Search Results (205)

Chemistry teaching in youth and adult education has faced challenges related to students’ disengagement, interrupted educational trajectories, and difficulty in connecting scientific concepts with learners’ everyday and professional experiences. In Brazil, Professional and Technological Secondary Education Integrated with Youth and Adult Education (PROEJA) aims to address its challenges by combining basic education with vocational training. This study investigated how a contextualized pedagogical intervention based on the production of aromatic candles contributed to students’ engagement, contextualized conceptual learning and vocational reflection in a technical administration course offered at the Brazilian Federal Institute (IFMS-CG), Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. A qualitative participatory action research design was adopted, and qualitative data were generated through participatory observations, classroom interactions, students’ written reflections, photographic records, and reflective discussions. Data were interpreted by Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Throughout the intervention, students explored Organic Chemistry concepts related to hydrocarbons, n-paraffins, physicochemical properties, volatility, combustion, formulation and laboratory safety while simultaneously discussing entrepreneurship, branding, product development and income generation. The qualitative findings demonstrated students’ active participation, collaborative teacher–student interactions, contextualized conceptual learning and a broader perception of Chemistry as a socially and professionally relevant discipline connected to everyday life, vocational education and entrepreneurial practice. Students’ written reflections further revealed that scientific knowledge was increasingly associated with technological innovation, product quality, professional opportunities and income generation. These findings suggest that contextualized, interdisciplinary and humanized pedagogical practices may promote meaningful scientific learning while strengthening vocational reflection and reinforcing the relevance of Chemistry within youth and adult professional and technological education. Full article

The diffusion of generative artificial intelligence has moved educational debate beyond access to new tools, placing teacher work, pedagogical mediation, assessment, and digital competence under renewed pressure. This article examines teachers’ perceptions, declared uses, and forms of engagement with generative AI in Gymnasien (academic-track secondary schools) and Gesamtschulen (comprehensive secondary schools) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The study is based on an anonymous and voluntary online questionnaire circulated through school leaderships. The operational database comprised 204 records, while the main analysis was based on 156 completed questionnaires. Closed-item responses were examined through descriptive statistics and interpreted through DigCompEdu and its AI-related supplement. The findings indicate an asymmetrical incorporation of generative AI across teachers’ work. Its presence is stronger in preparation, organisation, professional reflection, and risk awareness than in direct classroom mediation, process-oriented assessment, and institutionally supported student use. The strongest contrasts concern perceived student overreliance on AI-generated answers, the need to adapt assessment practices, limited school-level guidance, and weak use of AI-supported process monitoring. Rather than interpreting this imbalance as a simple delay in adoption, the article argues that teacher competence in relation to generative AI is produced through the interaction between professional judgement, pedagogical purposes, and institutional conditions. It therefore cannot be reduced to an individual technical attribute. Full article

Digital game-based learning is increasingly used to support children’s engagement, interaction, and social–emotional development. However, its contribution to emotional intelligence, particularly in inclusive classroom contexts, remains theoretically underdeveloped and methodologically fragmented. This systematic review and critical narrative synthesis examines how teacher- or facilitator-mediated digital games address children’s emotional intelligence and related social–emotional outcomes in inclusive educational contexts. Following PRISMA 2020 reporting guidance, the review examined peer-reviewed articles indexed in Web of Science and Scopus between 2015 and 2026. After screening 347 unique records and assessing 31 full-text reports, 14 studies were included in the final synthesis. The review focused on four interrelated areas: the emotional and social–emotional outcomes addressed in digital game-based studies; the roles of teachers or facilitators in structuring, mediating, and debriefing game-based activities; the inclusive classroom conditions that support equitable participation and emotional safety; and the risks, limitations, or implementation challenges associated with classroom use. The findings suggest that digital games may become educationally meaningful when they are linked to explicit emotional learning goals, embedded in structured classroom or school-based activities, supported by teacher or facilitator mediation, and followed by reflection or debriefing. Based on the synthesis, the review proposes a teacher-mediated inclusive digital game-based emotional learning framework consisting of seven dimensions: emotional learning target, game selection and pedagogical fit, teacher mediation, inclusive participation, classroom interaction, reflective debriefing, and risk monitoring. Full article

This study examines how Generative AI (GenAI) was integrated into creative sustainability education through the STEM Education for Sustainability (STEM4S) framework. Conducted in 2024, the study examined a nine-week intervention comprising a breastfeeding-room track in a second-year interior-design course and a sports-gym track in a third-year commercial-space-design course. Twenty students completed the pre-assignment questionnaire, and 18 completed matched pre- and post-assignment questionnaires after two withdrawals. GenAI was introduced as a scaffolded method-bank tool to support prompt-based ideation, visualization, and critique. A qualitative-dominant mixed-methods case-study design combined matched pre- and post-assignment questionnaires, student reflections, classroom observations, project outcomes, and professional critique records. Paired comparisons showed that students’ self-rated SDG 11 knowledge increased from 2.94 ± 1.16 to 3.56 ± 0.92 (p = 0.012, Cohen’s d_z = 0.67), while SDG 5 knowledge decreased from 4.39 ± 0.70 to 3.72 ± 1.02 (p = 0.014, Cohen’s d_z = −0.65); both findings are interpreted as exploratory due to the small sample. Qualitative findings indicate that GenAI supported visual exploration but also produced prompt difficulty, visual repetition, and spatial inconsistency. The findings suggest that GenAI can extend the STEM4S method bank when embedded within civic learning, critique, and human design judgment, while its transferability requires further testing across contexts. Full article

The present pilot study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of a VR-based social skills intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Five participants aged 7–17 years participated in a six-session intervention protocol, with each session lasting approximately 45 min. The study employed a randomized AB/BA crossover design, in which participants completed two sessions under an Active condition involving instructional prompts, corrective feedback, and positive reinforcement, and two sessions under a Neutral condition without prompts or reinforcement. Following the intervention phases, participants completed a Generalization session in a novel virtual environment and a Follow-up session to assess skill retention over time. The intervention incorporated two interactive VR scenarios: (a) a simulated classroom environment, where a teacher-avatar engaged participants in structured question-and-answer activities, and (b) a virtual school playground, where participants interacted with peer avatars in social communication tasks designed to promote conversational engagement, turn-taking, and social reciprocity. All avatar interactions and trial progressions were controlled by the therapist through a dedicated monitoring interface, ensuring standardized implementation across participants. Evaluation was based on qualitative observation, analysis of recorded video material, and brief post-intervention parent interviews. Preliminary findings suggest that the intervention was feasible, well accepted by participants, and associated with improvements in social communication performance, supporting the potential of VR as a complementary tool for social skills training in children with ASD. Full article

The contemporary educational system places complex demands on educators, emphasizing the importance of pedagogical-didactical competencies and teacher self-efficacy alongside subject-matter expertise. The purpose of this study was to examine how future STEM educators assess their own perceived pedagogical-didactical capabilities for direct teaching and classroom management through the construct of teacher self-efficacy, examining variations by gender, student cohort, and academic major. The research was conducted in autumn 2025 using a near-census sample of graduate teaching track students at the Faculty of Science in Split, utilizing the Norwegian Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale. The descriptive and non-parametric results indicate that future teachers express higher baseline scores in the domains of instruction and coping with changes, whereas the lowest self-assessment was recorded regarding the adaptation of teaching to individual student needs. While gender and student cohort demonstrated no statistically significant impact on overall self-efficacy, a significant difference was determined in the domain of maintaining discipline with respect to the study major, with Informatics and Technology students exhibiting the greatest sense of confidence. In conclusion, the findings highlight that while students are well-prepared for content delivery, there remains a critical need to enhance initial teacher education programs by introducing practical tools for managing challenging student behaviors and working within heterogeneous classrooms. Full article

Teaching sound in Primary Education poses specific challenges because students are required to explain an everyday phenomenon whose physical functioning is not directly observable. This study examines how fifth-grade Primary Education students construct and transform their understanding of sound through a STEAM-based didactic sequence implemented in a real classroom context. A qualitative case study was conducted with two fifth-grade classes from a public school in Zaragoza, Spain, involving 41 students. Three sources of evidence were collected: students’ productions, observational records kept by the first author acting as teacher-researcher, and the final product of the sequence. The corpus comprised 97 meaning units, defined as segments of student discourse representing distinct explanatory ideas. Qualitative content analysis revealed a progression from phenomenological, substantialist, or poorly articulated explanations towards formulations closer to the school scientific model of sound. Progress was especially evident in students’ understanding of vibration as the origin of sound, the need for a material medium for sound propagation, and the application of the model to new situations. This study contributes to science education by showing how a STEAM-based modelling sequence can support the progressive development of scientific explanations in Primary Education. Overall, the findings suggest that integrating physical exploration, listening, sound production, and the construction of a final product can effectively support school modelling processes related to sound. Full article

With the rapid development in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technologies, their application in STEAM education offers new possibilities for promoting interdisciplinary integration of technology and the arts. This study employs a systematic literature review method. Six databases—Google Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed, Taylor & Francis, Springer Link, and Scopus—were searched for publications from January 2021 to January 2026. After independent screening and review by two reviewers, 21 empirical studies out of 424 initial records were included. A comprehensive analysis was conducted using a combination of open and axial coding. The findings indicate that GenAI’s support for artistic creativity in STEAM education is primarily manifested in four dimensions: lowering the threshold for creation to enhance the accessibility of artistic creativity, stimulating interdisciplinary associations to strengthen subject integration, supporting critical artistic recreation to deepen cultural engagement, and building a human–GenAI collaborative creation ecosystem to foster reflexivity. Based on this, the study constructs a GCD (Guiding questioning–Co-refining–Deepening reflection) cyclic instructional framework, providing teachers with an actionable pedagogical pathway for using GenAI to cultivate students’ interdisciplinary artistic creativity across different educational stages. Furthermore, the study systematically analyzes ethical challenges such as technological dependency, cultural homogenization, educational equity, and originality, and proposes corresponding pedagogical strategies to address them. It should be noted that the current body of relevant empirical research is limited in quantity and exhibits substantial heterogeneity, and the GCD framework still requires further classroom-based practical validation. Future research could strengthen empirical longitudinal tracking of longterm effects, deepen the construction of support systems for teachers’ digital literacy, and continue to advance the exploration of ethical, equity, and cultural diversity issues in GenAI-based artistic creativity education. Full article

There is a pressing need for education regarding sustainability and previous research has focused more on students and less on teachers. This article explores teachers’ understandings of using the game Climate Call, which covers carbon dioxide content, in the General Science classroom to teach sustainability. This case study involved four teachers and six upper secondary classes in Sweden, from whom data was collected through fieldnotes, video recordings and interviews. The data has been analysed through the framework of the didactical tetrahedron, modelling the interactions between teacher, student, sustainability and the game in teaching and learning. The results indicate that teachers recognise new opportunities for teaching sustainability and for using the game’s content to highlight other aspects of the subject. The game also creates new interaction opportunities between students and teachers, though not all interactions were without obstacles. Full article

This systematic review examined empirical studies on in-service professional development (PD) aimed at fostering inclusive pedagogy-related practices in mainstream primary and secondary schools, focusing specifically on research employing quantitative pre–post teacher-level outcome designs. The review addressed three areas: (1) the core content and design features of such PD programmes; (2) their reported effects on teacher-, student-, and classroom-related outcomes; (3) factors associated with broader or more sustained forms of change. Searches of ERIC, Web of Science Core Collection, and Scopus identified 1915 records, of which 16 studies met the inclusion criteria. Most programmes reported short-term improvements in teacher knowledge, beliefs, self-efficacy, and, in some cases, instructional practice. To interpret programme heterogeneity, this review applied an alignment framework derived from inclusive pedagogy theory to examine the pedagogical assumptions reflected in PD programmes. Programmes varied substantially in their degree of alignment, and those showing stronger alignment more often reported broader and, in some cases, more sustained teacher-, classroom-, or participation-related changes. However, these patterns should be interpreted cautiously given the methodological limitations of the evidence base. More uniformly positive findings were concentrated in weaker single-group studies relying largely on self-report, whereas studies with comparison group designs reported more mixed, modest, or less sustained effects. Overall, the review suggests that inclusion-oriented PD may support meaningful forms of teacher learning, although evidence regarding sustained classroom transformation and longer-term student-level impact remains limited. Full article

Mathematical creativity is positioned as a key competency for sustainable development, yet its classroom enactment often remains episodic and teacher-dependent. This qualitative study examines how prospective teachers conceptualize and organize the dynamics between divergent thinking (DT) and convergent thinking (CT)—analyzed through continuity, complementarity, and interaction—across a semester-long course involving textbook critique, task design, and microteaching. Twenty-seven prospective teachers critiqued textbooks, transformed tasks, and enacted microteaching lessons on five middle-school topics. Data included recordings, lesson plans, transformed tasks, and reflection journals. During textbook critique, participants diagnosed an authoritative CT bias and emphasized inquiry/DT, but rarely articulated how DT should transition into CT for justification and generalization. In task design, inquiry and content goals were listed in parallel, yielding a role split between teacher and students and weak complementarity. In enactment, added CT prompts remained largely teacher-directed; DT episodes were more multi-authority, whereas CT episodes concentrated authority in the teacher, producing monotonous continuity and unrealized complementarity. Findings suggest teacher education should explicitly scaffold goal-bridging routines, DT–CT transition prompts, and mechanisms for distributing authority—contributing to ESD aims by enabling creativity-oriented instruction to operate continuously rather than episodically in everyday mathematics classrooms. Full article

This study is based on an interdisciplinary teaching experience in two 2nd-grade classes, integrating Visual Arts and Mathematics through the use of Pop-Up cards. It aimed to identify how these activities foster disciplinary and interdisciplinary learning, the aspects of the teacher’s role most relevant to enhancing students’ learning, and the types of professional knowledge required. The research methodology follows the four phases of the didactic engineering approach, with data collected comprising photographs, audio/video recordings, and classroom observations. The analysis of students’ learning employs a framework that emerged from the data and was articulated with the literature. Regarding the teachers’ role and knowledge, these dimensions were identified through teachers’ actions in selected classroom episodes. The results show that Pop-Up cards promote rich learning experiences in Visual Arts and Mathematics, enabling students to understand a new artistic composition combined with construction techniques. The experience promoted spatial reasoning by relating three-dimensional shapes to two-dimensional elements of the composition and the identification of geometric figures and metric relationships. Regarding the teachers’ role and knowledge, interdisciplinary pedagogical content knowledge proved essential for guiding the process, which should include the fundamental practices of Creation, Analysis, and Enjoyment, and supporting both artistic and mathematical learning. Full article

Outdoor thermal comfort in university courtyards is a key factor influencing students’ environmental experience and the usability of outdoor spaces in hot-arid climates. Courtyard design may also affect the environmental conditions of adjacent classrooms by modifying solar exposure, shading, air movement, and surface heat gain. Accordingly, this study aims to develop optimized design scenarios for improving outdoor thermal comfort in university courtyards through hybrid passive strategies, including vegetation, shading systems, and cool pavements. To achieve this goal, the research adopted a combined field-based and simulation-based methodology. Field measurements and student questionnaires for 292 students were conducted in courtyards and classrooms of three university buildings in Luxor, Egypt. These buildings represent different urban morphologies, courtyard aspect ratios, geometric configurations, and student densities. In parallel, simulation models were developed using ENVI-met V5.6.1 and Rhinoceros V8 with Grasshopper, to test and compare various design scenarios. Field monitoring revealed that wider courtyards with low aspect ratios (0.28–0.38), lacking trees and finished with concrete paving, recorded lower CO₂ concentrations (around 800 ppm), but experienced higher surface and air temperatures. These elevated temperatures negatively affected outdoor thermal comfort and increased heat gain in classrooms overlooking the courtyards. In contrast, courtyards with higher aspect ratios (0.63–0.82) demonstrated better microclimatic moderation and improved comfort conditions. Simulation results indicate that integrating a belt vegetation pattern of Cassia leptophylla, combined with textile shading and cool pavements with an albedo of 0.5, can reduce the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) by up to 14.7 °C, shifting conditions toward moderate heat stress. The findings provide practical design guidance for upgrading existing university courtyards and designing future educational buildings in hot-arid climates to enhance student comfort and environmental performance. Full article

This study examined a maker-based approach to sustainable digital education in physical education (PE) through a laser-shooting program implemented over a three-year period (2022–2024). While prior studies have largely focused on short-term maker-based PE interventions, less is known about how such practices are refined, stabilized, and diffused across school contexts over time. Using a qualitative case study design, data were collected from lesson plans, instructional artifacts, implementation records, field notes, and semi-structured interviews with five PE teachers, and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The findings suggest that, according to teachers’ accounts and classroom documentation, the program was perceived to reduce barriers to participation, diversify student roles, and improve instructional feasibility in indoor PE settings. Over time, the program evolved into a stable and adaptable instructional approach aligned with sustainable digital education, integrating physical computing into embodied learning environments. Diffusion occurred through teacher agency within informal professional networks and institutional training contexts. These findings highlight the potential of maker-based PE as a sustainable digital education approach that may support context-responsive participation, instructional adaptability, and professionally scalable innovation in school PE, with possible relevance for inclusive physical education contexts. Full article

Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) strongly influences health, comfort, and learning performance in academic buildings, yet assessment practices remain fragmented and rarely aligned with sustainability goals. This study conducted a PRISMA 2020-guided systematic literature review to identify, screen, and map IEQ indicators for educational facilities and to develop a sustainability-aligned framework for classroom evaluation. Searches of Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science (2010–2025) yielded 365 records; after de-duplication and eligibility screening, 142 peer-reviewed studies were included. From these, 118 unique IEQ indicators were extracted and classified into six domains: thermal comfort, indoor air quality, acoustic quality, visual comfort, environmental quality, and spatial quality. Using sustainability-oriented screening criteria (measurability, relevance, reliability, data accessibility, understandability, and long-term applicability), 50 indicators (42%) were retained as methodologically robust, while 68 (58%) were excluded due to weak standardization or limited practical applicability. The retained indicators were systematically mapped to the environmental, social, and economic pillars and aligned with key SDGs (3, 4, 7, 11, and 13). The resulting Sustainability-Aligned IEQ Indicator Framework integrates quality-screened indicators with pillar/SDG alignment and a mixed-method pathway that combines objective monitoring and occupant perception, supporting context-sensitive evaluation, particularly for naturally ventilated and tropical learning environments. Full article