Search Results (290)

Positive teacher–student relationships in early childhood predict stronger academic and social–emotional outcomes, whereas conflictual or dependent relationships contribute to children’s stress and behavioral and academic difficulties. While prior research emphasizes teachers’ observable relational behaviors, fewer studies explore the internal emotional and cognitive processes that shape these relationships. This mixed-methods study examined how preschool teachers’ emotion socialization practices (i.e., emotion coaching and dismissing) and their classroom expressions of positive and negative emotions relate to their mental representations of their relationships with students. Quantitative analyses tested whether teachers’ emotional expressiveness moderated associations between their emotion socialization practices and relational representations. Complementing these analyses, qualitative narrative interviews with an independent teacher sample explored how educators described their emotional expressiveness, emotion-related practices, and perceived relationships with students. Informed by emotion socialization theory, attachment theory, and the prosocial classroom model, findings highlight the interplay of teachers’ emotional beliefs, regulation, and relational schemas in shaping classroom climate. Our integration of quantitative and qualitative insights provides a more comprehensive understanding of teachers’ emotional functioning and underscores the importance of supporting educators’ relational and emotional competencies to enhance classroom quality and student well-being. Full article

Fathers are globally recognized as influential figures in children’s development, yet the specific mechanisms linking paternal beliefs to preschoolers’ social adjustment remain insufficiently explored. This study examined the sequential mediation effects of father involvement and the father–child relationship on the link between paternal progressive beliefs and children’s social adjustment (indexed by social competence and problem behaviors). A stratified random sample of 1862 Chinese mother–father dyads (3724 individual participants) was recruited. Structural equation modeling showed that the following: (1) Fathers’ progressive beliefs had a direct positive association with children’s social competence, and a small but significant direct positive link to children’s anger–aggression behaviors; (2) The associations between the fathers’ beliefs and children’s social adjustment were indirectly explained by a sequential mediation process: beliefs were associated with greater father involvement, which, in turn, connected to fostered closeness or increased father–child conflict, ultimately leading to more positive adjustments through closeness, or to more negative adjustments via conflict. This study also uncovered discrepancies between mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of the fathering process. Notably, due to the lack of parallel measures of maternal constructs, these findings reflect paternal contributions within the family system rather than unique effects. These findings were discussed within the transitional context of culturally specific Chinese fathering. This study extends the traditional “parenting beliefs–practices–outcomes” framework to include the parent–child relationship, highlighting the importance of targeting fathers’ effective relationship-building practices in family programs. Full article

Teaching practices have been identified as important predictors of perceived social-emotional competence and subsequent academic, emotional, and social outcomes in K-12 learners. However, the contribution of teaching practices to adaptive social-emotional outcomes is not as well understood in higher education contexts. Thus, the primary aim of this study was to explore the relationships between teaching quality, perceived social-emotional competence, academic buoyancy, and well-being in a university sample. The final analytic sample consisted of undergraduate and graduate students (N = 612) who completed the Teacher Behavior Checklist, Perceived Social Emotional Competence Scale, an academic buoyancy measure, and the Well-Being Profile Short-Form. Mediation analysis results showed that perceived social-emotional competence and academic buoyancy serially mediated the relationship between perceived teaching quality and student well-being, such that higher teaching quality was associated with greater perceived social-emotional competence, which in turn predicted higher academic buoyancy and well-being. These findings highlight the role of effective teaching in helping students develop social-emotional self-beliefs that enhance their ability to manage academic challenges and experience adaptive social-emotional outcomes. Full article

Background: Contemporary pediatric oncology confronts medical staff with challenges that are not only clinical but also ethical and existential in nature. The aim of this study was to identify the cognitive and affective factors associated with medical professionals’ attitudes toward fertility preservation procedures (oncofertility) in pediatric patients. In particular, the association of “existential vacuum” (lack of life goals, sense of meaninglessness), value systems, and religiosity on the level of competence and emotional acceptance of these procedures was examined. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted between January and September 2024 in pediatric oncology centers in Poland (Gdańsk, Lublin, Łódź, and Poznań). The study group consisted of 62 medical professionals (62.9% physicians and 37.1% nurses) selected using purposive sampling. The research protocol included an Author-Designed Questionnaire, the Scheler Value Scale (SVS), the Life Attitude Profile—Revised (LAP-R), and the Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS-15). Statistical analyses comprised Pearson’s r correlations, multiple regression analysis, and cluster analysis using the k-means method. Results: Participants demonstrated a moderate level of substantive competence in oncofertility (M = 2.31 on a 5-point scale). Regression analysis revealed that “existential vacuum” was the strongest negative predictor of competence (B = −0.34; p = 0.001), which was found to be a significant negative correlate of professional development in this area. In the affective domain, a pronounced normative conflict was observed: religiosity was negatively correlated with emotional acceptance of the procedures (r = −0.42; p < 0.001), indicating tension between medical imperatives and worldview-based beliefs. At the same time, the regression model showed that internalized religiosity and moral values might theoretically function as an “axiological buffer”; however, due to the severe psychometric limitations of the emotional acceptance measure (α = 0.268), these affective associations are highly tentative and unstable. Alternative measurement strategies are required to validate this hypothesis. Exploratory cluster analysis suggested the potential existence of two professional profiles: “Axiologically Integrated” staff members and a larger group of “Existential Skeptics”, who exhibited higher “existential vacuum” and lower psychosocial resources. Conclusions: Viewed through a dual-process interpretative lens, a theoretical phenomenon of cognitive–affective dissociation was explored. The highly tentative data suggest that “existential vacuum” might represent a hypothesized barrier to competence acquisition. Furthermore, findings regarding the affective domain—limited by the low reliability of the emotional measure—suggest religiosity could act as a potential source of normative tension. These exploratory profiles serve as hypotheses for future intervention designs rather than definitive clinical mechanisms. Full article

Background/Objectives: Anaesthetic nurses play a critical role during surgical procedures. However, research focusing on Australian anaesthetic nurses remains limited. While previous studies have identified inconsistencies in anaesthetic nurse education, the everyday experiences of these nurses have not been comprehensively examined. This study aimed to explore the barriers and enablers influencing anaesthetic nursing practice in Australia and to examine anaesthetic nurses’ views on their evolving roles and responsibilities. Methods: A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was employed to explore the lived experiences of Australian anaesthetic nurses. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken to enable in-depth exploration of participants’ experiences, thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. Participants were interviewed by telephone, videoconference, or in person. Data were transcribed verbatim into Microsoft Word and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, informed by Gadamerian hermeneutics. Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) guidelines were followed. Results: Four overarching themes were identified, Culture, Education, Leadership, and Institution, each shaping anaesthetic nursing practice in distinct yet interrelated ways, with several subthemes emerging within each category. These interrelated factors contributed to perceptions of being undervalued, restricted career progression, and uncertainty regarding role sustainability. Conclusions: The findings highlight the need for enhanced support systems and system-level reform that addresses hierarchical power dynamics alongside standardised, context-specific education and training pathways. Addressing these interconnected issues is essential to better support anaesthetic nurses while ensuring competent, high-quality care is provided. Understanding the structural and cultural concerns underpinning anaesthetic nursing practice may inform the development of coherent curricula, visible nursing leadership, and clearer professional recognition and career pathways. Full article

The concept of the overvalued idea (OVI) has been debated since German psychiatrist Karl Wernicke coined the term in the late nineteenth century, describing it as an emotionally exaggerated yet psychologically comprehensible belief arising from normal cognitive processes that becomes central to an individual’s mental life. Since that time, the construct has been variably reinterpreted through competing theoretical lenses, ranging from Kraepelin’s biological nosology to contemporary cognitive-behavioral and multidimensional models. Despite its clinical relevance across disorders (e.g., anorexia nervosa, body dysmorphic disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder), overvalued ideas remain inconsistently and insufficiently defined, having been alternately treated as attenuated delusions, markers of poor insight, or disorder-specific severity indicators—interpretations that have limited theoretical coherence, measurement precision, and clinical utility. This review traces the historical evolution of the overvalued idea, clarifies enduring theoretical misinterpretations, and proposes a comprehensive, practical definition. Integrating historical and contemporary perspectives, we define an overvalued idea as a psychologically intelligible, ego-syntonic belief held with disproportionate emotional significance that dominates cognition and behavior without meeting criteria for an obsession or a delusion. We further propose that overvalued ideation is best conceptualized as a transdiagnostic mechanism through which emotionally reinforced beliefs acquire pathological dominance across disorders, a formulation that both honors Wernicke’s original insight and can be operationalized for future research, measurement, diagnosis, and treatment. Full article

This study examines the validity of the Spanish version of the Scientific Epistemic Beliefs (SEB) Questionnaire among university students in northeastern Mexico, considering multiple sources of evidence. The SEB measures four dimensions of epistemic beliefs: Source, Certainty, Development, and Justification. Data from pilot (n = 150) and main (n = 791) samples were analyzed using Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses (EFA, CFA), Item Response Theory (IRT), and Differential Item Functioning (DIF). The results provided evidence consistent with a four-factor model, with adequate internal consistency (α = 0.85) and acceptable-to-good fit indices (CFI = 0.944, TLI = 0.936, RMSEA = 0.067, SRMR = 0.071) for a 22-item scale. IRT analyses indicated strong item discrimination, with Source and Certainty covering a broad range of the latent trait, while Development and Justification were more informative at lower to moderate levels. DIF analyses indicated negligible differences in item functioning by gender and academic semester, with minor DIF detected across faculties. Non-parametric analyses identified statistically significant but small differences, with females scoring slightly higher across all dimensions and variations also observed across academic semesters and faculties. Descriptive comparisons with published international data provide contextual evidence within a broader cross-cultural framework. Full article

This structured narrative review aimed to synthesize the findings of various studies to determine the efficacy of Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) training programs for in-service and pre-service teachers on their knowledge and skills, and to evaluate the transfer to teaching practice and student outcomes. Following PRISMA guidelines, a search was conducted across Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycInfo, ultimately including 30 intervention studies. The results confirmed that professional development is effective in enhancing teachers’ knowledge, skills, and beliefs related to SRL. However, due to wide methodological diversity, the review identified varied intervention factors showing promise, but a unified association between sample type (in-service vs. pre-service) and overall impact was unattainable. While SRL training successfully improves teacher competency, the limited evaluation of student performance or long-term effects prevents the definitive claim that the training reliably changes teaching practice toward a more self-regulated approach. Future research should prioritize robust longitudinal designs and include student-level measures. Full article

Many students rarely use self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies, and little is known about what drives this variation. This study investigates which facets of SRL competence predict students’ reported strategy use and performance, and whether these facets can be enhanced through video-based modeling. Based on conceptual change theory, we hypothesize that learners’ initial SRL competence influences their ability to acquire SRL strategies. A total of 157 university students participated in a quasi-experimental lab study using a pre-, post-, and follow-up design. Participants watched one of three SRL modeling videos (mastery, coping, control) and completed questionnaires and reflection tasks assessing SRL beliefs, knowledge, and strategy use. Inconsistent beliefs and the interaction between self-efficacy and utility beliefs negatively predicted reported SRL use, while performance was positively associated with SRL knowledge, self-efficacy, and reported strategy use. Participants in the intervention condition showed significantly greater increases in SRL knowledge and reduced inconsistent beliefs. Most notably, learners with an initially low to average SRL strategy use showed the largest improvements following the intervention. These findings underscore the potential importance of addressing both cognitive and belief-related components of SRL. The findings suggest that modeling videos may support conceptual change and the development of SRL competence, particularly among less experienced learners. Full article

Against the backdrop of uneven educational development and structural constraints in rural Mainland China, teacher agency is critical for driving professional growth and instructional improvement. Rural educators face distinct challenges—limited resources, isolated work contexts, and systemic pressures—that shape their capacity to enact change. While scholarship has documented the roles of contextual resources and individual beliefs in shaping teacher agency, less is known about the mediating mechanisms linking job resources and self-efficacy to agency within China’s rural educational landscape. This study examines how perceived job resources (teaching resources, administrative support, colleague support, parental support) and teaching self-efficacy collectively shape rural teachers’ agency, to inform policy and practice for strengthening their professional capacity. Drawing on a quantitative survey of 625 rural teachers, we employ a two-stage analytical approach: first, descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, and Pearson correlations to map baseline variable relationships; second, Hayes’ PROCESS macro (Model 4) with bootstrapping to test the mediating role of teaching self-efficacy between job resources and teacher agency. Findings reveal the following: (1) Rural teachers report moderate agency (M = 3.53/5), indicating room for growth; (2) All four job resource dimensions significantly and positively predict agency (β = 0.099–0.163); (3) Teaching self-efficacy is a robust predictor of agency (β = 0.785–0.822, p < 0.001) after controlling for resources; (4) Self-efficacy partially mediates the links between each job resource and agency, with indirect effects ranging from 0.269 (teaching resources) to 0.451 (colleague support), highlighting its central role in translating contextual resources into agentic action. We conclude that fostering rural teacher agency requires a holistic approach addressing both external job resources and internal self-efficacy. Policymakers and administrators should prioritize investments in teaching resources, collaborative support structures, and professional development to build educators’ confidence and competence. Limitations include self-report bias, cross-sectional design constraints on causal inference, and limited generalizability. Future research should use longitudinal designs and broader samples to deepen understandings of agency in structurally constrained educational settings. Full article

Epistemology remains tacitly anthropocentric: it treats knowledge as something produced and validated through human cognitive capacities such as understanding, intuition, and transparent justification. Yet contemporary science and artificial intelligence increasingly depend on non-human systems that generate mathematically valid results, empirically successful models, and operationally reliable inferences that no human can fully survey or interpret. This article develops xenoepistemics, a structural theory of non-anthropocentric knowledge. The central claim is that epistemic evaluation must be reformulated in terms of system-level properties—reliability, robustness, counterfactual sensitivity, and domain transfer—rather than mentalistic notions such as belief or understanding. I offer (i) a definition of xenoepistemic systems as systems that track structure in a target domain without requiring human-style semantic access; (ii) a minimal account of epistemic agency without minds that avoids trivialization; and (iii) a non-circular trust framework that distinguishes empirical success from epistemic legitimacy using independent validation regimes. This paper addresses a reflexive worry—that a human-authored theory cannot dethrone human epistemology—by separating standpoint from object: xenoepistemics is articulated by humans but is not about human cognition. I discuss the pragmatic value of xenoepistemic knowledge production, the limits of independent verification for opaque systems, domain-relative thresholds for xenoepistemic authority, and the problem of constitutionally human-inaccessible knowledge. Finally, I diagnose and formalize the Marcusian regress paradox: recurrent goalpost-shifting, whereby every machine competence is reclassified as irrelevant once achieved. Xenoepistemics reframes this debate by treating non-human knowledge as a present reality requiring new norms, not as a future curiosity. Full article

Background/Objectives: Stuttering is a neurodevelopmental disorder of speech fluency. It emerges most commonly between 2 and 5 years old, often causing social exclusion and stigma. In Latin America, cultural misconceptions regarding its causes exacerbate these psychosocial challenges. This study validated a culturally adapted instrument for Chile to measure public attitudes toward stuttering. The instrument provides a psychometrically sound method to assess and address stigma within educational and community settings. Methods: A total of 756 Chilean adults (mean age = 36.7 years, SD = 15.8; 64% women, 36% men) were recruited using stratified probability sampling to reflect the national demographics. Ethical approval and informed consent were obtained. The subsection underwent rigorous cross-cultural adaptation (translation, expert review, cognitive debriefing n = 30, pre-testing n = 50). Analysis employed polychoric matrices, EFA, CFA with WLSMV, and multiple reliability/validity indices. Results: Joint analysis showed poor fit (CFI = 0.72, RMSEA = 0.12), confirming independence. Beliefs (14 items): three-factor CFA fit excellent (CFI = 0.993, RMSEA = 0.034); factors: competence/normality (α = 0.85), psychological causes (α = 0.78), and help/support (α = 0.72). Reactions (11 items): four-factor fit adequate (CFI = 0.97, RMSEA = 0.043); factors: distant concern (α = 0.82), personal concern (α = 0.79), media sources (α = 0.75), and formal sources (α = 0.77). Validity was supported; bifactor models favored multidimensionality. Conclusions: The adapted subsection is psychometrically robust and effectively captures Chilean-specific attitudes toward childhood stuttering. It provides a reliable tool for quantifying public stigma and misconceptions, particularly in educational and school contexts, thereby supporting the design of targeted school-based policies and interventions to reduce bullying, promote inclusion, and safeguard the psychosocial well-being of children and adolescents who stutter. Full article

Educational leadership increasingly operates under conditions of uncertainty, ambiguity, and competing demands. The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) in education intensifies these challenges, requiring school leaders to navigate tensions between innovation and ethics, autonomy and regulation, and professional judgment and accountability. This study examines AI integration primarily through the lens of educational leadership, proposing that leadership not only shapes teachers’ perceptions of AI but also strengthens the translation of those perceptions into practice. Drawing on transformational leadership theory and technology acceptance models (TAM; UTAUT2), the study tests an integrative model in which teachers’ perceptions of AI function as proximal predictors of use, while transformational leadership serves as a contextual moderator. Data were collected from 141 teachers and analyzed using correlational and regression-based moderation analyses. Findings indicate that transformational leadership significantly predicts teachers’ perceptions of AI and strengthens the relationship between perceptions and AI use. While leadership does not directly predict AI use once perceptions are accounted for, it plays a critical role in enabling the enactment of professional beliefs in instructional practice. These findings position school leadership as a central factor in understanding AI integration, highlighting leadership’s role as a contextual enabler of educational innovation. Full article

Through their influence on various inner-school factors, school leaders can be considered relevant with regard to how tracking policies are enacted at the school level. However, research on attitudes of school leaders vis-à-vis school tracking is sparse. We examine profiles of tracking-related attitudes and predictors of profile membership at the individual (i.e., gender, age, work experience, self-efficacy beliefs, leadership competencies) and contextual level (i.e., school size, school level, social context, size of municipality). Data were collected from 1162 school leaders of pre-primary, primary, and lower secondary schools in Switzerland. Using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), three profiles were identified: inclusion, tracking-separation, and average. School leaders in the inclusion profile showed positive attitudes towards inclusive education and the abolition of grades, a disapproval of early tracking, and negative attitudes towards tracking and its transparency. Leaders in the tracking-separation profile showed negative attitudes towards inclusive education and the abolition of grades, an approval of early tracking, and positive attitudes towards tracking and its transparency. Most school leaders were in the average profile, with neither especially favorable nor especially critical attitudes. While gender, school level, and the size of a municipality were found to be predictors of profile membership, other variables were not. The results give indications as to what factors are relevant in predicting certain attitudes towards tracking. This knowledge can be used for further research as well as for designing targeted interventions. Full article

This study investigates the relationship between digital financial literacy (DFL) and hyperbolic discounting among 104,993 active securities account holders in Japan. As digital financial services expand rapidly, individuals increasingly require not only traditional financial knowledge but also the capacity to understand digital platforms, evaluate online financial information, and manage emerging technological risks. Using data from the 2025 wave of the Survey on Life and Money, hyperbolic discounting is measured through intertemporal monetary choice scenarios, while DFL is constructed as a multidimensional index encompassing digital knowledge, financial knowledge, service awareness, attitudes, behaviors, practical capability, and protection against digital fraud. Probit regression results reveal a statistically significant negative association between DFL and hyperbolic discounting, indicating that individuals with stronger digital financial competencies are less likely to exhibit hyperbolic discounting. Attitudinal components of DFL exhibit the strongest effects, suggesting that internalized financial beliefs may play a more decisive role than technical knowledge in promoting time-consistent decision-making. Subsample analyses further highlight gender-differentiated patterns in demographic and economic influences on present bias. These findings contribute to behavioral finance by integrating digital capability into intertemporal choice research and provide policy-relevant implications for designing comprehensive financial education and digital literacy initiatives in increasingly digitalized financial environments. Full article