importance of identifying the right tools to support critical transformation, including the value of examining data as a collaborative group. We also extend NIC scholarship by using second-generation CHAT to distinguish objects over time and specify pathway models linking tools to outcomes.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050682

Authors: Mbazima Amos Ngoveni Terungwa James Age

Digitalisation continues to shape debates in mathematics education, yet its classroom enactment remains uneven, particularly in rural and under-resourced school contexts. This study examined how mathematics teachers perceive and experience digitalisation, focusing on digital competence, barriers to integration, and readiness to adopt technology. Guided by the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, the study employed a qualitative design based on interviews with practising teachers. The findings show that digitalisation was constrained by limited awareness of mathematics-specific digital tools, uneven confidence and competence in their use, and structural barriers such as inadequate infrastructure, poor connectivity, and restricted access to devices. Although some teachers recognised the value of digital tools and expressed willingness to use them, this did not consistently translate into meaningful classroom practice. The study argues that digitalisation in mathematics education extends beyond the availability of technology and requires teacher competence, pedagogical readiness, institutional support, and equitable resourcing. Overall, the findings show that digitalisation in the participating rural schools remains emergent, uneven, and shaped by both teacher-related and structural conditions.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050681

Authors: Timea Németh Anna Dávidovics Erika Marek

Introduction: Financial support is a key driver of international student mobility. This study examines whether the financial incentives attracting international students to Hungary also translate into meaningful academic and social integration and a sense of belonging, comparing scholarship holders with self-funded students. Methods: A mixed-methods, cross-sectional online survey was conducted among international students enrolled in Hungarian higher education institutions (N = 232). The survey assessed motivations for choosing Hungary, academic and social integration, and willingness to recommend the country as a study destination. Group differences were analysed using independent-samples t-tests, Mann–Whitney U tests and multivariate analyses, while open-ended responses were examined using thematic analysis. Results: Scholarship programmes, academic quality, and Hungary’s relative affordability emerged as dominant motivational factors. While no significant difference was observed in overall academic integration (p = 0.127), scholarship recipients reported stronger inclusion within the Hungarian community (p = 0.032) and were markedly more likely to recommend Hungary (p < 0.001). Nonetheless, language barriers, limited interaction with host-country students, and social isolation persisted across groups, indicating that financial support alone does not ensure holistic engagement. Conclusion: Scholarship schemes yield the greatest impact when paired with institutional and social initiatives that actively foster integration, inclusion, and a sense of belonging. The study offers empirical insights from a non-traditional study destination, highlighting strategies to enhance international student experiences and strengthen Hungary’s competitiveness globally.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050680

Authors: Claire Alkouatli Rasis Alanazi

This paper reports upon the visual research methodology of artifact construction employed in semi-structured interviews to explore how Saudi women in academic leadership positions cultivate and maintain wellbeing. Ten Saudi Arabian women academic leaders were invited to draw, diagram, or annotate how they cultivate, maintain, and express wellbeing in a rapidly changing cultural context. Four exemplary artifacts were selected for analysis. Findings include that while semi-structured interviewing made themes visible, artifact construction extended the themes and illuminated unique aspects of the research question. Specifically, the artifacts illustrate wellbeing as holistic, interwoven of hedonic and eudaimonic aspects, and positioning self and others in a lattice of being well. It is intentional, balanced, spiritually sourced and sustained. It is generous and generative, animating abundance as both a process and a product of wellbeing. The artifacts are more than just a visual complement to the research story; they methodologically tap into the research question differently than verbal methods alone. While not every research participant accepted the invitation to construct an artifact, and methodological drawbacks are considered, the ones who did accept the invitation demonstrated that artifact construction captures complexity at the conceptual intersection of wellbeing and female academic leadership. This paper contributes new knowledge on the efficacy of artifact construction; in this case, in research sites beyond culturally ‘western’ ones.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050679

Authors: Kristen L. Pratt Ya-Fang Cheng Bogum Yoon

Contemporary educator preparation programs face sociopolitical constraints that limit critical discussions surrounding how systemic, structural, and institutional inequities influence teaching and learning, leaving future educators underprepared to meaningfully nurture diverse ways of knowing in K-12 schools. To address this challenge, in this study we explored how video-mediated transcultural dialogues between 60 pre-service educators from Taiwan and the U.S. influenced the development of essential critical cultural competencies. Using a nested theoretical perspective, we analyzed participants’ discussions related to internalized notions of teaching and learning across diverse ecologies. Analysis revealed that through these conversations, incremental development of interconnected global awareness, self-determination, reflexive relationality, and social justice orientations occurred. Modest individual perspective shifts transpired as participants cultivated emerging critical cultural competencies. Despite limitations including a small sample size and a term duration, this pedagogical innovation demonstrated a possible pathway for further exploration to develop future educators’ critical cultural competencies while bridging global relations even within restrictive sociopolitical contexts.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050678

Authors: Lekë Pepkolaj Siditë Duraj Rully Charitas Indra Prahmana

Self-assessment plays an important role in the teaching-learning process, as it helps students actively construct their own knowledge. This article aims to develop a methodology for creating quizzes for e-learning platforms, with the goal of addressing students’ difficulties in mathematics and promoting active learning. The proposed methodology begins with identifying the processes that students need to activate and analyzing the most common errors related to them. A key element is the integration of the MATH taxonomy to determine what is necessary or what is intended to be assessed with this type of question. In addition, Niss's skills are used, i.e., the skills that students need to answer these questions. An important part of the methodology is also the selection of mathematical language, which can be simple and close to everyday language or more sophisticated, verbal, symbolic or mixed, depending on the educational objective. This approach aims to create diagnostic and personalized questions designed to support self-assessment and independent learning in digital environments.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050677

Authors: Jill Channing

The COVID-19 pandemic intensified communication challenges for community college leaders navigating prolonged uncertainty and organizational disruption. This qualitative study examines how community college administrators described and interpreted their communication practices during the pandemic. Guided by the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), this study explores how leaders made sense of message design, audience responsiveness, and trust under conditions of information overload and emotional strain. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve administrators from community colleges across the United States, including presidents, vice presidents, and senior-level directors. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Five themes emerged: communication breakdowns between employee groups; tailored messaging for specific constituencies; preferences for in-person and interactive communication; trust-building through transparency; and reliance on collaborative communication structures. Participants described communication as an ongoing relational and organizational practice rather than a one-time transmission of information. Administrators reported adapting strategies by combining repetition, audience-specific framing, interactive formats, and structural supports to manage uncertainty and sustain institutional trust. Findings are not intended to be generalizable but provide contextually grounded insight into leadership communication during an extended crisis. This study contributes to scholarship on higher education leadership and crisis communication by illustrating how persuasion, sensemaking, and relational cues intersected in administrators’ communication practices.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050676

Authors: Pål Lagestad Agnieszka Barbara Jarvoll Wenche Sørmo Maria Herset

The shortage of qualified teachers across Europe has increased interest in flexible and decentralized pathways into teacher education. This study examines pre-service teachers’ background characteristics and programme-choice priorities when selecting between two study formats at a Norwegian university: a blended learning programme and a face-to-face campus-based programme. Survey data from 108 pre-service teachers revealed significant differences between the groups in age, place of residence, region of origin, prior teaching experience, current teaching employment, and confidence in securing a permanent teaching position. Campus-based students were younger, less experienced, and reported lower confidence in obtaining permanent employment than students in the blended learning programme. Three of fifteen choice-related factors differed significantly between study formats, most notably the importance assigned to programme organization, which was rated higher by blended-learning students. No differences were found for geographic location or for eleven content-related factors. In this sample, blended-learning students were more often from rural areas, and they placed greater value on organizational flexibility, suggesting that flexible formats may be particularly relevant for students balancing work, distance, or other commitments. However, this study is cross-sectional, based on a single institution, and cannot determine broader policy implications or effects on regional teacher supply. Longitudinal and multi-institutional research is needed to assess potential long-term outcomes.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050675

Authors: Ander Arce Alonso Eneko Tejada Garitano Urtza Garay Ruiz

School leadership plays a key role in shaping school organization and professional practices, yet limited attention has been paid to how leadership styles vary across school contexts. Differences between rural and urban schools remain underexplored in the Spanish context. This study examines differences in leadership styles between rural and urban schools, focusing on transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership. Data were collected from 400 teachers across 31 schools (20 rural and 11 urban) who evaluated the leadership exercised by their school management teams using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ5X). Non-parametric analyses were conducted to compare leadership styles and examine relationships, as well as assess the influence of school size. The results indicate significant contextual differences: rural schools reported higher levels of transformational and transactional leadership, whereas urban schools exhibited higher levels of passive-avoidant leadership. Transformational and transactional leadership were positively correlated in both contexts, while passive-avoidant leadership was negatively associated with the other styles only in urban schools. Regression analyses showed that school size significantly predicted leadership styles, with smaller schools fostering more proactive leadership practices. These findings underscore the importance of context in shaping leadership dynamics and suggest that relational features of rural leadership may inform leadership development in urban school settings.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050674

Authors: Łukasz Jarosiński Szymon Guguła

Effective preparation for STEM subject exams requires not only content knowledge but also structured and efficient learning strategies. This observational study examined the association between the implementation of a structured learning framework (PIPES system) and student performance in extended-level mathematics and physics exams in Poland. The PIPES system integrates five evidence-based components: planning and goal setting, interleaved practice, the Pomodoro technique, exam question type categorization, and independent problem-solving with mentor support. The study evaluated the PIPES system as an integrated instructional framework rather than as a set of isolated components. Data from over 900 high school students across multiple cohorts (2020–2025) were analysed. Students who fully implemented the PIPES system achieved substantially higher average exam scores than national averages and comparison groups. For example, in the 2024/2025 school year, participants achieved 82% in mathematics compared to 33% nationally (d = 1.88), and 85% in physics compared to 52% (d = 1.14). Large score improvements were also observed between mock and final exams, particularly among initially lower-performing students. While the non-randomised design precludes causal inference, the magnitude and consistency of the observed associations suggest that the PIPES system may represent a promising structured approach to STEM exam preparation.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050673

Authors: Michael James Day Tracy Zhang

This study investigates Chinese students’ perspectives on leveraging Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) to enhance reading and writing abilities in preparation for the language learning and examination. 76 students enrolled in an online virtual learning environment (VLE) and participated in forum discussions prompted by questions relating to AI use and different study practices. Analysis identified 33 detailed forum posts written by and between students that specifically engaged in discussions concerning the use of AI to support English as an Additional Language (EAL) fluency, academic reading/writing skills, and IELTS-related skills development. This article presents an analysis of these contributions using thematic analysis. An inductive approach enabled the identification of key themes relating to students’ perceptions. Findings indicated that students appreciated AI’s capacity for personalised language learning, reading and writing practice while expressing reservations about overreliance on digital tools. The concept of Artificially Intelligent Mediated Counterbalance (AIMC) is proposed to capture students’ reported strategies for integrating AI tools with traditional study methods to maintain authentic language development. The article concludes by discussing the implications of AIMC for educators and policymakers seeking to support the responsible integration of AI into language education.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050672

Authors: Rajan Kadel Zhao Zou Samar Shailendra Urvashi Rahul Saxena Aakanksha Sharma Islam Mohammad Tahidul

The rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is creating new opportunities for assessment design in universities, particularly in subjects that emphasize analytical and creative skills. This paper introduces the Educator–GenAI Partnership Model, an iterative five-stage model that helps educators create assessments that foster higher-order thinking (HOT). The model is grounded in constructive alignment and Bloom’s taxonomy, with a central emphasis on preserving human oversight to ensure educators retain control over assessment validity, academic integrity, and the ethical use of AI. The model maps out the unique strengths and responsibilities of both educators and GenAI, showing how each plays a distinct role in the assessment design process. It illustrates how GenAI can support the rapid generation of assessment tasks and marking rubrics, while positioning educators as critical decision-makers who only review, adapt, and iteratively refine AI-generated outputs to ensure alignment with higher-order learning outcomes. Overall, this paper presents a structured and practical model for utilizing GenAI responsibly in assessment design, thereby strengthening academic rigor while enhancing efficiency for educators.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050671

Authors: Rebeca Soler-Costa Slawomir Schultis Carmen Rodríguez-Jiménez

This study explores the barriers that hinder the acquisition of digital skills in women with basic education, as well as their relationship with socio-communicative needs in contexts of exclusion. A validated questionnaire (α = 0.970), based on the DigCompEdu framework, was applied to a sample of 575 women in Granada (Spain). Using non-parametric analyses (Kruskal–Wallis test), significant differences were identified according to variables such as age, educational level, employment status and income. The results reveal that older women, women with low incomes, lower educational levels and unemployed women have greater difficulties in accessing, searching for information, creating content, and solving problems with ICT. However, a positive attitude towards technology was observed in all profiles, which constitutes an opportunity for intervention. It is concluded that the digital divide in women with basic training is conditioned by structural factors that generate specific socio-communicative needs. We propose the implementation of training policies with an intersectional and gender focus that favor digital equity and the active inclusion of these women in the digital society.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050670

Authors: Ashraf Moustafa Maxwell Peprah Opoku Ahmed Morsy Clinton Adjei Frimpong Eleana Charalambous Mariam AlGhawi

Gifted education is gaining traction in many non-Western contexts, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has developed many policies to develop giftedness. However, the identification of giftedness relies heavily on instruments developed in Western contexts, which have the potential to derail efforts toward promoting gifted education in the UAE. This study aimed to present data on 999 grade 4 to 12 students who completed the UAE’s national gifted identification test, known as the Hamdan Gifted test. Guided by the Cattell–Horn–Carroll theory, this study reports data on ability tests (verbal ability, nonverbal ability and preknowledge of mathematics and science) completed by students across the UAE between 2018 and 2023. The results revealed that 53% of the participants demonstrated superior ability in science, whereas 19% reported superior ability in mathematics. The percentage of students who demonstrated superior ability in other domains was as follows: verbal ability (52%; word crossing), verbal ability (14; true/false) and nonverbal ability (29%). The study concludes with recommendations for teacher development to enhance the teaching of mathematics to gifted students in schools in the UAE and beyond.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050669

Authors: Iving Zelaya-Perdomo Manuel Montañés-Serrano

The internationalization of university research is driven by multiple, overlapping rationales that operate across institutional and individual dimensions and condition how international engagement becomes feasible in practice. This study examines how Honduran university faculty constructs and articulates the reasons for internationalizing their research activities; it identifies the discursive positions that emerge from these accounts. A qualitative–structural approach was used to analyze the discursive data produced in the group meetings convened through with an ad hoc structural sample. The analysis identified and graphically represented five discursive positions configured as a relational structure: (A) Professional Development, (B) Ethical–Political Commitment, (C) Financial Acquisition, (D) Academic Prestige, and (E) Sociocultural Engagement. Together, these positions capture distinct yet interrelated motivations by which faculty members pursue research internationalization. By mapping this relational configuration, the study contributes to the literature by showing how faculty rationales are combined and hierarchized in situated academic practice and provides empirically grounded insights for designing, planning, and managing strategies that align institutional priorities with the diversity of faculty rationales, thereby leveraging their tensions and complementarities to strengthen the effectiveness and sustainability of research internationalization within the university context.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050668

Authors: Allison Byth Jo Blannin

Reflective practice is an essential component of initial teacher education (ITE) programs in Australia that supports the development of preservice teachers’ responsive decision-making, planning, and ongoing professional growth. Yet, many preservice teachers continue to produce reflections that are descriptive, superficial, or disconnected from evidence of their practice. In response to this challenge, this study examines how mentor teachers support preservice teachers’ professional learning through reflection on video captures of their own teaching. Applying a qualitative study design, data collected using online surveys with mentor teachers indicate that retrospective video analysis enables mentors to identify pedagogically significant moments for reflection that support evidence-based dialogue. Video functions as a teaching microscope, requiring mentors to adjust the focus, direct preservice teachers’ attention, and scaffold their interpretation of what is observed. However, practical and systemic barriers significantly impact sustained implementation. This study highlights the potential of teacher mentors’ use of retrospective video analysis in ITE to enhance preservice teachers’ reflective practice, offering insights into how this approach can be effectively incorporated and scaled.

Education Sciences doi: 10.3390/educsci16050667

Authors: Ole Petter Vestheim

This study examines how regional newspapers in Norway portray schools and the teaching profession, and how such representations may influence teacher recruitment. Drawing on theories of mediatization and discursive power, the analysis reveals that media narratives are ideologically charged and contribute to shaping public perceptions of teaching as a profession in crisis. Structural changes, such as school centralization and free school choice, further complicate recruitment, particularly in rural areas. While negative portrayals may deter potential applicants, they also highlight systemic issues that warrant political attention. The study concludes that media representations might play a significant role in influencing attitudes toward teacher education and recruitment.