Search Results (93)

Background/Objectives: In light of the concerning research data on students’ mental health, it is essential to provide high-quality programs that support children and young people in strengthening their psychological well-being. To address this need, the three-year Erasmus+ KA3 international project PROMEHS: Promoting Mental Health at Schools was developed. The project involved universities and education policy representatives from seven European countries, Italy (project leader), Greece, Croatia, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, and Romania. Its core activities included the development of the PROMEHS curriculum, grounded in three key components: social and emotional learning, resilience, and the prevention of behavioral problems, alongside a rigorous evaluation of its implementation. The main research aim was to test the effect of PROMEHS on students’ and teachers’ mental health. Methods: In Croatia, the curriculum was introduced following the training of teachers (N = 76). It was implemented in kindergartens, and primary and secondary schools (N = 32), involving a total of 790 children. Using a quasi-experimental design, data were collected at two measurement points in both experimental and control groups by teachers, parents, and students. Results: The findings revealed significant improvements in children’s social and emotional competencies and resilience, accompanied by reductions in behavioural difficulties. These effects were most evident in teachers’ assessments, compared to parents’ ratings and student self-reports. Furthermore, teachers reported a significantly higher level of psychological well-being following implementation. Conclusions: Bearing in mind some study limitations, it can be concluded that this study provides evidence of the positive effects of PROMEHS in Croatian educational settings. Building on these outcomes and PROMEHS as an evidence-based program, a micro-qualification education was created to ensure the sustainability and systematic integration of the PROMEHS curriculum into Croatian kindergartens and schools. Full article

Videogames (VGs) are highly attractive for children and young people. Although videogames were once viewed mainly as sources of distraction and leisure, they are now widely recognised as powerful tools for competence development across diverse domains. Designing and implementing a videogame is even more appealing for children and novice students than merely playing it, but developing programming competencies using a text-based language often constitutes a significant barrier to entry. This article presents the implementation and evaluation of a videogame development experience with university students using the Unity engine and its Visual Scripting block-based tool. Students worked in teams and successfully completed videogame projects, demonstrating substantial gains in programming and game construction skills. The adopted methodology facilitated learning, collaboration, and engagement. Building on a quasi-experimental design that compared a prior unit based on C# and MonoGame with a subsequent unit based on Unity Visual Scripting, the study analyses differences in performance, development effort, and motivational indicators. The results show statistically significant improvements in grades, reduced development time for core mechanics, and higher self-reported confidence when Visual Scripting is employed. The evidence supports the view of Visual Scripting as an effective educational strategy to introduce programming concepts without the syntactic and semantic barriers of traditional text-based languages. The findings further suggest that Unity Visual Scripting can act as a didactic bridge towards advanced programming, and that its adoption in secondary and primary education is promising both for reinforcing traditional subjects (history, language, mathematics) and for fostering foundational programming and videogame development skills in an inclusive manner. Full article

Russia’s 2022 invasion precipitated one of Europe’s largest episodes of forced academic mobility, compelling universities to shift from emergency access to durable inclusion. This article investigates how Ukrainian students are integrated into Romanian higher education through a qualitative case study at Ovidius University of Constanta, undertaken within the Erasmus+ EIUS project. We analysed a participatory focus-group workshop (“Building Bridges,” May 2024) involving 72 participants (15 Ukrainian students, 31 Romanian students, 26 academic staff). Transcripts were coded via reflexive thematic analysis and interpreted through a SWOT lens to connect lived experience with institutional strategy. Findings indicate that integration generates tangible pedagogical and social value—diversity enriches coursework, empathy strengthens peer collaboration, and exposure to multilingual classrooms catalyses instructional innovation. Yet systemic fragilities persist: language anxiety (“translation silence”), fragmented support pathways, and limited access to counselling shift emotional labour onto faculty and peers. Opportunities cluster around Erasmus+ infrastructures, bilingual materials, and co-created projects that transform access into participation; threats include latent prejudice, social isolation, compassion fatigue, and policy discontinuity as crisis attention wanes. We advance the concept of institutionalised solidarity—a multi-level inclusion model that couples emotional infrastructures (mentoring, trauma-informed pedagogy, counselling) with organizational infrastructures (integration offices, linguistic scaffolding, adaptive assessment). The study contributes an empirically grounded framework for moving from humanitarian reaction to sustainable academic inclusion and offers actionable guidance for European universities seeking resilience under protracted disruption. Full article

This study examines the motivational and sustainability effects of an Anki-based, individualized project-based learning (PBL) model in an elementary Hindi language course. Conventional PBL approaches in language education typically rely on collaborative, production-focused tasks that can be demanding for novice learners and usually conclude when the final project is submitted, leaving little structured support for continued practice. In this study, script, vocabulary, expression, sentence patterns, and pronunciation are not treated as background work but defined as the core pedagogical problem. Over the semester, each learner builds and refines a personalized Anki deck—a multimedia flashcard system based on spaced repetition—designed to support Devanagari word and sentence recognition, pronunciation practice, listening comprehension, and vocabulary retention. Each student constructed an individual deck aligned with course content, selecting vocabulary items, creating example sentences, and developing personalized memory cues that matched their learning pace and needs. Motivation was measured with a modified Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS) using only positively worded items to enhance reliability. Results showed consistently high scores across all ARCS domains, particularly for Confidence (M = 3.86) and Satisfaction (M = 3.93). Female students reported higher average scores, but gender showed no association with motivational grouping. Strong correlations among ARCS dimensions indicated consistent engagement across motivational components. Cluster analysis identified two groups of learners: highly motivated learners who treated deck creation as an ongoing learning resource, and less motivated learners who still maintained scores above the neutral midpoint—engaged enough to manage typical beginner challenges. The findings suggest that Anki-based PBL can make project-based learning workable at the novice level. By positioning deck creation as both the problem students solve and the tool they build, the model integrates continuous, self-paced practice into the project structure rather than treating it as a one-time deliverable. This design responds to a familiar gap in beginner language instruction: what happens when formal scaffolding ends. Unlike conventional PBL, which concludes with project submission, this approach creates a resource learners can use independently over time, embedding ongoing vocabulary retention and autonomous practice into the learning experience itself. Full article

Despite a global trend toward socially engaged higher education, architectural pedagogy continues to grapple for a coherent approach that systematically and genuinely integrates socio-cultural dimensions into design studio teaching practices. Defined as the interwoven social, cultural, and political factors that shape the built environment, the socius is treated peripherally within architectural pedagogy, limiting students’ capacity to develop civic agency, spatial justice awareness, and critical reflexivity in navigating complex societal conditions. This article argues for a socius-centric reorientation of architectural pedagogy, postulating that socially engaged studio models, which include Community Design, Design–Build, and Live Project, must be conceptually integrated to fully harness their pedagogical merits. The article adopts two lines of inquiry: first, mapping the theoretical underpinnings of the socius across award-winning pedagogical innovations and Google Scholar citation patterns; and second, defining the core attributes of socially engaged pedagogical models through a bibliometric analysis of 87 seminal publications. Synthesising the outcomes of these inquiries, the study offers an advanced articulation of studio learning as a process of social construction, where architectural knowledge is co-produced through role exchange, iterative feedback, interdisciplinary dialogue, and emergent agency. Conclusions are drawn to offer pragmatic and theoretically grounded pathways to reshape studio learning as a site of civic transformation. Full article

This article presents a case of strategic and participatory institutional innovation in higher education, focused on developing teacher digital competence (TDC) as a key enabler of sustainable digital transformation. In response to the post-pandemic challenges faced by the National University of Cuyo (UNCuyo), a large and multi-campus public university in Argentina, the European CUTE methodology was adapted and implemented to align professional development with institutional planning. Grounded in the DigCompEdu framework, this action-oriented process moved beyond individual initiatives to create a coordinated, multi-level strategy involving educators, department leaders, and university authorities. Through a research-based design that included context analysis, participatory diagnosis, and co-designed interventions, the project built a shared understanding of digital teaching needs and institutional readiness. The implementation highlights how locally adapted frameworks, collaborative structures, and iterative decision-making can drive meaningful change across a complex university system. This case contributes to the international conversation on how higher education institutions can operationalize innovation at scale by investing in teacher competence, inclusive processes, and strategic alignment. Lessons learned from this experience are relevant for universities seeking to build institutional capacity for digital transformation in diverse educational contexts with potential downstream benefits for student learning and inclusion. Full article

Higher education and science (HES) is one of the key drivers of a country’s economic growth. In this study, we examine national projects and research capacity in HES in Kazakhstan from 2014 to 2024. We conducted a content review and scientometric analysis with network and temporal visualizations. Our data sources included policy documents, statistical reports, and the Scopus database. Our findings suggest that, while Kazakhstan aligns with global trends in the field (e.g., digitalization, scientometrics monitoring, and internationalization), these are achieved through a state-led, policy-driven approach shaped by its post-Soviet context. Additionally, we note a dual structure in Kazakhstan’s HES sector, characterized by a strong top-down direction and increasing institutional engagement. In terms of the thematic trends from the temporal analysis, the country experienced a three-staged evolution: foundational reforms and system modernization (2014–2017), capacity building and evaluation (2018–2021), and, most recently, strategic expansion, inclusivity, and globalization (2022–2024). Throughout the analyzed period, low R&D intensity, disciplinary imbalances, and structural barriers still undermine desired development efforts in HES. The analyzed case of Kazakhstan can serve as “lessons learned” for policymakers and researchers working in the science evaluation and scholarly communication area in similar emerging or transition countries. Full article

This study examines how students perceive factors contributing to their sense of belonging (SoB) in an online project-based master’s course in social innovation, incorporating collaboration with external stakeholders and structured around real-world challenges from external partners. SoB has been shown to impact academic outcomes positively, but online teamwork and collaboration outside the institution walls present unique challenges. The study adopts a qualitative approach and an interpretivist standpoint to find meaningful aspects and generate an understanding of positions among the students. Data was gathered through interviews, allowing students to express their unique experiences and perspectives on SoB in the context of a master’s course, with participants from several countries. Thematic analysis of the interview data identified the following seven categories related to students’ perceived belonging: team formation and trust, personal introductions, group continuity, access to teachers, use of informal communication channels, shared tools, and digital fluency. Furthermore, working towards a common challenge or goal seems to promote SoB among team members. The results indicate that SoB was shaped by multiple interrelated factors, with team-based collaboration and structured group dynamics playing a central role. The study contributes to ongoing research on student belonging by identifying specific practices that may support SoB in digitally supported, team-oriented learning environments. Full article

The rapid spread of artificial intelligence (AI) in education means that students need to master both AI literacy and personal agency. This study situates a sample of 425 Slovenian secondary technical students within a three-tier framework that maps psychological empowerment onto AI literacy outcomes within a cultural–historical activity system. The agency competence assessments yielded four profiles of student agency, ranging from fully empowered to largely disempowered. The cluster membership explained significant additional variance in AI literacy scores, supporting the additive empowerment model in an AI-rich vocational education and training context. The predictive modeling revealed that while self-efficacy, mastery-oriented motivations, and metacognitive self-regulation contributed uniquely—though small—to improving AI literacy, an unexpectedly negative relationship was identified for internal locus of control and for behavioral self-regulation focused narrowly on routines, with no significant impact observed for grit-like perseverance. These findings underscore the importance of fostering reflective, mastery-based, and self-evaluative learning dispositions over inflexible or solely routine-driven strategies in the development of AI literacy. Addressing these nuanced determinants may also be vital in narrowing AI literacy gaps observed between diverse disciplinary cohorts, as supported by recent multi-dimensional literacy frameworks and disciplinary pathway analyses. Embedding autonomy-supportive, mastery-oriented, student-centered projects and explicit metacognitive training into AI curricula could shift control inward and benefit students with low skills, helping to forge an agency-driven pathway to higher levels of AI literacy among high school students. The most striking and unexpected finding of this study is that students with a strong sense of competence—manifested as high self-efficacy—can achieve foundational AI literacy levels equivalent to those possessing broader, more holistic agentic profiles, suggesting that competence alone may be sufficient for acquiring essential AI knowledge. This challenges prevailing models that emphasize a multidimensional approach to agency and has significant implications for designing targeted interventions and curricula to rapidly build AI literacy in diverse learner populations. Full article

YouthMappers chapters, utilizing OpenStreetMap (OSM), play a pivotal role in tackling climate challenges through education and activism. This study investigates the influence of a booster grant project on enhancing Climate Activism and Education efforts through YouthMappers chapters in Sri Lanka. Through a geometric approach, the research integrates measurable survey data from OSM platform data from 223 YouthMappers chapter respondents at four (04) universities in Sri Lanka to evaluate five critical factors/dimensions: Capacity Building and Funding Support (CBFS), Climate Activism and Education (CAE), Community Engagement and Collaboration (CEC), Technical Skills and Resources (TSR), and Sustainability and Policy Integration (SPI). The Friedman test confirmed statistically significant differences across all factors’ variables (p < 0.001), highlighting strengths in technical competence and educational integration, with gaps identified in community engagement and sustainability. A Radial Basis Function (RBF) model revealed moderate predictive accuracy, excelling in variables like CAE and TSR but indicating higher error rates in SPI and CEC. Practical outcomes include flood risk maps, curriculum-integrated teaching schemes, and localized mapping workshops. These results underscore the booster grant’s role in enabling impactful, youth-led geospatial initiatives. However, challenges such as internet access, training gaps, and language barriers remain. This study recommends expanding student and community participation, refining training strategies, and integrating OSM into university curricula. These scalable interventions offer valuable insights for replication in other vulnerable regions, enhancing climate resilience through community-driven, data-informed youth engagement. Full article

Given recent geopolitical shifts to abandon an organized response to the climate crisis and the projections of the 2023 IPCC report, scientists have confirmed that climate collapse is likely, if not inevitable. In this perspective paper, we pose two questions: What is the job of a sustainability educator at this point in the climate crisis? What good is hope if the object of hopefulness is not achievable? We examine these questions through a literature review of climate emotions and hope discourse in sustainability education, narrowing our focus to critical hope. Building on existing research, we contend that a sustainability educator’s job in this phase of climate collapse is to convey a praxis of critical hope, which attends to the following realms: (a) the core sustainability curriculum, (b) engagement with emotions and coping skills, (c) the interrogation of complex systems and embedded injustices, and (d) pathways and strategies for organized action. The discussion presented herein analyzes student reflections from a higher-education sustainability course that integrated the principles of critical hope into applied projects. Ultimately, a praxis of critical hope might allow sustainability educators to encounter the dire realities of the climate crisis while sustaining themselves and their students through a long-term labor of love. Full article

The modern system of higher education and research is undergoing deep institutional transformations, accompanied by changes in funding mechanisms, increased competition, the growing importance of project forms of scientific activity organization, and more complex requirements for performance. In the conditions of digital transformation and institutional instability, higher education faces the need to form sustainable smart management systems. The modern understanding of smart education goes beyond e-learning and includes the intellectualization of all levels of organization of educational and scientific activities. This requires the creation of new models capable of integrating the behavior of teachers and researchers in the context of digital, project, and institutional logics. Thus, the task of building intelligent models capable of reflecting the complex, multi-layered structure of interactions between researchers, organizations, forms of support, and the system of evaluation of scientific work becomes relevant. This article proposes an agent-based approach to modeling the process of formation of scientific knowledge, considered as a key element of the sustainable development of scientific and educational environment. The model reflects the interaction of agents—researchers with different characteristics: age, qualification level, scientific productivity, affiliation, and trajectory of professional development. The modeling results allow us to draw conclusions about the regularities of the reproduction of scientific potential, the factors of academic environment sustainability, and the effectiveness of institutional support mechanisms. The obtained results have both theoretical and applied significance. The model can be used to forecast the effectiveness of science policy, assess the risks and prospects of scientific teams, and justify incentive systems and the long-term design of the development of scientific organizations. The presented approach allows us to form a comprehensive view of the dynamics of scientific knowledge in the context of sustainable management in higher education. Full article

Climate change poses a significant threat to Ethiopian agriculture, impacting both cereal and livestock production through rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts, and increased pest and disease outbreaks. These challenges intensify food insecurity, particularly for smallholder farmers and pastoralists who rely on climate-sensitive agricultural systems. This systematic review aims to synthesize the impacts of climate change on Ethiopian agriculture, with a specific focus on cereal production and livestock feed quality, while exploring effective adaptation strategies that can support resilience in the sector. The review synthesizes 50 peer-reviewed publications (2020–2024) from the Climate Change Effects on Food Security project, which supports young African academics and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in addressing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Using PRISMA guidelines, the review assesses climate change impacts on major cereal crops and livestock feed in Ethiopia and explores adaptation strategies. Over the past 30 years, Ethiopia has experienced rising temperatures (0.3–0.66 °C), with future projections indicating increases of 0.6–0.8 °C per decade resulting in more frequent and severe droughts, floods, and landslides. These shifts have led to declining yields of wheat, maize, and barley, shrinking arable land, and deteriorating feed quality and water availability, severely affecting livestock health and productivity. The study identifies key on-the-ground adaptation strategies, including adjusted planting dates, crop diversification, drought-tolerant varieties, soil and water conservation, agroforestry, supplemental irrigation, and integrated fertilizer use. Livestock adaptations include improved breeding practices, fodder enhancement using legumes and local browse species, and seasonal climate forecasting. These results have significant practical implications: they offer a robust evidence base for policymakers, extension agents, and development practitioners to design and implement targeted, context-specific adaptation strategies. Moreover, the findings support the integration of climate resilience into national agricultural policies and food security planning. The Climate Change Effects on Food Security project’s role in generating scientific knowledge and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration is vital for building institutional and human capacity to confront climate challenges. Ultimately, this review contributes actionable insights for promoting sustainable, climate-resilient agriculture across Ethiopia. Full article

This paper examines a series of bachelor’s and master’s thesis projects from the supervisor’s perspective, focusing on how Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) can enhance industrial robotics engineering education. While industrial robotics systems continue to evolve and the need for skilled robotics engineers grows, teaching methods have not changed. Mostly, higher education in robotics engineering still relies on funding industrial robots or otherwise on traditional 2D tools that do not effectively represent the complex spatial interactions involved in robotics. This study presents a comparative analysis of seven thesis projects integrating MR technologies to address these challenges. All projects were supervised by the lead author and showcase different approaches and learning outcomes, building on insights from previous work. This comparison outlines the benefits and challenges of using MR for robotics engineering education. Additionally, it shares key takeaways from a supervisory standpoint as an evolutionary process, offering practical insights for fellow educators/supervisors guiding MR-based robotics education projects. Full article

Higher education institutions have played a central role in building sustainability awareness. However, current models only show an effect on students’ knowledge about sustainable development, with a large gap in transformative solutions that shift from understanding problems towards solutions. This case study explores a new model that integrates sustainability reflections in a Geographic Information Science (GIS) Capstone Project course. Through collaborations with external partners and reflections on sustainability modules, students analyzed complex problems and developed sustainability competencies. The assessment tool adopted in this study combines reflective writing, scenario testing, performance observation, and self-assessment. Based on the set of key competencies in sustainability, half of the students developed systems-thinking and strategies-thinking, while a quarter of the students developed futures-thinking and values-thinking. Their development of sustainability competencies went beyond simply acquiring knowledge, also critically evaluating different perspectives and implementing or integrating the concepts when addressing the problems. Geospatial information tackles three key aspects of sustainability, which are relational, distributional, and directional, making it ideal in analyzing sustainability issues and providing insights for informed decisions. This study fills another important gap of integrating sustainability competency development in GIS education. Full article